By GREGORY ZELLER //
A Long Island-based cybersecurity-education program has earned an elite designation from the National Security Agency.
Suffolk County Community College’s Cybersecurity Program has been awarded Program of Study Validation by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, a certifying group managed by the NSA’s National Cryptologic School.
The NSA, of course, leads the nation’s cryptology and cybersecurity efforts – and in validating SCCC’s program, has elevated it to “an elite group of national institutions and programs,” according to SCCC Professor Peter Maritato, the college’s academic chairman of engineering and technology.
“This is a great certification,” Maritato said Thursday, crediting the validation to Associate Professor for Cybersecurity Susan Frank, who pushed for the NSA’s national certification.
Susan Frank: Things are getting real.
“Our comprehensive program is a result of faculty teamwork,” Frank said in a statement. “[It] provides students with challenging labs and activities that simulate real-world experiences.”
With the ultimate goal of creating a collaborative cybersecurity educational program that networks through multiple U.S. institutions, the NCAE-C – which also receives support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies – establishes standards for cybersecurity curriculum, faculty competence and academic excellence.
Program of Study Validation applications are examined by government personnel and peer reviewers, with special attention paid to community outreach, professional development and cybersecurity education that crosses academic disciplines.
With cyberattack risks at an all-time high and nationwide employers clamoring for programmers and “ethical hackers” to combat the threat – some counts tally as many as half-a-million cybersecurity-related jobs available right now – there are “few more priorities more pressing for our country than cybersecurity,” according to Suffolk County Community College President Edward Bonahue.
“We live much of our lives online,” Bonahue added. “I’m proud that Suffolk is training a workforce with the expertise to ensure security for every kind of business and organization.”
