Wanted: Cyber-warriors

MHCC has started producing its own “cyber warriors” for the first time this year, with the launch of the new CyberSecurity and Networking Associate of Applied Science Degree.

Launched this fall term, enrollment for courses within the program have already exceeded 100 percent, according to president Michael Hay’s president’s report in the September district board meeting.

“We ran two cybersecurity-specific classes. Both of those classes (are) waitlisted,” said Wayne Machuca, CIS instructor and also one of the developers of the program.

Machuca said the new program is being closely worked together with the existing networking courses.

“There is a lot of crossover (between cybersecurity and networking),” he said.

Machuca said the reasoning behind combining the two programs is that the subject of cybersecurity is very broad.

“When we look at the topic of cyber security, it’s absolutely huge,” he said. “We can’t attack all of (the parts of cyber security). There’s just too much to try and take a bite out of,” he said.

“It (combining networking and cyber security) seemed to make the most sense mostly because the networking program was already established,” Machuca said. “We took the fundamentals of the networking degree and completely rebuilt it from the cyber security perspective.”

Asked if he believes the college may expand the program — given that enrollment for the program has been high — he said, “Absolutely we do and that’s just from the enrollment perspective.”

“The other reason we should look to expanding is quite frankly this is an area where there’s some real potential,” said Machuca.

Those who complete the two-year cyber security program receive an associate’s degree of applied science. Machuca said the college is looking into creating a one-year certificate as well.

For students who feel intimidated by the words cyber security or feel that they don’t know enough about computers to succeed in the program, Machuca says they could not be more wrong.

Asked whether students should have a background in computer information systems before joining the program, Machuca said, “If you asked me in 1995, we would say ‘you got to make sure everyone has some background.’ But one of the things we are seeing that’s different in the students going into the program is that there are many people walking in the door with technical skills already,” he said.

He said that in schools nowadays, students are taught as young as middle school about how to use numerous computer programs.

“You guys have more computer experience than you realize,” he said. However, he added, “Can someone come in through the door with zero (experience with computers)? Yes. Will they be challenged? Yes.”

According to Machuca, students who finish the program are looking at a career in an expanding marketplace for computer information and a high demand for people with their set of skills.

“When we look at the marketplace right now, where are the jobs? The answer is, in spite of how bad the economy is right now, we are experiencing the greatest amount of growth and opportunities in two places: one, in nursing, and two, in the computer sciences,” he said.

“For information technology (IT), there are many ways you can get to a successful opportunity,” he said.

The program was brought into development after a national initiative was pressed by President Barack Obama to provide more cyber security education at colleges to help strengthen the cyber front.
This initiative is being brought about in the midst of major hacking events in recent years.

Last week, major banking companies such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were subject to cyber attacks in what was called the biggest cyber attack in banking history.

Even the White House itself is not safe from cyber attacks. Tuesday morning, White House representatives announced one of its unclassified networks was attacked.

According to a New York Times article “Cyberwarfare Emerges from Shadows for Public Discussion by U.S. Officials”, up to 12 of the world’s 15 largest militaries are taking steps toward building cyberwarfare programs.
Machuca said he’s happy that the White House announced they were attacked because “it keeps us aware of the importance of cyber security.”
“If you’ve got a medical clinic, a small business, or if it’s just you at your home on your own networks, you’re vulnerable,” he said.
“We’re all vulnerable. When we’re talking about cyber security, it’s not just some kid in his mom’s basement. It’s more important than that,” he said, adding that the Chinese government was one of the primary suspects of the White House attack.

Beyond your run-of-the-mill “basement” hackers looking for monetary gain, there are numerous other vigilante-like “hacktivists” that haven risen up in recent years.

One of the more famous hacktivist groups, “Anonymous”, which often symbolize itself with a Guy Fawkes mask popularized in the film “V for Vandetta,” can be credited for taking down several child-porn websites as well as attacks on U.S. government websites belonging to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in protest of the Stop Online Pirating Act (SOPA) and the Protect Internet Privacy Act (PIPA).

Though the MHCC cyber security program is still in its infancy, Machuca said that there is plenty of room to grow.

“We are grateful to (MHCC President) Michael Hay and the administration for developing this new degree. There is a whole lot yet to come on that horizon for us,” said Machuca.

“It’s more than firewall. This goes way beyond firewall at this point.”