HUNTSVILLE — The cybersecurity world is dynamic and cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse with every passing day. Hackers are employing advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures to breach systems and pilfer sensitive information.
There is no bigger threat to the United States than the constant dangers focusing on the American military infrastructure. A critical illustration is the federal center of excellence at Redstone Arsenal.
Redstone and corporate leaders have long understood the extent of these concerns and placed a priority on developing systems, tools and intellectual capabilities to combat these threats.
Amplifying the brainpower capabilities of Redstone Arsenal’s advanced workforce can be improved by embracing and expanding the intellectual talent and academic programs of Alabama’s four public universities in the region – Athens State University, Alabama A&M University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and University of North Alabama.
In addition to the many tenants on Redstone Arsenal, the same holds true for corporate contractors in Cummings Research Park. This collaboration adds tremendous strength for the security, safety and viability of the United States and its 335 million citizens.
Redstone Arsenal is at the geographic center of the Fifth Congressional District of Alabama. The Army installation is a 38,000-acre global center of research, development, test and engineering center.
Redstone is home to numerous Army and Department of Defense programs, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the FBI and ATF, as well as NATO’s Medium Extended Air Defense System program. All of these programs rely heavily on the security of information systems for their survival.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong said Redstone is front and center in the national spotlight when it comes to national defense and homeland security.
“I head to work every day proud of the expertise of the people I represent in North Alabama,” Strong (R-Huntsville) said. “The landscape of national security is changing, and I have full faith that the best people to help our nation prepare and respond are located right here.”
Redstone agencies, program offices and contractors currently employ more than 45,000 people in the North Alabama region who are at the leading edge of meeting challenges from America’s adversaries.
Seventy-five diverse tenant organizations and contractor operations are engaged in this critical responsibility 365 days a year. Support of this effort also includes another 26,000 employees in Cummings Research Park.
The valley’s institutions of higher learning are investing resources to create an advanced workforce that is critical for the advancement and evolution of these agencies and contractors.
One institution has become particularly aggressive in developing the academic infrastructure and talent to support these federal agencies and corporate contractors.
Athens State University is a state-supported institution of higher learning entering its third century of teaching and instruction having been founded in 1822.
The university is Alabama’s oldest educational institution of higher learning and has progressed perhaps more than any other college in Alabama to stay current on the educational and advanced workforce needs of the North Alabama region.
ASU is an upper division university offering junior and senior coursework toward a bachelor’s degree as well as offering students graduate level instruction and the opportunity to earn graduate degrees involving topics that are crucial to the Redstone Arsenal/Cummings Research Park economic zone.
Athens State is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Seventy percent of the faculty possess doctoral degrees in many areas of advanced study. The campus offers credentials that are closely aligned with the advanced workforce needs of Redstone Arsenal and corporate partners in Cummings Research Park.
Strengthening credentials
Athens State’s leadership in cybersecurity education is underscored by its designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
Through its Center for Cybersecurity Education, Athens State is building the workforce needed to secure America’s information infrastructure.
The center’s mission is twofold.
ASU’s Center for Cybersecurity Education will contribute to the development of an exceptional cybersecurity workforce in the region. The goal of the program is to produce an advanced workforce to reduce vulnerability in America’s national information infrastructure by promoting state-of-the-art higher education and research in cyber defense and producing professionals with cyber defense expertise.
The program will address the critical need of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlights the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace and military infrastructure.
Guidance & Oversight
The Center for Cybersecurity Education also serves as an advisory board of industry and government partners and cybersecurity professionals also known as the Board of Visitors, whose goal is to promote and advocate the overall quality and excellence of the program, to advise and assist the university in interpreting the vision, mission, and programs of the university.
The board’s function is to provide guidance and leadership for the center and helped focus academic programs important to Redstone Arsenal. Board members bring a wealth of advanced cutting-edge industry, and government cybersecurity knowledge from local businesses and government agencies to assist the center to promote cybersecurity education.
Tackling complex issues
Athens State’s Management of Cybersecurity Operations degree program provides students with skills that will prepare them to tackle complex cybersecurity issues using holistic methods. Students will learn risk management, security framework integration, incident response, disaster recovery, and information security governance strategies designed to reduce the risks associated with evolving cyber threats.
Students engaged in this field of study typically find positions within Information Assurance Management, Risk Management, Security Audit, and Compliance, or Information Assurance System Architecture and Engineering.
Brainpower collaboration
The increasing sophistication of cybersecurity threats along with the possibility of more frequent attacks on the nation’s military infrastructure demands that America responds by enhancing the brainpower and expanding collaborative efforts at the highest level.
The United States cannot afford to approach cybersecurity as a purely technical challenge. It is a strategic, workforce, and policy imperative — one that demands sustained investment, innovative collaboration, and deliberate coordination across allied sectors.
By harnessing the intellectual power of Alabama’s public universities, deepening partnerships with federal agencies, and investing in a next-generation intellectual infrastructure, the valley can build the advanced workforce necessary to secure Redstone Arsenal — and with it, the nation’s future.
This is not just a local initiative. It is a matter of national security policy. The brainpower of north Alabama’s universities, when fully mobilized in partnership with Redstone Arsenal and its contractors, will determine the nation’s ability to prevail in the global cyber battlefield.
Ray Garner was elected to the Alabama Legislature from North Alabama and was a member of the Education Finance Committee in the Alabama House of Representatives. He is a former business editor of The Huntsville Times.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
