Cyber & National Security

In many ways, national and homeland security are always of paramount importance in a world gripped by a series of public health and security crises, but 2021 marks an especially important year that will tell much about our ability to meet the moment. How can the United States work with both historical allies and new strategic partners to tackle the full range of national security threats facing the nation, ranging from COVID-19 to climate change and cybersecurity? The incoming Biden administration will have to tackle these topics, and many more. We seek to highlight these challenges, and opportunities, in particular highlighting the overlapping nature of these topical areas particularly related to cybersecurity ethics and norms.

National and Homeland Security at IU

Indiana University features a rich array of national and homeland security resources across the university. The university is recognized by the federal government as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and in Cyber Defense Research. Its Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research (CACR) was founded in 2003 and is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, and others, as the only "university-level center in the country that involves legal, policy, economic, and behavioral research, along with technical expertise." CACR leads the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and collaborates closely with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. Indiana University is also home to the Research and Education Networking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Ren-ISAC), one of the 19 recognized ISCAS, that coordinates cybersecurity alerts among 540 member institutions in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

The university has a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to security education. In addition to school-specific degrees, the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, the Kelley School of Business, and the Maurer School of Law offer an interdisciplinary master's degree in Cybersecurity Risk Management. The Ostrom Workshop operates a program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, the university hosts a summer Security Matters Cybercamp for high school students, and a new Cybersecurity Clinic, funded by the Hewlett Foundation and serving local governments, will open in the fall. Ethics training is included in all of these programs.

Keywords: national and homeland security, cybersecurity, cyber-attacks, autonomous weapons, drones, ubiquitous surveillance, election hacking, and encryption

Convener(s): Scott Shackelford