UAH on national list to help keep computers secure

Information assurance center designation good through 2012

The University of Alabama in Huntsville has been named a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

The designation was awarded to UAH through 2012 by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

UAH has been working to strengthen its information assurance programs for two years, and this designation shows that the university can provide the necessary tools and skills to bring greater confidentiality and integrity to computers and their networks, according to Dr. Reza Adhami, chairman of UAH's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

"Being designated a national center for information assurance by the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security gives us confidence that we are reaching some of the goals we have established for this program," Adhami said. "We believe our efforts are reducing the vulnerability of America's information infrastructure, and that is becoming a more important component for the security and the defense of our homeland."

The goal of the program is to reduce the risks in computer networks by promoting higher education in information assurance and producing a growing number of professionals with expertise in various disciplines.

UAH is one of 86 schools in the country to earn the designation, with most being in close proximity to major Department of Defense installations, federal research centers and other federal agencies. In this role, UAH will serve as a regional center of information assurance expertise and provide programs aimed at retooling and retaining federal and state information technology personnel.

Huntsville-based Dynetics Inc. helped established the Information Assurance laboratory and has several employees who are graduate-level instructors.

"The cooperation between all at UAH and Dynetics to make this a reality demonstrates our collective commitment to Information Assurance and the goal of serving our community," said Dr. Jatinder "Jeet" Gupta, Eminent Scholar of Management in the MIS department of UAH's College of Administrative Science.