UTEP | College of Engineering

UTEP Establishes Center for Information Assurance, Longpré Named Director

Dr. Longpré

The University of Texas at El Paso has established a new center to promote education and research in information assurance, computer security and related fields.

Formed in January, the Center for Information Assurance will build on existing strengths in information assurance. The program will expand the use of national standards in information assurance education and training throughout the nation.

According to Dr. Luc Longpré, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the center, information assurance is a generalization of computer security. “Computer security is the main part of it but the name was expanded to include all of the processes necessary to protect information.”

UTEP’s Information Assurance curriculum is approved the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Information Assurance Courseware Evaluation (IACE) Program. Longpré will receive an official certificate from the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) at the 13th Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE) in Seattle, Washington, June 1-3, 2009.

In addition to expanding course offerings to include Information Assurance, UTEP will also offer a Certificate of Information Assurance.

“The government is supporting creation of the center because they need more people who are knowledgeable and educated in information assurance so that our industries and government are more secure,” said Longpré. “They want to increase the security of the whole nation.”

For more information on the Center for Information Assurance visit http://www.cs.utep.edu/cfia.