Building the Future: Global Cybersecurity Institute

Critical Cyber Space

For too long, cybersecurity has been an afterthought. In a preemptive strike on cyber­security threats across the world, RIT has created the ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute (GCI). With the new 52,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility on campus, RIT is on its way to becoming one of the best places in the world for cybersecurity education, training, and research.

RIT is taking a holistic approach to cybersecurity. The ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute is a space where people from different academic disciplines, industry, and government are collaborating to expand cybersecurity knowledge and make it useable in the real world.

In the three-story cyber­security institute, experts are coming together to train new professionals and students, as well as push the frontiers of research.

The Inspiration and Gifts

The ESL GCI was made possible in part with designated funding from a donation made by RIT alumnus Austin McChord ’09 and a $5 million grant from New York state, awarded competitively through its Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program. In addition, ESL Federal Credit Union made a $3 million commitment to help RIT in addressing the importance of cybersecurity as a discipline and profession, and the computing security hub has been named the ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute. Thanks to a more than $3.3 million contribution from IBM, the Cyber Range has also been equipped with some of the best Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) products on the market.

These donations are part of Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness, a $1 billion university fundraising effort, the largest in university history.

Special Features

The Cyber Training Center on the first floor of the Global Cybersecurity Institute at R I T.

First Floor

Cyber training center

  • At the heart of GCI is the Cyber Range and Training Center, a virtual and physical lab that allows people to simulate network cyberattacks and problem-solving scenarios. Businesses can come to the range to prepare their employees for cyber incidents, and students use the space to conduct ethical hacks during cybersecurity competitions.
  • The Cyber Range also hosts RIT’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp—a 15-week immersive training course that helps people switch careers and join the cybersecurity workforce.
  • The Cybersecurity Learning Experience Center teaches the general public about cybersecurity.
The interior of one of the labs on the second floor of the Global Cybersecurity Institute at R I T.

Second Floor

Next generation of cyber defenders

The GCI has several lab spaces to help train the next generation of cybersecurity defenders studying in RIT’s computing security degree programs, including:

Rendering of the interior of the third floor of the Global Cybersecurity Institute at R I T.

Third Floor

Expanding research

What They are Saying

Justin Pelletier

When you walk into the Cyber Range, you can experience what a cyberattack is really like. For cybersecurity experts and anyone involved in real-life cyberattacks, this is a giant sandbox where you can prepare and train without getting hurt.

Justin Pelletier

Director of the GCI Cyber Range and Training Center

ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute

Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

jxpics@rit.edu

585-475-2533