Cyber Grant a Win For Students and Businesses

A $1.045 million dollar grant from the federal Small Business Administration will take Eastern’s cybersecurity program to new heights by providing students with more opportunities for real-world learning experiences.

The grant, part of SBA’s Cybersecurity Pilot Program, will help EWU conduct cybersecurity audits for small businesses owned by underrepresented groups, says Stu Steiner, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering. 

“Eastern was one of three schools in the nation to be selected for this grant,” Steiner says. “Two of those grants were awarded to top 10 schools in the nation and then Eastern got the third. We’ll work with businesses that are veteran owned, female owned, BIPOC, and more. These are called opportunity zones. We’re going to try to hit every community in the state of Washington that has opportunity zones.”

Over the course of two years, cybersecurity students will perform audits for these businesses by assessing their “cybersecurity hygiene,” or best practices in keeping data safe from hackers. 

“This grant really does two things for our students,” says Steiner. “Number one, it gives them real world cyber experiences. They’re going to these businesses and interacting with and understanding their network infrastructure.”

As part of their audits, Eastern students will interview businesses’ employees to better understand their password policies and other cybersecurity measures. They will then write and present reports detailing their findings, and what improvements might bolster the firm’s existing cyber defenses. This, Steiner says, will help students develop soft skills in addition to technical skills. 

“It’s the polytechnic ramped up to the next level,” he says.  

The application process for the grant, Steiner says, was similar to the work that yielded EWU its Google grant, which Eastern’s cybersecurity program was selected for earlier this year. That million dollar grant—to be disbursed over the course of six years—will allow Eastern to provide cybersecurity assessments for under-resourced schools, municipalities, and health care systems. 

“We had to apply, write what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, and how we’re going to train our students and partner with other schools,” says Steiner. 

The cybersecurity program also had to obtain a letter from Gov. Jay Inslee stating that Eastern is the only school in the state that can lead this initiative over the next two years. 

These large grants will directly benefit communities across the state. When applying for the SBA grant, Steiner says, “we had to come up with as many small businesses that we could partner with.” 

EWU’s cybersecurity department will also partner with the SBA in Washington, whose thirty offices across the state will help them find additional opportunity zones. 

“This grant puts Eastern’s cybersecurity program on the map,” says Steiner. “Our program is a small program, but we are nationally known, playing with the top 10 schools.”