Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Pathway for Aviation Industries

Airports and aviation-related industries are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks, posing risks to the safety and security of the nation. To protect this critical piece of the national infrastructure, a well-trained workforce is essential. However, an estimated 3.5 million cybersecurity positions are unfilled in the United States.

To help bridge the workforce gap and secure this critical piece of the national infrastructure, this project will develop, pilot, and validate a technician-level cybersecurity certification, tailored to airports and aviation-related industries. The resulting certificate will provide job seekers and current aviation technicians with the ability to advance their cybersecurity skills and will help to address the need for a well-trained aviation focused cybersecurity workforce.

This workforce is essential to ensure that the nation’s airports and other critical aviation-related assets are protected from cyberattacks.

The certificate program will build upon existing cybersecurity coursework with aviation-specific content. The project team will develop aviation-specific cybersecurity modules and courses, establish a community of practice, provide experiential learning, and foster a diverse participant base. Together these components will foster a broad and diverse workforce capable of safeguarding aviation assets.

Partnerships with Aerozone Alliance, Ohio Aerospace Institute, and regional airports, will help to ensure that program content addresses industry needs and produces students capable of filling the need for aviation focused cybersecurity professionals. Project evaluation will include formative and summative inquiries that will provide feedback to inform continuous improvement.

This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation's economy.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.