Editor’s Note: Only students approved to participate in the upcoming Student Vulnerability Reporting Program may perform security experiments on Penn State networks.

Gaining unauthorized access is in direct violation of Penn State Policy AD20 that states, "Conducting or attempting to conduct security experiments or security scans involving or using University Computer and Network Resources without the specific authorization of the Security Operations and Services Director is prohibited."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Thanks to the efforts of a recent graduate from the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), Penn State is preparing to launch a pilot program where students can identify and report cyber vulnerabilities.

Approved students will soon be able to enroll in the Student Vulnerability Reporting Program (SVRP), where they can scour some Penn State systems in search of vulnerabilities. In addition to earning hands-on experience with cybersecurity and helping maintain the integrity of Penn State’s networks, students will also be rewarded with LionCash and awards if their efforts are successful. Michael Lubas, who graduated in May with a degree in security and risk analysis (SRA), was the driving force behind the program. He first explored the idea during his IST 440W class. The course, taught by Alison Murphy, focuses on problem-based approaches to real-life issues facing organizations.

As he looked into the idea further, Lubas realized that SRA students like him could help protect Penn State from external threats. Throughout the program, students learn how to detect these vulnerabilities and could help the University combat them in a legitimate way. “We use these [Penn State computer] systems all day for our coursework, so if we see something wrong, we should be able to report it,” he explained.

With Lubas as the team lead of his IST 440W group, which included Patrick August, Carmen Caputo, Tianyue Ma, Austin Miller and Steven Burns, they collaborated with the Office of Information Security (OIS) to pursue the project.