Georgia State Professor Studies New Approach to Cyber Defense

Georgia State University’s Raheem Beyah is exploring innovative ways to keep computer networks secure from potential attackers.

The assistant professor of computer science has received a five-year, $400,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program grant from the National Science Foundation to explore methods to better detect cyber activity that could do great harm to individuals, organizations, businesses and government.

There are two ways to approach intrusion detection — either on the computers themselves, such as antivirus and firewall software, or having a detection program on a network that observes intrusions.

Both have their benefits, but there are detractions for each method.

“The software itself on a computer can damage the device, or it can open up new avenues for attackers to access the system,” Beyah explained. “If you have intrusion detection on a network, this is mitigated, but it does not give you the same level of detail about intrusions compared with methods residing on the host.”

Attempting to find the intrusion could be as harmful as the intrusion itself, a situation Beyah compares to a biopsy in cancer patients.

“It would be really nice if they could use a non-intrusive tool to tell whether you have cancer without having to cut into the body,” he said.

“My goal is to do something to bridge between the two detection methods, and to give us the strengths of both while minimizing the weaknesses.”

In addition to security research, Beyah plans to reach out to underrepresented groups in science, mathematics, technology, and engineering subjects — including minorities and females — through a summer academy which will help teach students about computer architecture and networking.

The Acknowledge Academy at the Knowledge Is Power Program West Atlanta Young Scholars (KIPP WAYS) Academy, a preparatory charter school of the Atlanta Public Schools will give students hands-on experience in these abstract subjects by using popular electronics.

“We hope to use devices like the iPod Touch to let the students break them open to look at the processors and memory,” said Beyah, who is on the board of directors of KIPP WAYS.
“Hopefully, they'll learn that there's science behind all of this cool stuff they use.”

Previous Georgia State Computer Science CAREER recipients include assistant professors Yingshu Li and Xiaojun Cao. Li is researching routing problems in sensor networks, while Cao is investigating optical networking.

For more about computer science and research at Georgia State, visit www.cs.gsu.edu.

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National Society of Hispanic MBAs National Conference Making History in Atlanta

PRNewswire/ -- The National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) will hold its Annual Conference and Career Expo October 9 - 11, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Local officials are hailing this event as the largest Hispanic conference in Atlanta History. Over 8,000 MBA students, professionals and executives will converge in Atlanta to engage with top Hispanic leaders in America. The Career Expo boasts more than 300 corporations and academic institutions, 500 interview booths and more than 4,000 interviews on-site. The conference theme, "Make Your Connection" exemplifies the essence of the conference -- it is the most influential place where national and global business leaders, executives, academics, MBA professionals and students connect.

This year, NSHMBA is pleased to have Deloitte as corporate lead sponsor and Emory University, Goizueta Business School as the academic lead sponsor. "We are pleased that our lead sponsors not only embrace diversity, but are actively involved in the pursuit of diverse, global leaders and are committed to providing opportunities to ensure the pipeline continues to flourish," states NSHMBA CEO, Lourdes Hassler.

NSHMBA's three-day conference features a Professional Development Day, an exclusive Executive Forum, and the nation's largest career expo for Hispanic MBAs. The Professional Development Day includes break-through sessions presented by leading corporate executives and business experts. The Executive Forum was created to provide a venue for high-level Hispanic executives to convene and address the challenges and demands Hispanic executives face in corporate America.

During the conference, NSHMBA will recognize Hispanic scholars from across the country that were recently awarded over $1 million in NSHMBA scholarships and financial aid. The organization will also present the prestigious Brillante Awards for Excellence during the final evening gala on Saturday night. For an overview of the conference schedule and activities, please go to www.nshmba.org.

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Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Seeks Applicants for Its 2009 Class

PRNewswire/ -- The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, a non-profit organization created to support the higher education of deserving high school seniors in the United States, announces it is accepting scholarship applications now through October 31, 2008.

Each year, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation awards a total of $3 million in achievement-based four-year scholarships to 250 outstanding high school seniors from communities across the nation. The Foundation annually awards 200 Regional scholarships of $10,000 each and 50 National scholarships of $20,000 each. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation evaluates applicants on the basis of demonstrated leadership in academics, school, community and civic activities, as well as personal character and the motivation to serve and succeed.

Applications are available at http://www.coca-colascholars.org/ and must be completed online and submitted by October 31, 2008 of the student's senior year. Criteria for the application and frequently asked questions are also available on the website or by calling (800) 306-2653 for more information.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Program, which will mark its 21st year of awarding scholarships with the Scholars Class of 2009, is one of the most-recognized and respected corporate sponsored scholarships in America. The program was created in 1986 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola and to establish a legacy for the education of tomorrow's leaders through college scholarships. Including the 2008 Class of Coca-Cola Scholars, there are now more than 4,000 Coca-Cola Scholars who have benefited from $35 million in scholarship awards.

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