NSA Center for Cyber Defense Education and Research

Welcome to the Illinois Center for Cyber Defense Education and Research (the NSA CAE Center), housed within the Information Trust Institute (ITI) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Center coordinates campus-wide educational activities in cybersecurity. Illinois offers a wide range of courses as well as numerous research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The Center—along with affiliated educators, researchers, and staff—led the successful effort to secure the designation of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) for Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), a designation the university has held since 2000. This recognition is part of the NCAE-C program, which was originally developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) in response to the 1998 Presidential Decision Directive 63 intended to help protect critical infrastructure. The program aims to strengthen national cybersecurity by advancing education and developing a skilled workforce. The Center also played a key role in the University’s designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Research (CAE-R), which it has held since 2008.