Louisiana Tech ROTC cadet experiences a cyber summer

At the Air Force Research Lab's Cyber Security Boot Camp, it's either hack or be hacked

It’s not often that a student entering his senior year of college has the chance to see what his future has in store. For Louisiana Tech ROTC Cadet Tuan Nguyen, the Advance Course in Engineering (ACE) Cyber Security Boot Camp, conducted by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab in Rome, N.Y., provided a glimpse into the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

"Prior to attending ACE, the concept of cyber security was really beyond my scope of understanding," Nguyen said. "But now that I have successfully completed the course, I feel that I have found a new area of interest and something I can focus in on as a career."

The ACE was founded in 2002 to develop the top students in U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy pre-commissioning training programs into the next generation of cyber security leaders. The class is comprised of ROTC and civilian college seniors with at least a 3.0 GPA, and who are majoring in computer science, computer engineering or electrical engineering.

Nguyen was selected from a nationwide pool of applicants for one of 33 spots in this year’s ACE class.

Cyberspace security encompasses the defense of not only areas related to the Internet and computer systems, but any systems using electromagnetic means to communicate or interface. These systems include cell phones, television and radio signals and satellites.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne made the case for the Cyber Command in November 2006 expressing, "the need to protect our data while detecting adversary data and then deny, disrupt, dissuade or destroy the source of that data or transmission as appropriate."

Wynne recently named Barksdale AFB in Bossier City as the provisional home of the Cyber Command.

"This is an exciting time for the Air Force and Louisiana Tech’s ROTC cadets," states Lieutenant Colonel Dan Simonsen, commander of Louisiana Tech’s Air Force ROTC detachment. "Our cadets have an opportunity to become involved with the cyber security-related activities even before they receive their commissions. Initiatives such as the Center for Secure Cyberspace provide our cadets with exposure to and an understanding of the Air Force’s cyber-security mission."

According to Nguyen, the weekly regimen of classes, internships and physical training at the Cyber Security Boot Camp was intense.

"On Mondays, we had lectures all day because they were essentially teaching us an entire college course in one day," he said. "Tuesdays through Thursdays consisted of an internship with active duty officers or civilian contractors, and at the end of every week we had to submit a thirty-page paper written according to strict guidelines."

The Cyber Security Boot Camp concluded with a two-day capstone event called Hack-Fest. The class was divided into two teams that were tasked with hacking into and defending a series of computer systems set up by the course administrators.

"Air Force generals and other officers fly in from all over the country to watch this event," Nguyen said. "I knew that I had learned a lot when it took me only 15 seconds to hack into the first system. Hack Fest was mentally exhausting, but it really taught us how to work under pressure."

Nguyen says the boot camp experience gave him a greater appreciation for the importance of cyber security to national security.

"I have a great appreciation for how important cyber security is to our national security and how vulnerable we are without it," states Nguyen. "The ACE showed us that even classified information is never completely secure," he said. "We learned how easy it is to hack into various computer systems, which in turn, taught us what we need to do to defend them."

Dr. Kamal Jabbour, Senior Scientist for Information Assurance at the Air Force Research Laboratory and ACE Director says that attacks on cyberspace present a very broad threat to our national security and that its defense is critical to Air Force operations. "Threats to cyberspace have evolved over time with each threat emerging as a result of the previous one. Cyber attacks from military nation-states and terrorist organizations grew out of attacks from organized crime which grew out of attacks by computer hackers."

Air Force operations are highly dependent on the use of technology as it relates to its charge to defend the nation’s air, space and cyberspace domains.

"Access to technology is essential, especially as it pertains to cyberspace," says Jabbour. "The defense of this arena is a logical extension of what we already do. That is why we have the responsibility for maintaining our dominance in defending against cyber attacks."

"I thought the ACE would be more like a vacation. That was certainly not the case," Nguyen added. "But what I learned will help me to contribute something to the Air Force’s cyber security mission and to the security of our country."

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