<aside> ⚠️ This version of the program predates the July 2024 updates. Courses from this version will continue to run through the 2024-2025 AY and beyond, as needed, to ensure graduation timelines.
For the new version of this program, expected to begin rollout during 2025-2026, please visit: Cybersecurity
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It has become incredibly cheap to automate constant digital attacks against any individual, Fortune 500 corporation, or government system. As a result, we now live in a world where we can assume that everyone is constantly at risk of attack from advanced cyber threats.
This new paradigm has led to a boom in cybersecurity careers. According to LightCast, cybersecurity professionals earn a median salary of $103,000, with entry-level positions starting at $68k. Furthermore, ****there are approximately 663,430 unfilled positions in the US alone.
Our Cybersecurity major is designed with two goals in mind:
While the first goal is primary and more foundational to a cybersecurity program, the importance of the second goal should not be disregarded for two major reasons. First, entry-level cybersecurity roles, as well as roles at smaller organizations, frequently blend elements of cybersecurity and IT work. Second, the cybersecurity function of an organization is inextricably linked with IT since both networks and team members present opportunities to bad actors. To that end, students who complete the recommended IT focus area will be prepared for numerous cybersecurity certifications, including the CompTIA A+ exam.
Within this program, students will assess modern cybersecurity challenges that threaten our privacy, security, and safety, and gain both the knowledge and hands-on technical skills to protect digital assets from cyber criminals who leverage sophisticated social and cyber tactics to facilitate attacks.
Furthermore, as the cyber attack surface continues to expand via the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, it is increasingly vital that students learn how to “harden” networks, systems, and endpoint devices against cyber attacks, topics which are covered in the course Modern Cybersecurity.
It is, however, impossible to create a perfectly secure system, so students will also learn how to perform cyber forensics to investigate, collect, and preserve digital evidence associated with a breach.
Finally, students will learn how to think like a “hacker” and use industry standard tools to find weaknesses in systems.
Students who complete this curriculum will not only be prepared for a career as a cybersecurity professional, they will also be well positioned to obtain a number of certifications which will increase their employability later in their career, including Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and Certified Forensic Examiner. Please note these certifications may require additional work experience and exam preparation!
Randy Rovesti - Randy is a professor of Information Science Technology at Penn State New Kensington, as well as an Engineering Manager at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, where he focuses on both physical and digital security systems. His expertise on both the academic and professional side of cybersecurity made him uniquely qualified to be the primary designer of the Cybersecurity program, as he possesses both a strong theoretical foundation, and the day-to-day experience of putting that experience into practice. Randy holds a Masters in IT from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Charles Severance, University of Michigan - Dr. Charles Severance holds a PhD in Computer Science from Michigan State University. He is the former Executive Director of the Sakai Foundation, and one of the world’s leading online CS educators. His contributions and curriculum form the basis of our programming curriculum
Alexey Malashkevich - Alexey is a highly respected engineer and engineering manager with strong experience in building cloud-based financial technology systems. His skill in building engineering teams gives him particular insight into the skills most valuable in today’s technology workforce. Furthermore, his experience in cloud-based FinTech provides him with tremendous experience in understanding the cybersecurity needs of organizations which face particularly heavy attacks. Alexey is the former CEO of Agile Code - a software development firm - and has 20 years of experience bringing software products to market.