“Our curriculum is highly dynamic,” says Vahid Behzadan at the University of New Haven. Active academic research, he says, “is one ​of ​the ​ways ​we ​keep ​our ​curriculum ​and ​our ​body ​of ​knowledge ​alive.”

​In addition to his teaching position, Behzadan is also ​the ​director ​of ​a ​research ​lab ​at UNH called ​Secure ​and ​Assured ​Intelligent ​Learning (SAIL).

“My ​research ​team, ​Ph.D. ​students ​and ​graduate ​students ​work ​on ​problems ​at the ​intersection ​of ​AI ​and ​cybersecurity,” he said.

He says while networks and operating systems tend to retain the same types of features over time, what is changing fastest about the field is the level of interconnectivity — including the Internet of Things and our reliance on cloud services — introducing many more vulnerability points.

He urges his students to think both offensively and defensively about cybersecurity.

“The ​defender ​needs ​to ​make ​sure ​that ​every ​possible ​entry ​point, ​every ​possible ​vulnerability ​is ​patched, ​and ​everything ​on ​the ​network ​is ​being ​monitored ​proactively,” he explained. “​On ​the ​offensive ​side, ​the ​adversary ​needs ​to ​find ​one ​open ​door, ​one ​vulnerability ​to ​compromise ​the ​system.”

His department offers a course in ethical hacking, and the university fields an active and successful hacking team that competes against other institutions.

Behzadan and others point to artificial intelligence as the next big frontier in cybersecurity.