HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A new building rising along 4th Avenue near Marshall University will house the Institute for Cyber Security, and university officials say it will include cutting-edge technology and training once completed.
Each floor of the building will have a distinct, defense-driven focus with learning labs, a space for private industry partners and specialized labs.
The structure is slated to open in August 2027. Construction is ongoing, but Alexandria Donathan, executive director of the Institute for Cyber Security, said cybersecurity defense work is already taking place at several locations across campus before its doors even open.
“If you’re interested in cyber, then just start,” Donathan said. “It’s like a river. Everything is moving so fast.”
She said cybersecurity offers broad career opportunities.
In June, Intuit launched a Security Operations Center on campus, giving students hands-on experience ahead of the new building’s completion.
Cole Perry is one of two full-time employees already working there while still enrolled as a student.
“I was going to get an internship out of school, but this jump starts my experience,” Perry said.
At the center of the new building will be three Security Operations Centers, or SOCs. Donathan described them as the first layer of defense.
“All of the data, any sort of incident or anything, will start within the Security Operations Center,” Donathan said. “So, they should have access to all the network data, the logs, anything that is passing through to identify any sort of incident that could be happening or identify vulnerability, and that will work from there.”
Donathan explained how the institute’s ambitions extend beyond the new building.
“The physical space of course will be helpful, but we are not paused at growth,” Donathan said. “My goal is that how you can see aviation expanding and doing that throughout the state, I would like to do that, as well. For a five-year plan for me … when I say we are a regional asset, I would like to become a national asset.”
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