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Campus Buzz
NYIT's Cyber Safety Net
Digital prowlers, beware. NYIT is educating a new generation of computer professionals to defend the Internet against hackers, crackers and malicious Web surfers.
Toward that end, the college's new Center for Network and Information Security will conduct research in security-related areas, collaborate with local businesses, sponsor security symposia and train computer science students to defend organizations against cyber attacks.
The center received a $300,000 federal grant included in the 2003 Defense Appropriations Bill signed by President Bush. NYIT is using the funds to configure the center with the latest network and security gear from Cisco Systems Inc. and other leading technology companies. Representative Steve Israel of New York's 2nd Congressional District assisted NYIT in securing the center's funding.
Several faculty members are designing and managing the center, including Professor Ayat Jafari, Ph.D., a network infrastructure expert, and Associate Professor Paul Stirpe, Ph.D., an operating systems expert.
"As it begins to take shape, the center will identify best practices for safeguarding systems," says Heskia Heskiaoff, Ph.D., Eng.Sc.D., dean of the School of Engineering and Technology. "Students who graduate from the program should enjoy very strong career prospects."
That's for sure. Junior-level computer security pros earn an average salary of $69,000 and a typical annual bonus of 14.5 percent, which raises total annual compensation to nearly $80,000, according to the System Administration Networking and Security (SANS) Institute of Bethesda, Md. Moreover, six-figure salaries often await senior-level security pros.
Hacker Epidemic
NYIT's focus on computer security comes at a critical time for students and any organization that rides the Internet. Roughly 150,000 Internet-related security incidents were reported in 2003, up a whopping 85 percent from 2002, according to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Think your organization's fully protected? Probably not. A stunning 82 percent of major businesses and universities suffered a virus attack in the past 12 months, according to the Computer Security Institute of San Francisco, Calif.
Send feedback and story ideas to alumni@nyit.edu.
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