Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Cybersecurity Workshops Bring Professors from Around the World to Syracuse

Tuesday, June 20, 2017, By Alex Dunbar
Share
College of Engineering and Computer ScienceCybersecurity

Using secure computers inside the College of Engineering and Computer Science, professors from around the world can mimic cyberattacks on networks and see where software is vulnerable.

Professor Kevin Du and his students developed the Labs For Security Education (SEED) that include cybersecurity exercises, research and software that is provided at no cost to other schools.

“From my background, I learn much better when I do something. So then I decided, I should get the students to work some exercises. But at the time, there was not much going on, on the internet. So I decided I would just develop my own for my own class at Syracuse University,” says Du.

Du developed labs where students could simulate cyberattacks and then identify security flaws and software errors.

“It turns out students liked that very much and they are very passionate about this. So then I decided maybe other people will like that,” says Du.

“This lab itself sometimes takes some learning. So I also got a grant from the National Science Foundation to train other professors—especially professors who are new into this area—to teach them how to use that. So they come to Syracuse for four days and the training and they take what they learn back to their class,” says Du. “So far 600 universities worldwide and in more than 30 countries are using my labs”

High-profile cyberattacks have shown hackers can exploit even small mistakes.

“In the past, just one computer is maybe open to the outside. Now 10 devices are in your home—10 doors open you don’t even know,” says Du.

Using secure computers inside the College of Engineering and Computer Science, professors can mimic attacks on networks and programs. Professor Megan Thomas from California State University Stanislaus was grateful for the opportunity to participate in exercises that can only be done in a controlled environment.

“It would be tough to do with limited resources and it would be almost impossible to do safely,” says Thomas. “It is very kind of folks at research universities like Syracuse that they share what they have developed with the grad students and all that kind of thing, and public universities that don’t have the resources.”

Daniel Ragsdale from Texas A&M University uses Du’s labs in his classes. He believes the program offers practical experience that could help secure countless devices and networks we rely on every day.

“We continue to see, if you want students to understand what this is all about, they have go to do hands on. They have to work directly with the software, see the vulnerabilities, understand how those vulnerabilities could be exploited and you can only do that in an environment such as this. What Kevin and his students have done is really an incredible resource for people that are teaching in this space,” says Ragsdale.

“We are trying to educate our students so when they write a program, they know an attacker is going to attack in such a way so they don’t make the same mistake,” says Du. “As a result, their system is going to be more robust, more secure.”

For more information on using online versions of the SEED labs, click here.

For his work on the Seed labs, Du received the 2017 Academic Leadership award from The 21st Colloquium for Information System Security Education, a leading computer science conference that brings government, academia and industry together.

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Alex Dunbar

  • Kevin Du

  • Recent
  • DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
    Friday, June 6, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In STEM

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and…

What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?

Climate change is reshaping the global water cycle, disrupting rainfall patterns and putting growing pressure on cities and ecosystems. Some regions are grappling with heavier rainfall and flooding, while others face prolonged droughts that threaten public health, disrupt economies and…

University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy

This month at the All Island Bioeconomy Summit held in Co. Meath, Ireland, it was announced that BiOrbic, Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy, comprising 12 leading Irish research universities in Ireland, signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dynamic Sustainability…

Professor Bing Dong Named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science has named Bing Dong as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This endowed professorship is made possible by a 1998 gift from the late Fritz Traugott H’98 and his wife, Frances….

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.