Hello, my name is Jon Schipp  and I'm one of the chairs of OpenNSM. The Open (-Source) Network Security Monitoring Group is a weekly ACM affiliated student group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We're looking for funding and /or sponorship to build an NSM laboratory and conduct research projects  that will give students and active members hands on practical experience with NSM and DFIR tools so that they will be better able to combat the challenges faces in the field of cybersecurity.

We're not aware of any other active NSM user groups in the United States, and have the ambitious goal of being a premier place for students, professionals, and hobbyists, from all over to share their research, tools, and techniques in a laid back and friendly environment.

More info at http://open-nsm.net.

Our meetings can be attended remotely and are recorded and made available on Youtube  and Vimeo .