Public Network Monitoring PISCES

The Public Infrastructure Security Cyber Education System (PISCES) is an innovative initiative aimed at enhancing cybersecurity education and workforce development, where qualified students with appropriate experience and oversight, act as entry-level cyber analysts. The PISCES program analyzes cyber data for small communities and cities who may not have the resources to hire cybersecurity professionals.

This no-cost program is specifically designed for Montana’s small public-sector cybersecurity organizations (typically with 150 or fewer employees). It provides local governments with network threat monitoring while giving University of Montana cybersecurity students hands-on experience in real-world Security Operations Center (SOC) functions.

Through PISCES, UM cybersecurity students gain practical skills in SOC operations, metadata monitoring, threat detection and analysis, and incident response escalation. Participating organizations receive a network sensor that transmits metadata to UM’s SOC. There, trained students monitor the data in real-time, identifying anomalies and comparing activity against a continuously updated threat database.