Mount Saint Mary College’s Byte Knights recently hosted guest speaker Gary Albaugh, Deputy Chief Information Officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, who gave tips on how to succeed in the cybersecurity field.
Byte Knights is a student-run technology club that seeks to foster a campus-wide understanding of technology and its uses.
The world of cybersecurity is changing rapidly to keep up with the breakneck pace of technology, Albaugh noted.
“If you were looking for a cybersecurity job in the late ’80s or early ’90s, you worked for the federal government,” he said. “That’s not the case anymore. Everybody has a cybersecurity division…Cybersecurity is something that has expanded. Anybody that’s out there has a cybersecurity branch.”
What was true in the field even six months ago might not be applicable anymore. Thus, staying up to speed on these developments is crucial to the success of a cybersecurity expert. It’s critical, he added, for cybersecurity experts to be able to perform tasks related to technical incident response, security testing, and informational security. One should also be proficient with all the industry standards and tools.
Albaugh’s advice to students was simple and poignant: Take advantage of opportunities for professional development when you have the chance. After all, it’s better to be prepared for something that never happens than to be unprepared during a crisis.
Mount Saint Mary College’s bachelor’s degree program in Cybersecurity offers an interdisciplinary approach with courses from computer science, information technology, mathematics, computer security, and criminology.
In addition, the college is offering a Cybersecurity Certificate program with three track options: Cybersecurity, Ethical Hacking, and Digital Forensics