Welcome to the Cyberdome
Across the State of Idaho, unfilled cybersecurity jobs number in the thousands, and the gap grows every year. That’s why Boise State University’s Institute for Pervasive Cybersecurity has started to build the Gem State’s Cyberdome.
The Cyberdome program will create a collaborative, competency-based learning environment that will eventually include all Idaho’s public colleges and universities. The program also creates partnerships with major stakeholders like the Idaho National Laboratory and private industry. Its goal is to train students and offer them experience so they can fill open cybersecurity jobs. Through this process, the Cyberdome team will make Idaho more attractive to outside technology investment.
“The Cyberdome achieves three things:
- It enables students throughout Idaho to obtain higher-paying jobs as truly experienced cyberprofessionals with real-world experience on their resumes.
- It protects and defends our rural and remote communities against cyber adversaries.
- It helps Idaho’s employers fill a critical gap in attracting and retaining cyberprofessionals,” said Institute for Pervasive Cybersecurity Director Ed Vasko.
The program needs financial support. While the Cyberdome has received a Higher Education Research Grant from the Idaho State Board of Education that funds 28 students, Vasko said he would like to grow that number to 100 students and offer each a $7,500 stipend. He would also like to grow the Cyberdome’s personnel by eight or nine new staff members and mentors at a total cost of $750,000. Finally, the ongoing costs of its applied research facility come to $100,000.
Boise State, community, business and stakeholder support, Vasko said, are investments in meeting broad economic and security goals — not just in Boise, but across the state and around the world.
“The cyberdome staff and the Institute for Pervasive Cybersecurity’s leadership are fully committed to providing Boise State students the opportunity to obtain competency before entering their cyber careers,” he said. “Our platform achieves this, and also has a significant benefit to rural communities in Idaho and employers looking to fill the cyber gap we have here and around the nation.”