In the heart of Big Sky Country, a new chapter in cybersecurity education is unfolding at the University of Montana

Inside the scenic halls of University Center, a small team is emerging, ready to tackle the digital frontiers in partnership with Public Infrastructure Security Cyber Education System (PISCES)- the pioneering organization at the forefront of data security training.

Ford Powers, a representative from PISCES and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has been collaborating with a team inside the University of Montana (UMT) Security Operations Center (SOC) to officially launch the PISCES program at the university. PISCES offers no-cost cybersecurity monitoring to small local governments. Simultaneously, their innovative approach utilizes metadata and alerts collected from those networks as "live fire" curriculum, engaging with over 20 colleges and universities across the country to train the next generation of cybersecurity network analysts – the 10th-fastest growing job in the country.

The UMT team is composed of Jace, the SOC manager, and his diligent student interns, Phoebe and Ryan.

Beginning with the basics, the students and staff began navigating the PISCES stack, ticket-management in MantisBT, and data mining in Kibana. Armed with newfound knowledge, they delved deeper into the intricate dance of security analysis, deciphering the cryptic messages hidden within the PISCES communities.

In the midst of the hundreds of thousands of alerts, Phoebe's keen eye caught something interesting and she raised a question— why does this particular alert contain a JA3 Hash bearing the ominous moniker Trojan.AndroidOS.Jocker? The team began to unravel the digital threads, uncovering a theoretical clandestine presence lurking within the particular community’s network. It was a moment of revelation, as Phoebe and Ryan realized they had very well stumbled upon their maiden discovery— a potential threat of the highest order.

Together, they meticulously pieced together the puzzle, researching quickly but thouroughly, ultimately working with the staff to contact the community and alert them to the potential threat that loomed within their midst. Days later, a response echoed back, confirming their suspicions— a rogue Android tablet had been identified within the community’s Water Treatment Plant network, a silent sentinel harboring unseen dangers.

With the stage set, a PISCES' oversight analyst, stepped into the fray, guiding the community through the labyrinth of verifying and remediating this threat. Through a delicate dance of investigation and collaboration, the true nature of the risk was finally identified— a quirk in the tablet's installed apps was now secure and the observed alert was removed from this communities’ critical infrastructure.

This is just a small example of the critical work happening at schools around the nation participating in the PISCES program. Partnering together with communities and students, forging ahead into the digital unknown, where each discovery brings them one step closer to securing the future of Montana and the nations' cyber landscape.

PISCES: infrastructure protection, work force development, research.

Find out more about PISCES at pisces-intl.org.