EWU Cybersecurity Celebrates its 20th Birthday!

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Cybersecurity threats weren't new in the early 2000s - viruses, malware and security holes have kept programmers busy since the dawn of the internet.

But the turn of the century did mark the moment that both computer scientists and corporate behemoths finally acknowledged that cyber criminals, a group previously dominated by pranksters and hobbyists, were getting professional.

Early on, faculty members at Eastern recognized that a better trained technology workforce was necessary to combat the rising threat. The EWU Board of Trustees and the Washington Legislature endorsed plans to launch a Center for Network Computing and Cyber Security. Later in 2005, EWU offered its first cybersecurity course: a graduate-level, experimental pilot offering called "Network Security, CS 539."

In the 20 years since, Eastern has emerged as one of the nation's cybersecurity education leaders, with hundreds of graduates working around the country to protect networks, devices and data from malicious players.

This success is the result of applied learning in classrooms, of collaborative club interactions and of participation in cybersecurity competitions. Each element has helped to prepare EWU students - both graduate and undergraduate -for the variety of real-world challenges that they will encounter as professionals.

Going forward, EWU is also working to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals with its summer program, GenCyber Student Camp. In its two weeklong summer sessions, the camp inspires 7th and 8th graders to use their burgeoning computer skills to embrace protecting online information.

In celebration of 20 years of cybersecurity milestones, EWU's Steve Simmons, professor emeritus of computer science, shared the following timeline of program highlights:

2005: The new Eastern Washington University campus building for Computing and Engineering opens, with the first Cyber Security class introduced that spring; EWU receives approval from trustees for the Center for Network Computing and Cyber Security as well as special Washington Legislative support for EWU's new cybersecurity faculty and graduate programs.

2006: The first state-authorized faculty position for cyber security is allocated to the EWU Computer Science (CS) program.

2007: The Intrinium information technology company is founded in Spokane, by EWU CS and EWU cyber alum Nolan Garrett.

2012: The EWU team wins 'Silver' at Pacific Rim Cyber Competition, earning the first Spokane media coverage of EWU cyber.

2013: Intrinium merges with Interlink Advantage, and is joined by EWU CS alum, Kirt Runolfson.

2016: EWU CS and the CS Professional Advisory Board create a new CS strategic plan, with three focus areas: data science, software engineering, and cybersecurity.

2020: EWU CS and EWU Electrical Engineering (EE) merge as CSEE and move to Catalyst Building

2021: EWU designated as National Cyber Defense Center of Excellence; Intrinium rebrands only its cybersecurity services as 'TorchLight' - a separate entity focused on larger U.S. companies.

2022: The Washington Legislature allocates $2.81 million for EWU to create a master's degree and two bachelor's degree programs centered on cybersecurity.

2023: The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) approves accreditation for the new EWU cybersecurity programs; EWU Cyber Defenders team wins National Championship at Florida finals. The team included Daniel Peterson, Eric Leachman, Alexa Darrington, Adrian Fudge, Robert Rutherford, Dennis Vinnikov, Isaiah Bessire, Thomas Longwell, Rhata Bhatia and Lewis Thomas.

2024: EWU receives a $1 million Google grant for Cyber Security Clinic; EWU cybersecurity program receives a $1.045 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration; The EWU Center for Network Computing and Cyber Security is re-designated as the EWU Cybersecurity Institute.

2025: EWU Cyber Defenders win Silver at the National Cyber Games Invitational; at graduation 2025, EWU conferred degrees upon 10 students from two new degree programs: the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Cyber Operations and Master of Science in Cyber Defense.

What challenges might the next 20 years bring? Stu Steiner, associate professor of computer science and director of EWU's Cybersecurity Institute, says future cybersecurity challenges and opportunities will likely involve AI.

As a result, he adds, AI is already being integrated into coursework for both undergraduate and graduate-level students. Advanced courses, he says, will include a heavy focus on agentic AI, or the development of AI systems that can independently make decisions and solve complex problems with little to no human engagement.

Unlike prompt-driven AI systems, agentic AI, as suggested by its name, is unique in its agency and autonomy. Its ability to adapt to diverse environments, oftentimes collaborating with other tools and digital infrastructures, is proving pivotal to the advancement of current cybersecurity programs.

EWU is also striving toward offering a Doctor of Science degree, Steiner said, which will be heavily centered on AI for cybersecurity.

"Everything is moving so quickly that for cybersecurity to keep up, it has to learn how to adapt," he said, while candidly admitting that he wasn't quite sure "what that looks like" going forward.

"For a program, it's creating experimental courses that are on 'the bleeding/leading edge,'" Steiner said.

"Courses that may only be taught once before becoming obsolete. Our main goal is to be as close to current as possible, with the ability to adapt as fast as we can."

**Story written by Rachel Weinberg.