Welcome to the 2017 summer edition of the quarterly National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) eNewsletter. Our featured article for this edition highlights the President’s Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure, the workforce provisions of the order, and how NICE is working as a community to address those provisions and produce a report to the President. Next, the article on two-year, bachelor of applied science degree programs in IT and cybersecurity describes how community and technical colleges are helping to provide an additional pathway into a cybersecurity career. The Industry Spotlight article dives into cybersecurity concerns for small and medium-sized businesses and the importance of protecting not only infrastructure, but also the human element. Last, the article from the state of Illinois highlights the workforce elements of a two-year, state-wide cybersecurity strategy for Illinois. Illinois is taking a “Best-in-Class Cybersecurity Capabilities” approach with six actions to develop and sustain their cybersecurity workforce. Throughout the rest of the eNewsletter, you’ll find updates from our affiliated programs, such as the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, registration announcements for upcoming events, and more. I hope you enjoy reading this edition and wish you a cool summer.

Two-Year Colleges Launching BAS Degrees in IT and Cybersecurity

By Corrinne Sande, Whatcom Community College, Director for Computer Sciences and Information Systems & Director of CyberWatch West

The unmet need for a well-trained IT networking and cybersecurity workforce is demonstrated by increasingly serious security breaches across the United States and around the world. Currently, the nation’s cybersecurity workforce is undertrained. Not enough students are entering the education pipeline pursuing degrees or certificates in this field to meet present-day and predicted demand. Read More

Small Business Cybersecurity: Shift from Focus on Technology to Focus on People

By Heinan Landa, Optimal Networks

Small to mid-sized businesses have long operated under the assumption that because of their size, they are of little interest to cybercriminals. Slowly but surely, SMBs are accepting the unfortunate reality that (1) they are very much at risk, and, (2) basic technology defenses are not enough to keep them protected. Read More 

Developing a Best-in-Class Cybersecurity Workforce – The Illinois Strategy

By Kirk Lonbom, Chief Information Security Officer, State of Illinois

As the recent proliferation of the Wannacry ransomware demonstrates, cyber threats continue to grow both in volume and complexity, placing critical government services and the privacy of our citizens at ever-increasing risk. The demand for a trained and effective cybersecurity workforce continues to grow. The Center for Cyber Safety and Education’s Global Information Security Workforce Study projects that as many as 1.8 million cybersecurity positions will be unfilled over the next five years. Read More