WVU photo Chris Ramezan, assistant professor of cybersecurity at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, teaches students in the Evans Cybersecurity Lab.

MORGANTOWN — This battlefield is not a jungle or desert. Rather, it’s a sophisticated office space — tucked inside Reynolds Hall, home of the Chambers College of Business and Economics — equipped with workstations, servers, computers and secure networks.

At war are West Virginia University students, engaged in Red Team vs. Blue Team.

In the cybersecurity world, red teams play offense and attempt to attack and break into systems in a live simulation. Blue teams play defense, guarding the network against the opposition’s attacks and threats.

It’s the sort of experiential learning that’s prepping the next generation of cybersecurity gurus. And the workforce desperately needs them. Globally, four million cybersecurity roles were left unfilled in 2023, according to a study by ISC2, the world’s largest association for cybersecurity professionals.

Across WVU, colleges are staying ahead of the curve in a field that’s changing by the second with the latest phishing emails or data breaches.

Chris Ramezan, assistant professor of cybersecurity in the Chambers College, oversees the Dr. Randy and Karen S. Evans Cybersecurity Lab, where Red Team vs. Blue Team exercises take place.  

“The best way to understand how to secure a system is to first learn how to break a system,” Ramezan said. “A main purpose of our lab is to provide a space to work on the most nascent cybersecurity threats affecting modern businesses. We’re tackling these problems in multiple ways, such as through research with both graduate and undergraduate students and allowing them to work with real businesses to address their cybersecurity issues.”

Assisting Ramezan in the lab, named for Karen Evans, a WVU alumna and cybersecurity expert who’s served under two presidential administrations, is Frank Hatten, who was not long ago a student in the program himself.

Hatten joined the Chambers College as a cybersecurity analyst and adjunct professor in 2022 as he was wrapping up his master’s degree in business cybersecurity management.

“I saw it as a perfect opportunity to give back to the state and the University,” he said. “I love seeing the students’ faces light up whether they’re at the keyboard figuring something out or physically running cables through a wall.”

Students have worked with several businesses both in and out of the state to solve real-life cybersecurity and technology issues. For instance, Bloom, an art shop in Thomas, West Virginia, had troubles with its network and Wi-Fi coverage due to its building’s thick brick walls. Chambers College management information systems and business cybersecurity students assessed, measured and mapped out the building before they developed a whole new network architecture that’s now up and running and easily accessible.

“Students used software to insert building blueprints and measurements to map out where wireless access points should be for optimal wireless coverage,” Hatten said. 

Other businesses receive simple tips and tricks from students to keep their networks secure.

“One business stored all the passwords underneath a keyboard at the front register,” Hatten said. “That’s a big no-no, right? But we find that happens a lot. 

“We’ve helped other businesses with their firewalls, analyzing potential security breaches and malware, and better understanding the traffic that flows through their networks.”

Students have even worked with national entities such as the U.S. Department of Defense, the MITRE Corporation and Leidos. Kennedy Hawkins, a business cybersecurity management master’s student, said the Evans Lab has benefited him by helping him to land an internship at the Civil-Military Innovation Institute, a nonprofit that bridges gaps in defense innovation to support military units and service members.

“I work in a lab very similar to the Evans Lab at Chambers,” said Hawkins, of West Grove, Pennsylvania. “We work with real-world tools to provide training, innovation and research to the Army National Guard and other government entities. The cybersecurity programs at WVU have prepared me for the future by integrating practical, real-world examples into our training.”