The University of Texas at San Antonio's

CENTER for

INFRASTRUCTURE

ASSURANCE &

SECURITY

UTSA has been designated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

The Leader in Advancement of State and Community Cybersecurity

Established in 2001 as part of UTSA’s creation of a cybersecurity program, the CIAS is a research center on a mission to secure the nation’s infrastructure and foster a Culture of Cybersecurity. This grassroots-level research effort continues to produce practical campaigns, such as cybersecurity training and preparedness, cybersecurity competitions and K12 education programs.

Certification Courses

Customized Training

NCCDC Competition

CyberPatriot Competition

Hivestorm Competition

No-Cost Training (NCPC)

Maturity Model (CCSMM)

Cyber Threat Defender

Cyber Threat Protector

Cyber Threat Guardian

Celebrating 20 Years at UTSA

The CIAS has been working to create a culture of cybersecurity and improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture since 2001! Take a look back at our history and activities in the CIAS’ 20th Anniversary Report here.

Ponemon Institute study 2014

In the nation for undergraduate cybersecurity

# 10

Universities.com ranking 2016

In the nation for graduate cybersecurity

# 10

National Security Agency

NSA Designations

Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research Cyber Operations

high-quality, high-impact

Competitions

The CIAS hosts the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Panoply and HiveStorm, and co-founded CyberPatriot. The CIAS has been developing and conducting competition programs to educate, train and prepare individuals for the cybersecurity workforce since 2005.

2024

Competitors Worldwide

1 ,000

high-quality, high-impact

Cybersecurity Training
Courses Seminars Workshops

Our training efforts focus on improving overall cybersecurity awareness, technical capabilities, professional development and continuity plans. We’ve been helping professionals, organizations and communities prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber incidents for more than 20 years.

Reached

Small Businesses

K-12 Education

Gaming

Committed to creating a culture of cybersecurity nationwide, the CIAS focuses on K-12 education that introduces students to cybersecurity principles through educational gaming and storytelling. Our goals are to create good cyber hygiene and awareness of cyber careers.

Played In

Countries

World Leader

Leading the ISAO Standards Organization since 2015 and helping SLTTs establish comprehensive cybersecurity programs as the CIAS-ISAO, the CIAS actively engages the information sharing community to promote secure, rapid and widespread information sharing that helps detect and block cyber-attacks.

Information Sharing

CIAS-ISAO

Members

National Cybersecurity
Preparedness Consortium

Filling the cybersecurity gap since 2004

A Collaboration of Five Universities

The University of Arkansas

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Texas A&M

The University of Memphis

Norwich University

Testimonials

This Is What They Say

“NCCDC challenges students’ ability to work together as a team, and rely on their critical thinking skills to apply their knowledge real-time in a stressful situation.”

“The quality of the presentation [on Continuity Planning] and the value of the content easily makes this the best webinar I have attended since the plague days started. CIAS-ISAO aren't the ones to steal on.”

“My students love playing Cyber Threat Defender. We use it in my computer repair course, and it is really the only exposure to security they get. I find that as they continue to play the game and get used to the available cards, they are also getting a basic understanding of the different threats and security features that are out there.”

“An excellent course [on Organizational Information Sharing] to begin, enhance or refine your information sharing life cycle. The scenarios really help to step outside your own POV that adds to the overall thought process.”

“Awesome, thank you so much! My students have been diving into the game and have enjoyed learning how to play. The use of vocabulary has been amazing, and the conversations have been on track with what I have been wanting them to talk about during computer science class.”

Press Coverage

We're in the News

UTSA awarded $500K grant from Google to expand CIAS cybersecurity clinic

CIAS In The News, News

UTSA awarded $500K grant from Google to expand CIAS cybersecurity clinic

The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) received a $500,000 grant from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund to grow the UTSA/CIAS Cyber Clinic. The clinic is a long-term initiative focused on strengthening cybersecurity knowledge among UTSA students and the community at large by hosting on-campus classes and workshops at the offices of local organizations.

U.S. Department of Education invites Alan CyBear to teach kids about cybersecurity

CIAS In The News, News

U.S. Department of Education invites Alan CyBear to teach kids about cybersecurity

Alan CyBear, the “Smokey Bear” of cybersecurity, made an appearance in Washington, D.C. last week with the CIAS at the 9th Annual ED Games Expo, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Held at the Kennedy Center, the Expo showcases game-changing forms of education technology, including the CIAS card games such as Cyber Threat Defender […]

Angelo State and UTSA Partner for Cybersecurity Pilot Program in San Angelo

CIAS In The News, News

Angelo State and UTSA Partner for Cybersecurity Pilot Program in San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, Texas (August 26, 2021) – The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, as part of the National Security Agency (NSA), has awarded a grant in the amount of $1.67 million to the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to help communities become more cyber secure nationwide.

School district pays hefty ransom to resolve cyberattack

(August 4, 2021) — Judson Independent School District paid a more than $500,000 ransom to hackers who threatened to publish “sensitive, identifiable information” on the dark web and crippled the district’s information technology systems for a month, the district announced Wednesday. . . . Ransomware attacks are “one of, if not the most common, attacks impacting organizations” today, said Greg White, UTSA computer science professor and CIAS director.

CIAS K-12 Cybersecurity Program awarded grant to expand cybersecurity awareness nationwide

CIAS In The News

CIAS K-12 Cybersecurity Program awarded grant to expand cybersecurity awareness nationwide

(May 20, 2021) — In conjunction with RSAC 2021, the Gula Tech Foundation announced the winners of their $1,000,000 March 2021 Data Care themed competitive grant program on March 20, 2021. This competitive grant focused on non-profits committed to to increasing public cybersecurity awareness. The CIAS was awarded the first place prize of $250,000 for their K-12 Cybersecurity Program.

The Gula Tech Foundation Announces Winners of $1,000,000 Data Care Grant

CIAS In The News

The Gula Tech Foundation Announces Winners of $1,000,000 Data Care Grant

On May 20, 2021, in conjunction with RSAC 2021, the Gula Tech Foundation announced the winners of their $1,000,000 March 2021 Data Care themed competitive grant program. This competitive grant focused on non-profits committed to to increasing public cybersecurity awareness. The CIAS was awarded the first place prize of $250,000 for their K-12 Cybersecurity Program.

Tagged center for infrastructure assurance and security, cias, culture of cybersecurity, cybersecurity competitions, cybersecurity training, utsa, utsa cyber security, utsa cybersecurity

National CCDC

CyberPatriot

Panoply

Hivestorm

Cybersecurity

Training & Exercises

Cybersecurity Training

National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium

Customized Training & Exercises

Cybersecurity Education

Presenting Sponsor

Cybersecurity

Information Sharing

The University of Texas at San Antonio's

CENTER for

INFRASTRUCTURE

ASSURANCE &

SECURITY

The Leader in Advancement of State and Community Cybersecurity

Celebrating 20 Years at UTSA

Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research Cyber Operations

Competitions

2024

Cybersecurity Training Courses Seminars Workshops

Reached

Gaming

Played In

Information Sharing

CIAS-ISAO

National CybersecurityPreparedness Consortium

Filling the cybersecurity gap since 2004

A Collaboration of Five Universities

Testimonials

This Is What They Say

Press Coverage

We're in the News

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Presenting
Sponsor

Cybersecurity Training
Courses Seminars Workshops

National Cybersecurity
Preparedness Consortium