A Call to Create an Open-source Project Initiative for Cybersecurity Virtual Labs

Abstract

Cybersecurity classes present challenging problems to engineering and computer science departments. Having to negotiate with overstretched IT departments to set up specialized labs to support the curriculum and purchasing third-party cyber labs are not an option for many departments due to reduced budgets. Setting up environments is often left to the instructor after finding difficulties with the limited IT support/or lack of support. Instructors having to create labs is a problematic option since it is a very time-consuming overhead added to the regular activities involved in teaching a curriculum. COVID-19 has recently compounded this problem due to universities having to restrict access to labs. Creating virtual labs for cybersecurity classes has been given attention in the last few years, and ASEE has published papers on the topic [1- 4]. Some universities are creating labs, while others are using the NSF-funded SEED Labs Project. [5-7]. The authors are proposing an opensource project initiative that allows universities, students, and others to contribute their lab work to a public repository hosted by an entity like GitHub. The work can be shared globally without costs or dependence on funding. This presentation is divided into two parts. First, the success of developing hands-on virtual labs and their importance for cybersecurity classes is described. Second, the opensource initiative in greater detail is discussed outlining what was developed, and the authors call on universities to pilot our framework and invite interested parties to contribute to an opensource collaborative infrastructure platform currently under construction. The authors believe the success of this project has great potential for community colleges and universities.