The Consortium
Founded in May 2021, the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics serves as a forum for clinicians, trainers, students, and advocates to share knowledge, expand the reach of cybersecurity clinics, and lower the barriers for other institutions to establish their own clinics.
A cybersecurity clinic provides cybersecurity services to community organizations, including small businesses, nonprofits, cities and towns, rural school districts, small utilities and more, while giving students real-world cybersecurity experience. Modeled after legal and medical school clinics, cybersecurity clinics are typically housed at colleges and universities under the direction of clinical professors. Students from diverse backgrounds and degree paths train to provide free cybersecurity assistance to clients who could not otherwise afford these services. Clinics serve as a skills-based learning environment for students and as a vital local resource for improving the cybersecurity resilience of communities.
To learn more, check out our “What is a cybersecurity clinic?” video below.
Breaking Ground
Before the official launch of the Consortium, several member universities already had the basis for a clinic program.
The University of California, Berkeley’s Cybersecurity Clinic launched in 2018 with a focus on defending nonprofits at risk of politically motivated cyber attack. In 2019, Indiana University launched a clinic to address the needs of state and local agencies, and MIT launched a clinic focused on supporting small towns and municipalities in New England, inspired in part by national news of municipalities facing devastating ransomware attacks.
In 2021, UC Berkeley teamed up with MIT, Indiana University, and the University of Alabama to assess interest in a forum for cybersecurity clinic leaders and coordinators to share knowledge. They were quickly joined by the University of Georgia, Athens, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and allied organizations R Street Institute and the Global Cyber Alliance, and the idea for the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics was born.
Since then, we’ve joined forces with university-based cybersecurity clinics operating around the nation, and the cybersecurity clinic model has steadily taken hold at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.
A Diverse Workforce
The Consortium’s ambition is to dramatically grow the number of universities and students engaged in clinics, with attention to increasing the representation of women and minorities that have traditionally been under-represented in the cybersecurity field. The Consortium works to incubate new cybersecurity clinics through mentorship and direct funding.
“Stillman College is the first Historically Black College or University to adopt the clinic model…Stillman’s cybersecurity clinic is focused on building a diverse pipeline into the workforce, as well as supporting underserved small- to mid-sized minority owned organizations.”
Professor Kevin Harris, Stillman College
Member clinics attract a diverse, multidisciplinary pool of talent into the digital technology field. Cybersecurity clinics enroll students from a range of degree programs, including urban planning, computer science, journalism, political science, law, and business. Our twice-annual “Clinic of Clinics” student exchange facilitates peer networking and student learning through cross-university tabletop exercises and other skill-building exercises.
