Charles Fleming’s research interests include security and privacy, computer vision and machine learning, and the intersection of the two fields. Submitted photo
OXFORD, Miss. – As hackers continue infiltrating global databases, stealing personal identities and illegally accessing financial assets, computer security professionals are in high demand in both industry and academia.
In response, the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Mississippi is offering a new security emphasis.
The department has hired assistant professors Charles Walter and Charles Fleming, who both work in computer security, to develop the program and help the department become a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. The CAE-CD designation, a special accreditation program run by the National Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, will give the department access to special funding, including the Cybercorp Scholarship for Service.
“The Cybercorp program provides very generous scholarships, which include full tuition, room and board, and stipends for students studying computer security,” Fleming said. “We developed the security emphasis in fall 2019, with the help of Jeff Lucas, the department IT coordinator, who has numerous professional certifications in computer and network security.”
Though the security emphasis program does not start until fall 2020, Fleming said the faculty expects it to be quite popular, based on feedback from students.
The program has three core courses:
- Fundamentals of Security: The foundational course introduces students to cryptography and basic security principles.
- Computer Security: The second course focuses on mechanisms for protecting individual machines, such as memory protection, access control, malware detections and so forth.
- Network Security: The third and last course covers protecting machines from attacks over the network, intrusion detection, botnets and other aspects related to computer networks.
Besides the core, students will be able to choose optional security-related courses, such as systems programming, secure programming, mobile and wearable security, self-adaptive systems or block chain. Security topics have also been added to existing courses, including Introduction to Database Systems, Operating Systems and Computer Networks.
Charles Walter has explored a variety of research areas, including wearable devices, human-computer interaction, computer science education, software engineering, human trust in machines and self-adaptive systems. Submitted photo
“In addition to Charlie and I, Jeff Lucas will teach the course on network security,” Fleming said. “Jeff has been teaching the one computer security class the department previously taught and has deep professional expertise in computer security.”
Fleming was an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Southern Mississippi. His research interests include security and privacy, computer vision and machine learning, and the intersection of the two fields.
Walter earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Tulsa. Before coming to Ole Miss, he was a postdoctoral researcher at his alma mater. His research interests include wearable devices, human-computer interaction, computer science education, software engineering, human trust in machines and self-adaptive systems.
Walter has taught three special topic courses: The Internet of Things, Mobile and Wearable Security, and Self-adaptive Systems.
The department is fortunate to have Walter and Fleming heading the new emphasis, said Dawn Wilkins, chair and professor of computer and information science.
“It is a hot area, and recruiting faculty with their background is challenging,” she said.
For more information about the computer security emphasis program, visit https://www.cs.olemiss.edu/.