Blair Taylor

Towson University’s Blair Taylor is working to stop hackers in their tracks through an innovative program that integrates cybersecurity techniques into foundational computer science courses.

The idea — which she touts on a bumper sticker reading “code responsibly!”— is to teach all future programmers how to write secure code, not just those who choose to concentrate in cybersecurity.

Taylor’s approach of injecting security strategies into the early stages of computer science education is new and getting a lot of attention.

Her project, Security Injections @Towson, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, has become a national model for the integration of cybersecurity into computer science curricula.

When she’s not teaching courses in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Towson, Taylor travels the country sharing her injection modules at major conferences and workshops, training hundreds of educators and impacting thousands of students.

In 2014, Taylor was on the Sun Magazine’s list of 50 Women to Watch. She was also honored in 2012 with a University System of Maryland Regents’ Faculty Award for teaching, the highest honor the board presents to USM faculty members.

Dr. Taylor is currently on leave from Towson, working in the College of Cyber at the National Security Agency.