Cybersecurity Collaboration: Clark and Greer Forge New Federal Alliances

The meeting in brief

• Key Partnership: UNCW’s Ulku Clark and Jeff Greer briefed a National Security Council steering committee on maritime cyber resilience, seeking federal research partners.
• Research and Innovation: The Maritime Cyber Resilience Roadmap sets out research to protect ports, ships and other maritime infrastructure.
• Clark’s view: Clark says working with federal agencies and decision-makers can drive real progress on maritime cyber resilience.
• Future Prospects: The university hopes the meeting turns into lasting research partnerships with federal agencies.

From Wilmington to the national security table

Attacks on infrastructure are rising worldwide, and maritime systems are part of the target list. On March 18, 2025, Professor Ulku Clark, director of the UNC Wilmington (UNCW) Center for Cyber Defense Education, and Jeff Greer, part-time faculty in UNCW’s Congdon School, presented the Maritime Cyber Resilience Roadmap to the Maritime Domain Awareness Executive Steering Committee of the National Security Council. The goal: recruit federal research partners.

Who Clark and Greer are

Clark leads UNCW’s cyber defense education center. Greer teaches part time in the university’s Congdon School. Their briefing took place at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Maryland, in front of senior representatives from several government agencies, and it gave the university a chance to invite national security stakeholders to join its research.

The Maritime Cyber Resilience Roadmap

The roadmap is UNCW’s plan for maritime cyber research. Ports, vessels and the systems that move cargo depend on networked technology, and a disruption there can ripple through supply chains. Clark has framed the work plainly: by engaging with federal agencies and decision-makers, the university can drive meaningful advancements in maritime cyber resilience.

Industry Involvement

UNCW pitches itself as North Carolina’s coastal university and a leader in security education and applied research on maritime infrastructure. Partnerships with federal agencies, and through them with industry, would widen that research and give it more reach.

Why the briefing matters

Cooperation between universities and federal agencies is increasingly seen as a basic part of national cyber defense. A seat at this table lets a regional university feed research straight to the officials who set maritime security priorities.

Future Prospects

UNCW hopes the meeting will lead to research partnerships with federal agencies, more collaboration and a bigger role in maritime cybersecurity policy. If that happens, the roadmap could shape how the U.S. protects its ports and shipping systems for years.

What comes after the roadmap briefing

Clark and Greer’s presentation puts a regional university in the middle of a national security conversation. It’s a small step with a clear aim. The next test is whether federal agencies sign on as research partners and whether the roadmap’s recommendations reach the people who run ports and ships.

John King, CISSP, PMP, CISM

John King currently works in the greater Los Angeles area as a ISSO (Information Systems Security Officer). John has a passion for learning and developing his cyber security skills through education, hands on work, and studying for IT certifications.