Collaborative Research: CyberAI Innovation: Securing and Leveraging Agentic AI for Cyber Defense

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents are becoming increasingly common in digital systems that people and organizations use to analyze information, complete tasks, and make decisions. While these systems can create new opportunities to improve cybersecurity, they also introduce new risks because they may access data, use software tools, and take actions in ways that are difficult to predict or control. These developments highlight the growing need for educational programs that prepare students to leverage AI agents for cyber defense while understanding the security challenges associated with these systems. This project will address this need by preparing students to understand both the benefits and the security challenges of AI agents. By training students at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, the project will support the development of a skilled workforce prepared to secure emerging intelligent technologies. These efforts will support the safe and responsible use of AI systems while advancing national priorities in cybersecurity and AI innovation. This project will develop an AI agent-centered cybersecurity education framework organized around curriculum modules, hands-on labs and project-based learning. The curriculum will cover the foundations of AI agents, core cybersecurity principles, AI agents for security learning, and security in AI agents. Hands-on labs will use agent-assisted techniques to teach traditional security concepts as well as emerging risks in AI agents. Project-based learning activities will engage students in designing and evaluating AI agent-based defenses against different attacks. This project will also develop new assessment approaches that evaluate not only final student outputs but also students' interactions with AI models during problem-solving. The project will contribute modular instructional materials, reusable hands-on labs, project templates, and assessment rubrics that can be adopted or adapted by cybersecurity and AI programs at other institutions. This project is supported by the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program which funds proposals to increase national capacity to educate and train professionals in Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Cybersecurity, and to support their placement and retention in the CyberAI mission of government organizations. The Scholarship Track funds academic institutions to award scholarships to students in exchange for their government service. The Innovation Track seeks transformative education proposals in the areas of AI, cybersecurity, or the integration of AI and cybersecurity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.