Big data applications are widely utilized today in a variety of scientific and social studies. The International Data Corporation (IDC) reports that more than 50% of all big data business revenues originate in the United States. Big data requires "bigger responsibility" in terms of protecting the storage, sharing, and access of the privacy-sensitive data. In today's higher education, there are limited big data security (BigSec) educational activities that target comprehensive and profound understanding of BigSec attack models, as well as defense solutions, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Some available BigSec training materials are mostly online, used for short-term training, and only cover general concepts from a business management viewpoint. The nation is currently experiencing a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, including the experts in big data security. The goal of this project from the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa is to utilize new pedagogy, called Captivology-Stimuli-based Learning (CAPITAL), for active education and training on big data security and privacy.
This project will make two significant contributions to enhance BigSec education. The first is the development of a new series of BigSec course materials, including an undergraduate course, CECS 400/500 Big Data Security, which targets fundamental knowledge of big data security issues, as well as a graduate course, CECS 600 Advanced Topics on Big Data Security and Privacy, which aims to enhance the cybersecurity research skills of graduate students. The second is the implementation of CAPITAL pedagogy in BigSec education. This includes implementation of the flipped classroom model, Virtual Reality based security games, Capstone design showcase, student cybersecurity design competitions, and patent-targeted thesis projects. This project will conduct the pioneering "active" education to train a BigSec-literate workforce. All the BigSec created education materials will be disseminated to other schools.
