The University of Texas at San Antonio's

CENTER for
INFRASTRUCTURE
ASSURANCE &
SECURITY

UT San Antonio has been designated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

The Leader in Advancement of State and Community Cybersecurity

Since its establishment in 2001, the CIAS has been on the leading edge of designing, developing, and delivering high-quality, high-impact cybersecurity programs. The CIAS currently provides cybersecurity programs focused on training, workforce development, K-12 education, information sharing, competitions and simulations, exercises, and research.

25+ Years at UT San Antonio

The CIAS has been working to create a culture of cybersecurity and improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture since 2001! Take a look back at our history and activities in the CIAS’ 20th Anniversary Report here.

Ponemon Institute study 2014

In the nation for undergraduate cybersecurity
# 10

Universities.com ranking 2016

In the nation for graduate cybersecurity
# 10

National Security Agency

NSA Designations
1

Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research Cyber Operations

K-12 Education

Gaming

Committed to creating a culture of cybersecurity nationwide, the CIAS focuses on K-12 education that introduces students to cybersecurity principles through educational gaming and storytelling. Our goals are to create good cyber hygiene and awareness of cyber careers.

Played In

Countries
1

high-quality, high-impact

Cybersecurity Training
Courses Seminars Workshops

Our training efforts focus on improving overall cybersecurity awareness, technical capabilities, professional development and continuity plans. We’ve been helping professionals, organizations and communities prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber incidents for more than 20 years.

Reached

Small Businesses
1

high-quality, high-impact

Competitions

For more than 20 years, the CIAS has hosted competitions such as the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Panoply and HiveStorm, and (co-founded) CyberPatriot. The CIAS has been developing and conducting competition programs to educate, train and prepare individuals for the cybersecurity workforce since 2005.

2024

Competitors Worldwide
1 ,000

World Leader

Leading the ISAO Standards Organization since 2015 and helping SLTTs establish comprehensive cybersecurity programs, the CIAS actively engages the information sharing community to promote secure, rapid and widespread information sharing that helps detect and block cyber-attacks.

Information Sharing

CIAS-ISAO

Members
1

National Cybersecurity
Preparedness Consortium

Filling the cybersecurity gap since 2004

A Collaboration of Five Universities

Testimonials

This Is What They Say

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Press Coverage

We're in the News

School district pays hefty ransom to resolve cyberattack

(August 4, 2021) — Judson Independent School District paid a more than $500,000 ransom to hackers who threatened to publish “sensitive, identifiable information” on the dark web and crippled the district’s information technology systems for a month, the district announced Wednesday. . . . Ransomware attacks are “one of, if not the most common, attacks impacting organizations” today, said Greg White, UTSA computer science professor and CIAS director.

Georgia Recorder: Cyber attack headaches linger at state patrol, other Ga. agencies

(September 9, 2019) — Cyber attacks that hit some state agencies in Georgia earlier this summer continue to ripple through the system, particularly for law enforcement and the courts. Meanwhile, security officials work to boost software safeguards and train thousands of employees to avoid triggering future attacks. … All Georgia government agencies should instruct employees not to open suspicious emails or documents, said Greg White, the director of the CIAS.

KLRN SciTech Now: Preventing Cybersecurity Hack Attacks

(October 3, 2019) — Cybersecurity is critical for individuals, companies and the military. See how high-tech and low-tech are holding hands to prevent security hack attacks. The University of Texas at San Antonio invented a new card game, which pairs with a digital game to teach people of all ages how to protect their assets.

TechTonics: Meet the Professor Tapped to Unite Us in the Fight Against Hackers

(August 29, 2019) — Greg White wants you to share information. Not necessarily with him, but with your business competitors and industry peers. The University of Texas at San Antonio computer science professor is leading the charge to create a nationwide network of information-sharing outfits – from mariachi groups to investment firms – in a strength-in-numbers approach to combating cyberattacks.

A sample view of the CIAS website's redesign to highlight its responsive design
News

The CIAS launches new website to support UTSA’s cybersecurity capabilities

The Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is proud to announce the release of its renewed website. The new website features a responsive design that aligns with the university’s main website. It also supports the CIAS mission to deliver quality research, training cyber competitions, K-12 cybersecurity programs to advance community and organizational cybersecurity capabilities and collaboration.

Graphic about free resources for children found at Culture of Cybersecurity dot com
News

Free Cyber Security Resources for Children During COVID-19

BLOG — To complement – and supplement – the eLearning assignments children are using to pass the time at home, parents can access additional cybersecurity and technology focused activity sheets. The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security offers a variety of resources for free to families to help create a culture of cybersecurity for all ages.

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