CCI student wins national cybersecurity scholarship

Katareena Geller, a senior in the College of Computing and Informatics Department of Software and Information Systems, is one of 11 women to receive the national Scholarship for Women Studying Information Security.

Awarded by the Applied Computer Security Association (ACSA) and the Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W, the $2,500 scholarship is funded by the Hewlett-Packard Company; winners also may receive internship opportunities through HP.

“The scholarship will help me greatly,” said Geller, who is majoring in information technology. “Besides the monetary value, being one of the recipients is exciting in and of itself. They had many female applicants from all over the country, but I became one of only 11 to be chosen. I am very excited to have this opportunity.”

ASCA, CRA-W and HP are collaborating to close the gap of available information security positions in the United States; industry estimates 40 percent are unfilled, according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute. By awarding scholarships to 11 female students for security-focused studies at academic institutions across the United States, the scholarship program also addresses the shortage of women in IT security positions.