InfoSec: Ready to lead

JMU's nationally recognized information security program is primed to help lead the country's efforts in addressing threats to the information infrastructure, Charles Reynolds told Virginia's delegation on Capitol Hill in May.

"We have a proven track record and are ready to participate in President Clinton's National Plan and Senator Warner's proposed congressional initiatives," said Reynolds, who is director of JMU's Center for Research in Information System Security Education.

Sen. John Warner, who co-hosted the Capitol Hill luncheon, is chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and introduced a bill that would provide funding for scholarships and strategic research to be conducted by universities and national labs.

"JMU is ready to tackle the strategic issues that cannot be addressed in the short term by business and industry," says Reynolds. For instance, "How do we engineer secure systems to increase resistance to penetration? How do we detect intrusions? What is the best model of secure e-commerce communication?"

Also attending the luncheon were Sen. Charles Robb, Rep. Tom Bliley and luncheon co-host Rep. Bob Goodlatte, as well as former Secretary of the Army Jack Marsh.

National Security Council officials Jeffrey Hunker and Mark Montgomery spoke in support of JMU's leadership in information security education, as did the National Security Agency's Brian Snow and the Center for Innovative Technology's Ann Armstrong. JMU's online INFOSEC graduate program is regarded as the leader in information security education and was designated one of seven original Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency.

JMU President Linwood H. Rose represented higher education at the White House in January, when Bill Clinton announced his National Plan for Information Systems Protection, a series of initiatives designed to encourage undergraduate study in the field, increase the number of information security professionals, and strengthen U.S. defenses against growing threats to the information technology infrastructure.