What's known about the naval academy cyber security building?

I heard the naval academy has a dedicated cybersecurity building. Could someone tell me more about its facilities and resources? Are there any standout features or labs that set it apart?

The U.S. Naval Academy is indeed greatly invested in cybersecurity education. It has a state-of-the-art facility named Hopper Hall, dedicated to cybersecurity. This building was completed and opened in 2020, and is the first new academic building on the academy grounds in a decade. The building was named in honor of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneer of computer programming and a trailblazer for women in the military.

The Hopper Hall is a multistory building covering approximately 206,000 square feet. It houses a variety of secure and collaborative spaces designed to support the academy's cyber operations, computer science, and information technology majors.

The building includes a number of specialized labs, where midshipmen can gain hands-on experience working with advanced technology. For example, there's the Cyber Operations Lab, the Capstone Lab, the Hacking Lab, and the Networking and the Wireless/IOT lab. In these labs, students can work with various software tools and hardware devices related to network security, wireless communications, malware analysis, and more.

A standout feature of Hopper Hall is its observation deck, which allows for stunning views of the academy and wider surroundings. The building also includes a “Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility” or a SCIF, which allows high-level, secure intelligence briefings to take place.

From this building, midshipmen engage themselves in cyber training exercises, research, and other hands-on experiences that prepare them for the cyber-related issues they are likely to face in their careers, both in the military and in civilian life. With its state-of-the-art resources and facilities, Hopper Hall has raised the bar for cybersecurity education at the academy.