USC News has published an article, Can't hack this, describing SC Cyber, a statewide cybersecurity initiative led by USC, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Commerce and announced by Gov. Nikki Haley in February.

Csilla Farkas, associate professor in computer science and engineering, has long understood the need for cybersecurity to protect against such attacks. Hired in 2000, she has led the development of cybersecurity education at the University of South Carolina and serves as director of the university’s Center for Information Assurance Engineering. The center is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance and Cyber Defense Education (an achievement first earned in 2010 and bestowed jointly by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security); it earned the same designation for research in 2014.