Student Cyber Assessment for National Security and Critical Infrastructure Workshop
Hosted by Colorado State University and the Front Range Consortium
August 18 – 20, 2026 | Powerhouse Energy Campus, Fort Collins, CO
A multi-day, immersive event open to college students across the Mountain West Region, featuring:
- Cyber-physical systems used in operating critical infrastructure.
- Interactive experiences working with modern security analysis and patching tools.
- Front-row seat to see how these systems communicate within their complex system architecture.
- Networking with industry sponsors.
- Opportunity to perform a security assessment and present results to stakeholders.
- A tour of the Powerhouse Energy Campus, one of the largest freestanding university-based energy research and entrepreneurship facilities in the United States.
Agenda:
- Tuesday, August 18
- Check-In
- 5 – 7 p.m. | Opening Reception at Prost Brewery (1510 S College Ave, Fort Collins, CO)
- Wednesday, August 19
- 8 – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast (provided)
- 8:30 a.m. – Noon | Workshops
- Noon – 1 p.m. | Lunch (provided)
- 1 – 5 p.m. | Workshops
- 6 – 7 p.m. | Reception at the Powerhouse
- Thursday, August 20
- 8 – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast (provided)
- 8:30 a.m. – Noon | Workshops
- Noon – 1 p.m. | Lunch (provided)
- 1 – 5 p.m. | Workshops5
Travel support may be available for those who need it.
Any questions?
Please contact [email protected]
What will be covered:
This event is student-focused, with content appropriate for engineering and computer science students who have knowledge of embedded systems:
- Researchers from the National Lab of the Rockies (NLR) will demonstrate applications of cybersecurity in energy systems.
- Experts in industrial control systems from Integer Tech will teach participants about MODBUS communications required for critical infrastructure systems to operate.
- Researchers from Idaho National Laboratories will demonstrate security assessments on electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- The evaluation team from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Assured Micropatching Program will demonstrate the power and utility of the technology to partners interested in transitioning it into broader use across critical infrastructure and the defense industrial base.
- Panel of experts with Q&A session
Background:
The DARPA invested in developing tools that work with executable binary files for embedded systems, enabling engineers and technicians to apply verified micropatches and achieve desired effects even without source code.
The focus of this workshop is to help participants learn from experts how to apply assured micropatches to industrial control systems used in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy and water.
The techniques and research advances from the DARPA Assured Micropatching (AMP) program have been translated into usable tools that are ready for transition to broader audiences. Accordingly, the training and workshop format will demonstrate the tools’ ease of use, reliability, accuracy, and practical utility when working with embedded system binaries.
Instructors:
Adarsh Hasandka
Research Engineer – Cybersecurity and Resilience
National Lab of the Rockies
Barney Carlson
Principal Research Engineer, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Brandon O’Brien
Integer Tech
Daniel Salloum
Reverse Engineer
Assured Information Security
Eric Thayer
Principal Investigator: Testing, Analysis, and Exploitation
Assured Information Security
Jake Guidry
Cyber Security Researcher
Idaho National Laboratory
Jeremy Daily
Professor of Systems Engineering
Colorado State University
Richard Macwan
Group Manager
National Lab of the Rockies
Scott Thompson
Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering Manager
Integer Tech
Scott Thompson
Cyber Engineering Manager
Integer Technologies
Programming in BASIC since he was 13 years old, Scott helped stand up the Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF). He has 25 years of Navy experience as an Engineer, an MS in Cyber Forensics, and is an expert in ICS/SCADA system – loT – OT.
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