Free, hands-on, and statewide: how IU’s cybersecurity clinic is building a more resilient Indiana
Indiana has roughly 4,600 unfilled cybersecurity jobs — and thousands of small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments that lack the resources to protect themselves online. The IU Cybersecurity Clinic is working to address both problems at once. ABC57 News recently featured the students and faculty behind the clinic including Hamilton Lugar School Assistant Dean Isak Nti Asare. Asare serves as executive director of the clinic, in addition to his role as co-director of the Cybersecurity and Global Policy Program — a joint degree between the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.
The IU Cybersecurity Clinic provides pro-bono cybersecurity services to organizations across Indiana and the Midwest — utility providers, local governments, K–12 schools, nonprofits, and small businesses — that need support but can’t afford it. The clinic draws come from all over the university, including the Mauer School of Law; Kelley School of Business; the Luddy School of Informatics, Computer Science, and Engineering; and the Hamilton Lugar School. Students work in teams of four to six on semester-long, customized engagements with real clients — roughly 20 per year.
As Asare explained to ABC57: “Our interest is really that soft underbelly of cybersecurity: the sort of folks who need cybersecurity, particularly capacity building, resources, support, but often can’t afford it.”
The ABC57 story featured students at multiple levels across IU. Jake George, who recently completed his master’s in cybersecurity risk management and now serves as a lead security analyst at IU, emphasized the importance of the clinic’s collaborative approach: “As the adversary becomes more capable with AI tools, we can best improve our cyber defenses through industry collaboration, resource sharing, and shared governance.”
Noah Raymond, currently pursuing the same master’s degree, noted that virtually every business today faces digital threats it can’t afford to dismiss. And Liam Kruis, a junior completing a bachelor’s in cybersecurity and global policy, described the practical constraints of his nonprofit risk assessment: “You have to understand the resource that they have, and the budget that they have” — and meet clients where they are.
The clinic reflects Indiana University's commitment to educating students who can apply global thinking to local challenges. The Cybersecurity and Global Policy Program — which sits at the intersection of technology, policy, and international affairs — puts that commitment into practice: through the clinic, students work on real vulnerabilities for real clients, building the skills and professional networks to help fill Indiana's growing cybersecurity workforce gap..
Read the full story at ABC57 News.