State extends DSU’s Project Boundary Fence funding

Funding has been extended for a Dakota State University project aimed at providing cyber security assessments for cities and counties in the state.  

Two years ago, DSU created a pilot project, called Project Boundary Fence, to offer free cyber security assessments for South Dakota cities and counties. The intent of Project Boundary Fence was to secure municipalities’ networks through external penetration testing on outward-facing technology infrastructures.

The two-year project was supported through funding from the state Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.  Because it was so successful, funding has been extended for another three years.  

Dr. Arica Kulm, Director of Digital Forensics Services at DSU, oversees the staff for Project Boundary Fence, one full-time employee and several student workers.  She said the staff serve as “friendly hackers” – individuals who use the same tools as a bad hacker but with the intent to find vulnerabilities in systems and advise how to fix them before a bad actor takes advantage.

For information on this program, contact [email protected], or call 605.610.8897.