The National Science Foundation (NSF) Campus Cyberinfrastructure program has awarded a two-year, $300k Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).

The NSF EAGER grant enables the AIHEC cyberinfrastructure (CI) team to address arising cybersecurity concerns at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Efforts include developing a networked TCU cyberinfrastructure community of practice that will guide TCUs in making informed decisions when selecting providers and partners to support and strengthen their cybersecurity and to reduce their risk profile.

“The growing need for our TCUs to use technology to deliver instruction and services to students means we need to grow our capacity to secure sensitive information and safeguard data,” said Carrie Billy, AIHEC president and CEO. “This grant, which is part of AIHEC’s comprehensive cyberinitiative, will help us address vital issues in cybersecurity.”

In collaboration with a Department of Energy-funded cybersecurity program at Turtle Mountain Community College, Sitting Bull College, and Stone Child College, the award objectives include the development of shared resources such as a virtual chief information security officer and/or a virtual security operations center.

“NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) is pleased to be a part of AIHEC’s initiative to coordinate the cybersecurity posture of the nation’s tribal colleges and universities, help these institutions collaboratively address their unique cybersecurity challenges, and ensure the long-term success of their research and education missions,” stated Robert Beverly, program officer for NSF’s OAC. “The project aligns with OAC’s mission to provide broad and democratized access to advanced cyberinfrastructure resources, services, and expertise.”

The AIHEC CI team formed in 2016 to propose a study of the TCU cyberinfrastructures to the NSF. The initial TCU CI study started in 2017 with site visits from the AIHEC CI team at 34 of the 35 accredited TCUs. Currently, the AIHEC CI team addresses a host of the findings from the TCU CI study, including development of a TCU cybersecurity framework and supporting the creation of strategic plans for TCU campus cyberinfrastructures.