Guest:
Joseph Squillace, Ph.D., is an Associate Teaching Professor of Cybersecurity at Penn State University. Joseph received his Ph.D. in Information Systems (DISS) with a concentration in Information Security from the College of Engineering and Computing at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Joseph’s research interests include Cyberbullying, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Threat Intelligence, Cyberterrorism, Critical Infrastructure, Disaster Recovery, Cyber Governance and Compliance, Cybersecurity in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Secure Supply Chain, Data Integrity, Election Data Security, and Economics of Information Security and Privacy Breaches. Joseph has previously published scholarly research in Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Privacy, Information Systems, Computer Science, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Climate Change domains.
Dr. Joseph Squillace’s area of research expertise is within the Computer Science domain. His Technology-based research has used qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodology models, varied statistical analysis methods, and focused primarily on the advancement of new model artifacts and pedagogical-based education/training using novel theoretical approaches. His research stream spans a variety of domains, including foundational interest in Cybersecurity Education, Information and Behavioral Sciences, Criminal Justice, Sociology, and User Behavior. With direct expertise in Information Security (InfoSec), Dr. Squillace has had academic publications in peer-reviewed journal articles, and academic presentations examining specialized areas within security, including Cyberbullying, Cybersecurity Education and Pedagogy, Cybersecurity Psychology, Privacy, Ethical Actions, User Behavior (Theory), Corporate Compliance and Governance, Security Education, Training, and Awareness (SETA), Economics of Security Breach Events, eWaste, and Green Computing (sustainability).
Dr. Squillace was selected as a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar by the United States (US) State Department and will spend time teaching and collaborating on cybersecurity research with colleagues at Széchenyi István University in Gyor, Hungary. Dr. Squillace also selected the Statewide Faculty Member of the Year by the Penn State College of Information Science and Technology (IST) for 2024 – 2025. To engage research exploration, Dr. Squillace has been award funding through a $1.78 million grant by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the negative impact of Cyberbullying. Dr. Squillace was also awarded grant funding from both the Penn State University Presidential Public Impact Research Award (PPIRA) Program (Cyberbullying & Mental Health) and the Penn State University Commonwealth Campus Undergraduate Community-Engaged Research Award (UCERA) Program (Cybersecurity Pedagogy, Training, Education, and Awareness), and selected to receive funds as well by the Penn State Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE). In furtherance of research collaboration with industry and community, Dr. Squillace was awarded funding from an EC Council Student Scholarship grant to perform undergraduate research with cybersecurity education and certification training).
Joseph is a Distinguished Academic Research Fellow at CyberWatch and the National Cyber Science and Practice Symposium Program Committee Chair for the National and International CyberWatch Association.
Episode Transcript:
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: When we talk about digital wellness, we often think about things like screen time, social media habits, maybe even blue light and sleep. But digital wellness is also about safety, empathy, and how we treat each other in virtual spaces. I'm Lindsey Whissel Fenton with 12 Degrees on WPSU. I'm talking with Joseph Squillace, an associate teaching professor of cybersecurity at Penn State. He's leading a team that just received a $1.78 million grant from the Department of Justice to tackle school-based cyberbullying using virtual reality. Joseph, what will this funding allow you to do?
JOSEPH SQUILLACE: The idea behind the grant is to address the ongoing problem of cyber bullying, using virtual simulations of cyber bullying events and attacks, and provide this training to students in a safe space so they can be exposed to bullying behavior so they can learn to deal with it. In this virtual space, without actually having to do that trauma in real life, they may see bullying as another scenario, or they may be part of, let's say, someone being extremely racist or homophobic. If you've never been exposed to that, that's quite traumatic. And a lot of times we just freeze, and we don't know what to do. So that way, not only can they feel what it's like to be bullied now, they can have the tools and abilities to help that student that's getting bullied. We're also going to be involving school administration, the teaching staff, as well as local police and security resource officers. And the reason is they're all tied together with this problem. If you have teachers that are witnessing this behavior but don't know it's bullying, they're not going to empathize with the student getting bullied because they can't even recognize the pattern of behavior as a bullying situation.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: Can you give an example of a behavior that often gets written off as like a kids being kids thing that does actually meet the criteria of cyber bullying?
JOSEPH SQUILLACE: Of course. So, in some of the areas in Schuylkill County where this is taking place, there's a huge chasm between the haves and the have nots. And so, if a student from a less fortunate family financially gets the benefit of maybe mom or dad or grandma or somebody buying them a sports jersey, you know, come off the rack and maybe that player isn't LeBron James. And so now they get made fun of because they have a jersey of a guy that rides the bench where they're just trying to wear a jersey like all the other cool kids. And so, at 15 years old, repeatedly getting made fun of that trauma builds exponentially to the point where their self-esteem is zero. They lash out, or they just stop coming to school. They become isolated, all because of the name on the back of their jersey. And a lot of times, the bullies don't even know the damage they're doing as well. They're making fun of somebody because they're trying to fit in. So, the bullies don't know the behavior they're doing is causing harm. The teachers can't recognize it. The students can't stick up for themselves. And this entire situation ends up with either self-harm, suicide, violence within the community, or school shootings where a lot of people get hurt over nothing. That started with something so trivial as a person's jersey.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: Cyber bullying does happen to adults too. We just have different names for it. You know, trolling, online harassment. Do you see this project being something that could be adapted for use, for example, in workplaces or other online communities?
JOSEPH SQUILLACE: The pedagogy behind what we're doing will be able to be replicated at the adult age, as it is at the adolescent age. You just have to curate that specific scenario based on your individual needs.
LINDSEY WHISSEL FENTON: That was Joseph Squillace, an associate teaching professor of cybersecurity at Penn State. This interview is part of 12 Degrees, a program and podcast produced by WPSU in collaboration with the Penn State Nese College of Nursing. Learn more at wellness-dot-psu-dot-edu. I'm Lindsey Whissel Fenton, WPSU.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]
This is a clip from a longer conversation. To listen to the full episode, visit:
