Vol. 4 No. 1
Vol.4, No. 1
April 2011
The Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR), established in March 2002, conducts
defense-focused research at the Master’s and PhD levels. The CCR is forward-looking and
responsive to the changing educational and research needs of the Air Force, the Department
of Defense, and the federal government. The CCR faculty teaches and performs research
to understand and develop advanced cyber-related theories and technologies. These theory
and technology advancements include efforts in network intrusion detection and avoidance,
insider threat mitigation, cyberspace situational awareness, network visualization, software
protection, and anti-tamper technologies development. On June 19, 2008 AFIT was
designated by the SECAF and CSAF as the Air Force Cyberspace Technical Center of
Excellence.
CENTER FOR CYBERSPACE RESEARCH
Director: Dr. Richard Raines
Associate Director: Dr. Harold Arata
Research Director: Dr. Rusty Baldwin
Marketing Specialist: Carrie Solberg
Questions, concerns, feedback: email carrie.solberg.ctr@afi t.edu
Visit our web site: www.afi t.edu/ccr
In this issue :
CCR News is published by the Center for Cyberspace Research,
Air Force Technical Center of Excellence
All material contained herein refl ects the opinions of the authors and
editors and does not necessarily refl ect U.S. Air Force or AFIT policy.
ACE Cyber Security Boot Camp Coming to
AFIT/CCR in June
Community Outreach: CCR Partners with
Dayton STEM School’s “Power Lunch” Series
Spotlight on Research: CCR Research in Side
Channel Analysis Contributes to Protecting DoD
Critical Systems
Cyberspace Research Excellence Award Winner
CCR Student Focus: Major Thomas Dube,
AFIT PhD Student
AFIT/CCR Wins CDX for 8th Year!!
Air Force ROTC cadets and Navy
ROTC midshipmen will take their
education to new heights this year in the
2011 Advanced Course in Engineering
(ACE) Cyber Security Boot Camp at
the Air Force Institute of Technology
(AFIT) in Dayton, Ohio. The 8-week
summer course, hosted by The Center
for Cyberspace Research (CCR) / Air
Force Cyberspace Technical Center of
Excellence, will professionally develop
thirty-three future cyber warriors arriving
from twenty-eight universities across the
nation.
The program is organized into several
components. One component includes
cyber warfare lectures on topics ranging
from formal security concepts, cyber
attack, computer network defense, digital
forensics, reverse software engineering
and cryptography. All lectures are
taught by faculty from the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering
and The Center for Cyberspace
Research. ACE Students will also benefi t
from hands-on research experience
through internships with leading cyber
professionals at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base to include the 711 Human
Performance Wing, AFRL Virtual Combat
Laboratory, and AFIT professors.
In addition to academics and research,
ACE participants engage in leadership
development activities with their active
duty counter parts. Activities include
organized unit physical training sessions
and staff rides to the Air Force Museum,
Perryville Battlefi eld, and NASA Plum
Brook Station.
ACE students will practice hands-on
skills in an academic environment by
setting up and securing web and fi le
servers. All of this experience culminates
with “Hackfest” exercise where two
teams compete in a large-scale cyber
warfare event using cyber defense tactics,
techniques, and procedures they learned
over the summer in the context of a
military operation.
The mission of the CCR is to Develop
Cyber Warriors through Education and
Research. Richard Raines, CCR Director,
observed that “ACE is a natural extension
of the CCR mission because a large
portion of all Air Force cyber education is
conducted in our Center.”
Lt Nina Weissgerber, the ACE program
coordinator and ACE graduate stated,
“ACE taught me a lot of things about
technological vulnerabilities and gave me
technical insight into cyber security. It
also sharpened my strategic thinking skills
and taught me how to extend technical
knowledge and expertise into working
solutions.”
Since its inception in 2003, the ACE
program has educated 226 cyber leaders
who are now in key cyber related
positions across the military.
Students participating in the 2011 ACE
program comment about their future as
Cyber Warriors.
April 2011
ACE Cyber Security Boot Camp Coming to AFIT/CCR in June
www.facebook.com/CCRnews
www.twitter.com/CCR_news
ACE 2010 graduates
Cadet Justine Pascual
University of California -
San Diego, Detachment 075
“When I fi rst joined
the school’s Robotics
team on a whim, I
didn’t know the fi rst
thing about programming...programming is
an art form that has engaged me from the
beginning...I feel that attending the ACE
program would be an incredible blessing to
further my skills and help me better connect
this aesthetic to my future in the Air Force.”
“Once I became a
cadet in ROTC I
realized that I wanted
to enter the Air Force’s
new cyberspace initiative.
It has become
evident that the next generation of warfare is
being fought in cyberspace and it would be
my greatest duty to help lead the Air Force to
be the prominent power in cyberspace.”
Cadet Casey Holgado
Oklahoma State University
Detachment 670
“I would like to attend
ACE because I want to
be a successful cyber
offi cer in the United
States Navy.
This program will give me
some of the skills and leadership qualities
necessary in order to accomplish that.”
Midshipman Taylor Mitcham
Pennsylvania State University
Detachment 36
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CENTER FOR CYBERSPACE RESEARCH
AFIT/ENG
2950 HOBSON WAY
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH 45433-7765
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
