Date of Award

Spring 6-12-2026

Document Type

Masters Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.S. in Geographic Information Science

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment

First Advisor

Steven Hick

Second Advisor

Scott Matheson

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Geospatial governance, Cybersecurity policy, Department of Defense, Combatant Command, Composite vulnerability index, GPS spoofing, Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), Contractor compliance, Spatial analysis, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), Open-source intelligence, Military installations

Abstract

The Department of Defense's treatment of geographic information systems and cybersecurity as parallel rather than integrated policy domains produces geographically predictable vulnerability patterns across its global military installation footprint. This capstone investigates that conclusion through original spatial analysis, constructing a five-variable composite geospatial vulnerability index across the six U.S. Combatant Command regions using publicly available unclassified data. EUCOM ranked highest overall, driven by GPS/PNT spoofing density, commercial satellite coverage, and cyber incident frequency; CENTCOM ranked second, driven by OSINT exposure incidents and governance risk. The null hypothesis of random geographic distribution is rejected. Findings confirm the structural governance gap documented in the published literature and support geographically differentiated enforcement priorities as a policy response.

Copyright Date

6-7-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Lyndsey Olmstead

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/zip

Language

English (eng)

File Size

14.4 MB

Supplementary File Description

Zip File Contains: 

Capstone Paper
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 93 pgs
File Size: 8 MB

Composite Geospatial Vulnerability Index
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 1.3 MB

Geospatial Vulnerability Index - CENTCOM
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 822 KB

Geospatial Vulnerability Index - EUCOM
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 1 MB

Geospatial Risk Factor Surfaces
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 1.2 MB

Geospatial Vulnerability Hot Spot Analysis
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 913 KB

Documented Policy and Oversight Gaps
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 1.3 MB

Study Area
File Type: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 1 pgs
File Size: 804 KB

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