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Diplomatic Security Service Partners with Hacking for Diplomacy for Spring 2023 Semester

H4Diplomacy Spring 2023 DS-6 Site Visit - 2-1

Hacking for Diplomacy students from the Data Architecture for Cybersecurity Team visited their State Department problem sponsors to learn more about the problem they are tackling

The law enforcement and security arm of the U.S. Department of State, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), is the most widely represented U.S. law enforcement and security organization in the world. DSS is tasked with leading worldwide security and law enforcement efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy and safeguard national security interests.

In an effort to keep pace with the latest techniques employed by malicious actors and gather fresh perspectives to help ensure that the department is positioned to defend against cyber adversaries, DSS has partnered with some of the nation’s most innovative thinkers: university students.

In a class called Hacking for Diplomacy (H4Diplomacy), students work with DSS experts to understand the root cause of a problem and craft potential solutions using evidence-based decision-making. Currently, DSS has three problems being worked on by 13 students at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

The students will present their findings and solution recommendations during their final presentations. To attend the students’ final presentations on April 25th from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm EST, click the sign up link below.

Sign Up to Attend Final Presentations

Getting to the Root Cause of DSS Problems

The Locating Imminent Danger team presents their implementation plan for a potential solution to their problem set during their weekly class session.

Two problem sets come out of DSS’s Countermeasures Directorate Office of Security Technology (DS/C/ST). The Office of Security Technology assists in providing a safe and secure environment for the Department's conduct of diplomacy through the application and use of appropriate technical security countermeasures. Security Engineering Officer Tyler Wood is leading the Drone Detection Dilemma Team, which is tasked with finding a better way for security engineers at US embassies to detect and locate autonomous drones that can harm or surveil the people inside.

“The Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) program is new to us, Wood said, "we have some answers but we don’t know for certain that they are right. We need new ideas - ideas that are creative and innovative - and we want to explore things we haven’t thought of.”

In addition, DS/ST Security Engineering Officer Mario May has challenged a student team to help improve DSS’s Imminent Danger Notification System. The Locating Imminent Danger Team is searching for a fast and accurate way to detect the location of embassy security personnel when they trigger emergency alarms so that responders can more quickly address potential threats.

The third problem set being worked on this semester comes out of the Directorate of Cyber and Technology Security (DS/CTS). CTS is a center of excellence that brings together cybersecurity, technology security and investigative expertise to present a unified capability on these critical and emerging issues for DS and the Department. Led by IT Specialist Nicholas Swindell, with the support of Cyber Monitoring and Operations Technical Director Danh Nguyen-Huynh and CIRT Cloud Lead Jacob Trigoboff, this student team is looking for a cost-effective way to collect, store, and analyze logs in order to increase their cybersecurity incident response capabilities across every DOS bureau and office.

Solving Technical Challenges with Entrepreneurial Methodology

Dr. James Santa introducing the Lean Launchpad customer discovery methodology to students during a Spring 2023 H4Diplomacy class session at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Each student team aims to conduct at least 80 informational interviews, engaging the people who experience these problems on a daily basis: from data analytics engineers to security systems integrators. This approach allows the teams to make assumptions about the problem, and then validate or invalidate their assumptions based on the data collected from their interviews. The students also tap into their academic networks, gaining insights from professors and subject matter experts who are at the forefront of engineering research.

The problem sponsors at DSS meet with their student teams on a weekly basis to discuss their research and provide deeper context that will help the students in their journeys as they learn more. Throughout the semester, students also gain an in-depth understanding of career opportunities within the Department of State and explore avenues to start businesses around their solutions.

It is past the midpoint of the Spring 2023 semester, and the three student teams continue to gather data to validate their suggested solutions to present during their final presentations on April 25th.

H4Diplomacy is powered by BMNT and Common Mission Project. H4Diplomacy serves as a liaison between academia and the DOS, connecting university students to real-world security problems. For more information about the program, future events, and how to participate in an upcoming semester, email the program team at h4diplomacy@bmnt.com.