Founding a cybersecurity club in a higher education environment: A case study

Abstract

There are numerous concerns on an enterprise network. Especially one populated by uncontrollable users and devices. The network this paper focuses on is the network of an academic higher education institution. This paper will concentrate on a case study of how to facilitate the formation of an on-campus cybersecurity student-run club. In our case, we had to find a way to segregate unwanted, possibly malicious traffic and activity from the sensitive main campus network. We propose the use of an entirely separate private network for the club's use only. The club must manage the private network to provide ample learning opportunities for the members. Appropriate safeguards should be in place between the private network and the Internet. However, those safeguards should be entirely selected, deployed, and maintained by the club. Approval from and consultations with the university's Information and security divisions is crucial for members' learning.