By Suzanna Schmeelk, Ed.D., D.P.S.
Associate Professor, Cybersecurity
February 25, 2026
Cyber Security Research Collaboration Across the Americas
From late August through December 2025, the St. John’s University M.S. in Cyber and Information Security program partnered with Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Brazil and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH) through a Global Online Learning Exchange Research Experience (GOLE-RE) to advance cyber security research across the Americas. This collaboration represents the culmination of a two‑year, two‑fold international initiative designed to build sustained academic exchange and cross‑regional cyber security research capacity.
The first component of this initiative was a Fulbright Grant–supported collaboration between St. John’s University (SJU) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH), led by Dr. Elías Leonardo García Urquía, UNAH Engineering Faculty, and Dr. Suzanna Schmeelk. This phase was facilitated by the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, through a Department of State funded Fulbright Specialist Program to provide U.S. expertise for the development of a Master’s in Cyber Security at UNAH. The Fulbright Specialist Program catalyzed the inclusion of Central America into the established GOLE‑RE initiative, expanding its mission to strengthen international research collaborations that enhance security across the United States and the broader Americas.
The second component—chronologically the first to be established—was developed by Dr. Schmeelk in collaboration with the St. John’s University Study Abroad Virtual Exchange Program (GOLE), coordinated by Dr. Petropoulou and Ian M. August. This virtual study‑abroad initiative required more than a year of preparation to enable a sustained cyber security collaboration with PUC in São Paulo, Brazil, led by Dr. Carlos Moreira, Dr. Guilherme Oliveira, Dr. Schmeelk, and the PUC Engineering Faculty. Together, these two complementary efforts formed a unified and durable trilateral GOLE-RE partnership, resulting in a strengthened triangulation of cybersecurity research collaboration across South, Central, and North America.
Because the St. John’s program operates in dual modality, combined with the varying time zones of PUC and UNAH, student teams collaborated across four time zones and three languages—Spanish, Portuguese, and English. This structure mirrored the distributed, multilingual nature of contemporary global cyber security operations.
A central focus of the GOLE-RE collaboration involved analyzing the PIX instant‑payment system breach, an insider‑threat incident that exposed critical vulnerabilities within Brazil’s financial ecosystem. Students evaluated how attackers bypassed the PIX platform and instead compromised C&M Software, a third‑party integrator connecting banks and fintechs, using social engineering to obtain privileged credentials that enabled unauthorized transfers.
Multinational student teams proposed a series of mitigation strategies, including strengthened identity‑access controls, behavioral monitoring, enhanced third‑party risk assessments, and employee training designed to prevent recruitment‑based social engineering. Key deliverables produced through the exchange included secure coding guidelines in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, presentation decks (with optional video components), and research‑experience blogs that are now pending publication.
Throughout the GOLE-RE experience, students collaborated synchronously and asynchronously, developing communication, analytical, and global teamwork skills while navigating linguistic and time‑zone challenges. Faculty across all three universities noted that the collaboration significantly deepened students’ understanding of how Brazil, Honduras, and the United States each approach cyber security governance and resilience.
By December 2025, students reported increased confidence in analyzing international cyber incidents, addressing insider‑threat risks, and contributing effectively within multilingual, distributed research teams. This GOLE-RE initiative demonstrates the transformative impact of sustained international partnerships in preparing cyber security professionals capable of safeguarding organizations and citizens across an interconnected hemisphere.
GOLE Cyber Research Faculty & (Graduate) Student Contributors
St. John’s University, Queens, New York
Faculty Lead: Dr. Suzanna Schmeelk
Contributing Team:
Dr. Zoe Petropoulou
Ian M. August
Dr. Geoff Dick
Susan Peterson
Greg Bruhn
Cyber Security Graduate Students:
Cassey Burrell
Miguel Guerrero
Brianna Andrea Mendiola
Gulnaz Mukanbetova
Dominick Vandenberge
Monique Crowther
Devanie D Gajadar
John Pedone
Adam Reilly
Erhan Sahin
Muhammad Ali Yousaf
Nathanael Dorsey
Augustine Ibeh
Joeal James
Samuel Thamrin
Oscar Xu
Peter Thorson Andrews
Brian Fitzgerald
Troy Georges
Shalisa McKenzie-McAulay
Daniel O Wilson-Eche
Schuyler Emanuele Winston
Pontifical Catholic University (PUC), São Paulo, Brazil
https://www.puc-campinas.edu.br/
Faculty Leads:
Dr. Carlos Moreira
Dr. Guilherme Oliveira
Contributing Team:
PUC Engineering Faculty
Cyber Security Students:
Calebe Foresti de Carvalho Pierozzi
Guilherme Alves Tavares
Kaun Messias
Vinícius Pereira de Castro
Lucas Gomez Machado
Gabriel Figueiredo Spaziante
Vitor Hugo Alvarenga Alves
Diego Mauad Peixoto
Débora Biguzzi
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH), Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Faculty Lead: Dr. Elías Leonardo García Urquía
Contributing Team: UNAH Engineering Faculty
Cyber Security Students:
Gerardo Andree Salinas
Hogla Sarahi Calix Gamez
Juan Carlos Flores Trujillo
Pablo Cesar Flores
José Roberto Martínez Morales
Bryan Daniel Gallardo Rodrigues
Jorge Adalberto Cantarero
Eros Daniel Rivera Buezo
Luis Daniel Díaz Cáceres