Computers, information systems and technology have become extremely important to all aspects of business, government, public and private entities. With this shift toward a technological and network type of environment, it has become increasingly necessary to protect these systems.
Criminals have found a new avenue in which to commit crime through information systems and technology. Now, more than ever, there is a great need for professionals that can provide protection for information systems and technology.
The main focus of a cybersecurity professional is to prevent attacks by ‘fixing’ potential issues before they are exploited by malicious users. Also, cybersecurity specialists will handle clean up after cyber-attacks and security breaches. The emphasis of a cybersecurity expert is to ensure that the breach in security is prevented.
About one million people work in cybersecurity in the U.S., but there are nearly 600,000 unfilled positions (Rockeman, 2022) . As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor website there is a projected 33% (much faster than average) increase for Information Security Analysts from 2020 to 2030 (Labor, 2022). There will definitely be no shortage in cybersecurity professional positions in the foreseeable future.
This current proposal will offer a new Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity. Sussex County Community College will meet the needs of a growing career field.
The primary objective of this program is to prepare students for a career in cybersecurity. The program is designed to give students the necessary foundation to excel in the field. The program will certify the students in the Ethical Hacking, Security, and Cyber Defense through TestOut. Additionally, the program will prepare the students to take the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker, CompTIA Security+ SYO601, and the CompTIA CySA+ CSO-002 certification exams at an additional cost.
These certifications allow students to seek careers in:
- Security Operations Center (SOC) analyst
- Cybersecurity Specialist
- Threat Intelligence Analyst
- Security Engineer
- Cybersecurity Analyst
Upon completion of this program, graduates will be able to:
- Identify how to design, administer and monitor a local area network.
- Resolve computer security problems.
- The ability to assess the security needs of a network based on topology, applications, and user needs.
- Implement a secure network to mitigate its vulnerabilities, threats, and attacks.
- Understand how to recognize, respond and mitigate a cyber-attack.
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