About Us
The Center for Information Security and Assurance (CISA) was established in 2008 through the Mathematical, Computing, and Information Sciences (MCIS) department at Jacksonville State University. The objective of CISA is to provide an avenue for research and education in computer and network security, digital forensics, cryptography, risk assessment and mitigation, disaster recovery and management, security regulations and compliance, and information security management.
Vision Statement
The vision of the Center of Information Security and Assurance (CISA) is to provide leadership for information security and assurance (ISA) education, research, and practice, to promote collaborative ISA activities within and outside the JSU boundaries, to prepare the next generation of professionals in embarking on a life-long commitment to ISA based on ethical and professional conduct, and to pursue excellence in ISA technology and practice.
Mission Statement
The Mathematical, Computing, and Information Sciences (MCIS) Department’s Center of Information Security and Assurance (CISA) provides an avenue for research and education in computer and network security, digital forensics, cryptography, risk assessment and mitigation, disaster recovery and management, security regulations and compliance, and information security management.
CISA facilitates the partnerships and collaborations across disciplines at Jacksonville State University and community colleges in Northeast Alabama in the areas of critical and national need. CISA represents an exciting and clear vision toward contributing to the national information assurance infrastructure and manpower development.
Resources
The CISA resources include two laboratories and conference rooms equipped with networked desktop computers that are configured with multiple operating systems, including Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2003 Server, Windows Vista Ultimate/Business, Windows XP SP2, Fedora Linux, Solaris 10, Ubuntu Linux, BSD Linux, Mac OSX, and Debian Linux. Several of these computers are also configured for Virtualization technology which includes VMWare, Xen, and MS Virtual Server. In addition, these laboratories are equipped with wireless devices such as laptop computers, PDAs, Wimax, and GPS receivers. Data gathering and analysis for digital forensics are facilitated by state-of-the art hardware and software tools such as disk jockey forensic kit, Paraben’s SIM card seizure kit, and disk imaging kits.
The laboratory equipment and tools are optimized for educational hands-on experimentations, empirical testing, and research. Education and research activities currently supported are:
- Disk and flash-drive forensics
- Network security
- Intrusion detection and prevention
- Wireless security
- Cryptography
- Cell Phone forensics
- Steganography
- Security Visualization
- Security log analysis
- Compliance tools
- Virtualization security