Leading Indiana to a more secure future

In 2020, CACR continued to increase its engagement with the Hoosier state and the value it brings to it. CACR’s initiatives helped to prepare county election officials to secure the 2020 vote and educate Hoosier youth. CACR is also a driver for economic growth in south central Indiana and contributes to southeast Indiana’s job growth, both directly and indirectly.

Bringing resources to the Hoosier state  

CACR continues to be a leader in bringing financial resources to south central Indiana. Through CACR’s efforts, this year three awards were received or extended, totaling more than $441,000 of direct new grant funds. Additionally, CACR catalyzed and led IU’s successful efforts to secure the $2.25M CyberCorps student scholarship program award. Over its lifetime, CACR has brought more than $44.7M award dollars to the south central Indiana region. While methods of determining local economic impact vary, an IU Kelley School of Business estimate of the “ripple effect” is $2.10 of positive economic impact for every grant dollar spent, thus making CACR’s lifetime impact on the region more than $93.9M.  

Moreover, the Indiana Business Research Center at the Kelley School estimates that for every new job directly supported, an additional three jobs are created through ripple effects. With CACR’s growth to 22 employees, an estimated 66 new jobs have been created in the Bloomington and south central Indiana area to date.   

Securing the Hoosier vote

In collaboration with the Indiana secretary of state, CACR led an IU team that trained officials from 32 counties in developing and executing cybersecurity incident response plans and playbooks for the 2020 general election. The team disseminated materials and held boot camps around the state for developing incident response plans. They also conducted training on media interaction. The effort included students through the IU Cybersecurity Clinic. 

CACR and NSWC Crane: An ongoing partnership 

In 2020, CACR and NSWC Crane continued their ongoing partnership that was recognized with the re-signing of the cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), a follow-on collaboration between NSWC Crane and CACR. The original agreement was executed in 2016. CACR and NSWC Crane continue to seek opportunities to increase collaboration and improve capabilities in the areas of software assurance and trusted artificial intelligence.

Conducting Security Matters Cybercamps 

In June 2020 and in partnership with the WonderLab Museum of Science, Health, and Technology in Bloomington, CACR held a virtual Security Matters Cybercamp for middle-school students. The two-day camp’s session topics included network security, cryptography, data forensics, website vulnerabilities, and more. CACR also co-hosted a virtual Security Collaboration Matters Cybercamp for college students with Indiana University’s Center of Excellence for Women & Technology.