For better security

Cyber Learning Network will help

While we might not think about cybercrime impacting us here in Arkansas, the threat is real and growing. According to the FBI’s 2021 Internet Crime Report, Americans reported almost 850,000 incidents of cyber-related crime in the U.S. in 2021, including more than 51,000 data breaches. Together, those attacks cost the U.S. over $6.9 billion last year.

Any system that’s connected to the Internet is vulnerable to hacking, including water-treatment plants, electrical grids, school districts, hospitals, manufacturing and even some facets of agriculture. There’s evidence hackers view rural states that lack a robust cybersecurity ecosystem as easy targets. The FBI reports that Arkansas suffered over $15.3 million in losses due to cybercrime in 2021. That’s up from just $4.8 million in 2017.

With new and ever-bolder hacking-related crimes hitting the news every day, the need for workers with the skills to combat these challenges is growing exponentially. According to CyberSeek, a project of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, the U.S. currently has a shortage of around 714,000 cybersecurity workers, including over 4,100 unfilled positions in Arkansas. As an example of what these positions might be worth to Arkansas workers and our economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the current median income for Information Security Analysts, a cybersecurity specialty in high demand, is $102,600 per year.

Arkansas is innovating to help fill these vitally needed cybersecurity positions. This year, thanks to $1.9 million in large-scale workforce development grants funded by the Arkansas Office of Skills Development, UA Little Rock became the operational hub for a new statewide educational effort called the Cyber Learning Network.

Also known as CyberLearn, the Cyber Learning Network is a collaboration between seven University of Arkansas System schools, led by UA Little Rock alongside UA Pine Bluff, UA Pulaski Technical College, UA Cossatot, UA Hope-Texarkana, UACC Batesville, and UACC Morrilton, with support from the Forge Institute and the Arkansas Center for Data Sciences. Beginning in fall 2022, the program aims to expand and diversify workforce education throughout the state through cooperation, flexible learning and high-tech training.

Typically, we might associate workforce development with two-year colleges and careers like welding or auto repair. CyberLearn is a pioneering new model for higher education and workforce training in tech, emphasizing collaboration between institutions, civic leaders and industry partners. It serves as a blueprint for how four-year and two-year colleges can pool their resources to help more students pursue careers in high-demand emerging STEM fields. By sharing the logistical and instructional load, partner institutions will provide learners across Arkansas easier access to affordable tech training, even in rural areas.

CyberLearn’s first major effort will be training students to receive a Certificate of Proficiency in Cybersecurity Fundamentals. Designed to give students from diverse educational backgrounds an enhanced understanding of the field, the curriculum opens the door to cybersecurity knowledge and careers much wider, expanding opportunities to more than just computer science and IT majors. Professionals hoping to beef up on cybersecurity to benefit their current careers, older workers looking for a career change, younger students who might not want a two- or four-year degree and more can all benefit.

In the process, CyberLearn will help Arkansas create the robust cybersecurity ecosystem we need.

To help maximize the impact of every dollar spent, CyberLearn partners share teaching strategies and resources, including utilizing UA Little Rock’s cloud-based Cyber Arena cybersecurity simulator. Students in the program can choose the educational path that works best for them, whether that’s attending remotely through teleconferencing, attending in person, accessing online materials and recorded lectures or any combination of the three.

CyberLearn also innovates by involving industry partners in designing the curriculum and simulation exercises, and in developing future internship opportunities and real-world, project-based learning. Through institutional collaboration and input from business leaders about what they need from workforce training, we greatly increase the opportunity to make positive change for both the state of Arkansas and job seekers.

By reshaping static ideas about the role of higher education in workforce development while partnering with industry to help meet demand for positions in tech, the Cyber Learning Network is re-envisioning how higher-education partners can collaborate to help more students access these careers while dramatically expanding our state’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

In doing so, CyberLearn’s institutional partners will help lead the way to a more prosperous Arkansas that’s better prepared to meet the challenges of cyber crime.

Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock) represents Arkansas Senate District 13, which includes portions of North Little Rock, Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle. She is a current member and former chair of the Senate Education Committee, and has served in the Legislature since 2009. For more information about the Cyber Learning Network, visit cyberlearnarkansas.org.