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The Cyberdome Initiative

The Cyberdome: a collaborative hub for  competency-based  training,  with  the  mission of reducing risk and producing  a cybersecurity workforce, in sync with  Idaho’s  business,  technology  and  government sectors.

Building  a  holistic  environment  for  competency-based  learning  in  cybersecurity  is  the  ground  floor  in  workforce  development  efforts and  leads  to  tool  innovation  and  research  opportunities. By coupling these with a  cybersecurity service base for state organizations, we cut cost and time to implement, provide force-multiplying staff,  and  create  a  scalable  operational  model  upon  which  new  service  methods  and  tools  can  be  built  over  time.  By  leveraging public cloud providers, we achieve scale and elasticity without increasing capital costs. Further, a cloud  provider enables the goal that all Idaho universities and colleges can participate, collectively, to the betterment of the  whole state. This will be achieved by having regional training Security Operation Centers (SOCs) with the Cyberdome  as the coordinating / advanced SOC. This model builds resiliency and also enables more pathways for learners.

Ultimately  the  Cyberdome  meets  all  requested  elements  of  the  published  IGEM-HERC  intent  &  purpose,  “development of expertise, products, and services which result in state economic growth.” Expertise developed through enabling our Idaho students with real-world competency; Products developed through commercialization of new methods (e.g., AI/ML, Training, etc), tools, and  techniques; and 

  • Services delivered to SLTT clients in order to reduce risk.  

The sum of these elements leads to strong workforce development, resulting in strong jobs and economic  development / advancement for the state.