The University of Texas at San Antonio's
UT San Antonio has been designated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.
The Leader in Advancement of State and Community Cybersecurity
Established in 2001 as part of UT San Antonio’s creation of a cybersecurity program, the CIAS is a research center on a mission to secure the nation’s infrastructure and foster a Culture of Cybersecurity. This grassroots-level research effort continues to produce practical campaigns, such as cybersecurity training and preparedness, cybersecurity competitions and K12 education programs.
25+ Years at UT San Antonio
Ponemon Institute study 2014
Universities.com ranking 2016
National Security Agency
Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research Cyber Operations
K-12 Education
Gaming
Committed to creating a culture of cybersecurity nationwide, the CIAS focuses on K-12 education that introduces students to cybersecurity principles through educational gaming and storytelling. Our goals are to create good cyber hygiene and awareness of cyber careers.
Played In
high-quality, high-impact
Cybersecurity Training
Courses
Seminars
Workshops
Our training efforts focus on improving overall cybersecurity awareness, technical capabilities, professional development and continuity plans. We’ve been helping professionals, organizations and communities prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber incidents for more than 20 years.
Reached
high-quality, high-impact
Competitions
The CIAS hosts the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Panoply and HiveStorm, and co-founded CyberPatriot. The CIAS has been developing and conducting competition programs to educate, train and prepare individuals for the cybersecurity workforce since 2005.
2024
World Leader
Leading the ISAO Standards Organization since 2015 and helping SLTTs establish comprehensive cybersecurity programs, the CIAS actively engages the information sharing community to promote secure, rapid and widespread information sharing that helps detect and block cyber-attacks.
Information Sharing
CIAS-ISAO
National Cybersecurity
Preparedness Consortium
Filling the cybersecurity gap since 2004
A Collaboration of Five Universities
Testimonials
This Is What They Say
Press Coverage
We're in the News
The Gula Tech Foundation Announces Winners of $1,000,000 Data Care Grant
On May 20, 2021, in conjunction with RSAC 2021, the Gula Tech Foundation announced the winners of their $1,000,000 March 2021 Data Care themed competitive grant program. This competitive grant focused on non-profits committed to to increasing public cybersecurity awareness. The CIAS was awarded the first place prize of $250,000 for their K-12 Cybersecurity Program.
U.S. Department of Education invites Alan CyBear to teach kids about cybersecurity
Alan CyBear, the “Smokey Bear” of cybersecurity, made an appearance in Washington, D.C. last week with the CIAS at the 9th Annual ED Games Expo,
Avoiding credit card fraud during the pandemic
(July 28, 2020) — Social distancing means more time at home and often more online shopping. Protect yourself from credit card fraud while you protect your health from the coronavirus.
UTSA receives $1.2 million CISA grant to develop Pilot Program for SLTT Governments
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has awarded the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) a $1.2 million grant to conduct a pilot program to help state, local, tribal and territorial governments identify high value assets (HVA) in order to prioritize resources and planning. The pilot will aid these governments in establishing an HVA program that aligns with the federal government’s while maintaining the flexibility needed to incorporate their individual needs.
Six (Easy) Cyber Security Tips for Travelers
BLOG – Before your family begins to plan out your travel games and scenic views in favor of their favorite electronic pastime, make sure you, your friends and family are prepped and ready to travel. And no, this doesn’t simply mean making sure the car’s oil has been changed or everyone’s passports are current.
Take a few minutes to read our top six cyber security tips for travelers. It’s easier than you think to be a cyber secure traveler today.
University of California, Irvine wins Alamo Cup at 20th National Collegiate Cyber Defense Championship
University of California, Irvine triumphed at the 2025 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Championship (NCCDC), prevailing over nine other finalist teams to earn the coveted Alamo
New Game Aims to Teach Cybersecurity to Elementary Kids
(July 8, 2020) — Actively working to improve the Nation’s culture of cybersecurity, the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at the University of Texas at San Antonio has developed Cyber Threat Protector, a new tabletop card game that is designed to introduce cybersecurity principles and safety to players – beginning in the third grade.
Georgia Recorder: Cyber attack headaches linger at state patrol, other Ga. agencies
(September 9, 2019) — Cyber attacks that hit some state agencies in Georgia earlier this summer continue to ripple through the system, particularly for law enforcement and the courts. Meanwhile, security officials work to boost software safeguards and train thousands of employees to avoid triggering future attacks. … All Georgia government agencies should instruct employees not to open suspicious emails or documents, said Greg White, the director of the CIAS.
Learn How to Create an Effective Password
BLOG – To create effective passwords, let’s begin by making sure we’re all on the same page about what is a password.
Passwords are a form of identification that people use to prove their identity when logging in to a system. Create an effective password that is memorable, but complex. Generally, longer passwords are stronger passwords. If you forget a password or it is easily accessible by others, then that password is no longer useful or effective.