A new grant will allow students at NBCC Saint John to share their cybersecurity expertise with the greater community.
The college received a Community Investment grant from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority worth $83,900.
K-to-12 students and IT representatives from the local business community will be able to learn how to protect critical infrastructure from cybercriminals.
It will also provide a learning opportunity for NBCC learners to test software and hardware and practice in a real-world environment.
“We’ll be bringing in a factory floor component that can simulate power grids, health care systems, even water treatment systems,” said Ben McHarg, an instructor in NBCC’s Information Technology: Cybersecurity program, in a news release. “It will be a fully-simulated business environment with both basic IT and industrial controls system components.”
NBCC is only the third college to receive this funding, which vice-president Ann Drennan says is a testament to the quality of their cybersecurity faculty.
Work on the lab has already begun and it is expected to be ready early next year.
