A Breadth-First Approach to Computer Security

Information assurance provides people with the foundational means to protect their digital assets. As the authors build programs to meet the needs of their ever-growing computer user base, they seem to be fighting an uphill battle. This research effort describes some of the findings from an NSF-funded project to investigate the state-of-the-art in computer security laboratory environments and how they are being used in an effort to develop a plan for improving the capabilities and facilities available in the State of Alaska. The major ancillary finding is that research and educational environments do not exist in isolation.