Yes, absolutely! All that is required is an open mind and a desire to learn new things. In fact, some of our students who have found a passion for this subject area came in not liking computers at all.
Simply put... a lot! Our initiatives concentrate on the foundational skills that you need in order to understand today’s digital environment. The majority of our time is spent learning how to defend against today’s cyber threats. Knowing how to defend against a cyber-attack gives insight into an attacker’s mindset, which is invaluable. This includes operating systems, networks, physical security, data privacy, and current legislation on Cyber. We look at how to apply the language of Cyber to all business sectors. There isn’t a business sector today that doesn’t need someone to speak the language of Cyber.
Competitions are a great way to work as a team and showcase the skills that you have been learning against teams throughout the state, region, and nationally. The competitions are a great way to see the immediate and practical impact your skills have in today’s digital world. Students earn their way onto teams, which consist of 5-6 students. Currently, we compete in several competitions, highlighted by the Maryland Cyber Challenge and the Air Force Academy’s CyberPatriot competition. At this time, only the CyberPatriot competition is open to middle school students.
The new reality in our digital world is many of the systems that we rely on in our daily lives are vulnerable to attack. Today’s cyber criminals use those vulnerabilities to steal intellectual property and financial resources. Unfortunately, there is even the threat of Cyber Terrorism against our critical infrastructure systems. It is for these reasons that we have our Cyber Science Program.
Yes! If you are entering a technology field of study, you will have a solid technical foundation to continue your education. Even if you are not choosing to study a technology-related field, the skills and knowledge you gain as part of this program will set you apart in your field. As mentioned before, there is not a business sector or career right now that doesn’t need someone who speaks the language of Cyber. Whether it is English, Political Science, Biomedical Engineering, Law, or any other field that deals with data, all require a cyber component.
We have great partnerships with local business that need more qualified cyber professionals. We are fortunate to be in a state that has so many cyber internships and jobs available to us. We truly are in an area that is cutting edge and looking for future talent in this growing industry. Students in their junior and senior year are eligible to participate in paid summer internships.
NO! While it is true that you would have sufficient knowledge to “hack,” the Loyola Code of Ethics and Grad at Grad goals strictly prohibit offensive hacking. We concentrate on defensive skills to help protect and defend networks and critical infrastructure. In fact, we spend a good amount of time looking at “hacks” that have happened recently and debate the ethical implications of these activities.
As our Grad at Grad goals state, a Loyola graduate should be open to growth and dedicated to a just world. The language of Cyber is a new component that is needed to participate in our digital world and economy. The hallmarks of a Jesuit education are the ideal place to teach a complex subject like Cyber Science. The world needs more people who have a solid moral compass and can speak the language of Cyber. Teamwork is critical for this subject area and requires thought leaders from every academic discipline. We are good at Cyber because our students are good at the rest of the course offerings we have at Loyola. With academic diversity founded on solid Ignatian principles, we are able to differentiate our approach to Cyber and life.
Yes. If you choose, you can earn a variety of industry certifications. These are very helpful in obtaining internships, and they look great on college applications. There is a time investment that is required to earn these certifications, which–again–are optional. There are opportunities to earn the CompTIA A+, Network +, Security +, Linux + and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certifications, which will make you more marketable in many professions and industries.
Actually, this is one of the misconceptions about Cyber Security. We write very little computer code. We do discuss the topic, and there are several students who are accomplished programmers who share their knowledge with us. Since we work in a team environment, everyone is able to bring their skills to the table. While programming is a valuable skill to learn, you are not required to know computer programming.
Start with the daily news! There isn’t a day that goes by that there isn’t something in the news that has to deal with Cyber. It could be the latest organization to suffer a data breach, or it could be cyber legislation. A great source for a daily digest of what is happening in this space in all sectors is the daily CyberWire report. You can subscribe at www.thecyberwire.com
No two meetings are the same. At every meeting we take a current event from that day’s headlines and analyze it both from a technical perspective, as well as an ethical perspective. At that point we branch off into many different possibilities. We may be running a training image for an upcoming competition, taking a field trip to a business partner or industry conference, performing a network defense scenario, having a geopolitical conversation about something in the news, or welcoming a Cyber Security guest speaker to campus. Many of the topics and activities for that day are suggestions from the students involved in the program. This academic, ethical, and case-study approach provides both flexibility and diversity while applying both technical and practical challenges to our skills, and ultimately our experiences here at Blakefield.
We understand Loyola students have many different interests and commitments. Students are welcome to join us at any time to hear and see what we are doing. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate as much as they would like to participate. If your schedule permits, there is also a morning class (one credit) that you can take. If you just don’t have the time to commit to a competition team, no problem. Currently, many students in Cyber Security also participate on varsity sports teams, as well as other challenging extracurricular areas of interest. Diversity is encouraged.
