Participation in AUCC educational endeavors is open to faculty, students, cybersecurity scholars, and students from diverse disciplines and underrepresented populations. A specific goal of AUCC is to involve undergraduate students in Cyber Defense Education enrichment in all its forms.
The AUCC engages an Advisory Council whose membership represents major private and public Cybersecurity industry representatives. Many of the council members are Assumption University alumni with significant relevant experience. All contribute to the ongoing advancement of the AUCC and to the fulfillment of its mission.
Advisory Council Members:
- Ken Corriveau, EVP, Chief Information Officer, Omnicom Media Group
- Richard DesLauriers, Vice President of Corporate Security, Penske Corporation
- Peter Foster, Chairman, Willis Towers Watson Global FINEX Cyber and Cyber Risk Solutions
- Harold Naughton, Managing Partner of the PFAS Cost Recovery Program
- William O’Neill, General Counsel and Member at McDonald Hopkins LLC
- James Trainor, Senior Vice President within Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group, AON Corporation
- Larry Wentzell, Colonel, USMC, Commander, Joint Intelligence Operations Center U.S. Cyber Command
The AUCC exists to:
- Offer coursework leading to a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity that aligns with National Security Agency (NSA)/Department of Homeland Security (DHS) standards as defined by the National Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) Cyber Defense Education (CDE) Program.
- Increase minority participation in CDE related careers.
- Support university initiatives and projects related to CDE and Cybersecurity.
- Establish a program of research in Cybersecurity.
- Serve as a local, regional, and national resource for CDE resources.
Earn a BS in Cybersecurity
Earn a BS in CybersecurityIn addition to its Center for Cybersecurity, Assumption University offers a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity. The program is educating the next generation of leaders and architects in cybersecurity, who possess technical expertise and practical training to help secure, develop, and sustain the cyberspace ecosystem.
Assumption University has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense through the academic year 2028.
Assumption University has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. This designation is awarded by the National Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program – which is managed by the National Security Agency (NSA) – and it means the University’s cybersecurity curricula and its B.S. in Cybersecurity degree meets or exceeds the established standards in articulating cybersecurity education. In addition, the liberal-arts foundation of the program directly aligns with and supports the following NCAE-C program core values and guiding principles:
- The Ethical Behavior Core Value: The academic institution must encourage and support ethical behavior by students, faculty, administrators, and professional staff.
- The Share Core Value: The institution enables an environment in which students, faculty, administrators, professional staff, and practitioners can share, interact, and collaborate with others in the cybersecurity field.
- The Lead by Example Core Value: The institution demonstrates a commitment to address, engage, and respond to current and emerging cybersecurity issues in the classroom, the institution itself, and outside the institution.
Cybersecurity Forum 2023 Speaker Series
The most recent recordings of the Cybersecurity Forums can be watched below.
October 2024
- Presentation 9: Cybersecurity Guest Speaker: Jarret Wright (CISO, Massport)
April 2024
- Presentation 8:
- Cybersecurity Program Alumni Speakers: Jack Supernor (UMass Memorial), Fred Anim-Amofa (TJX), Sam Malone (Cambridge Savings Bank), Cameron Carpenter (Deloitte), Matthew McNaughton (Liberty Mutual), Connor Flanagan (Liberty Mutual)
March 2024
- Presentation 7:
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Speaker: John Hammond (Principal Security Researcher, Huntress)
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November 2023
- Presentation 6:
- Richard Cehon, Director, Business Analyst – Cyber Business Intelligence Squad Leader
- Dylan Myles, Principal Cybersecurity Engagement and Awareness Consultant
- Ed Holohan, Chief Product Owner, Application Security
- Martin Grant, Director, Business Information Security Officer
- Presentation 5:
- Richard Cehon, Director, Business Analyst – Cyber Business Intelligence Squad Leader
- Steve Macintyre, Senior VP, Product Area Lead for Data Security and Analytics/Cloud Security
- Lydia McGowan, VP, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
- Winnie Shek, Director, Business Information Security Officer
- Dan Long, Cloud Security Leader
October 2023
- Presentation 4: Nathan Poirier, Senior Manager, Security Operations
March 2023
- Presentation 3: Zach Dayton (Manager, Incident Response Services, Rapid7) and T.J. Nel (Director, Threat Research, Secureworks) engaged the audience in conversation about “Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR)”.
October 2022 (Cybersecurity Month)
With Cybersecurity month underway, the theme for this forum series was titled: “Seeing yourself in Cyber”.
- Presentation 2: Amanda Alvarez, Senior DevSecOps Engineer
- Presentation 1: J.J. Widener, Data Protection Architect
AU Cyber Club – Leadership Team for Academic Year 2022-2023:
- Joshua Wood, President
- Christian Buckley, Vice President
- Brianna Michael, Secretary
- Patrick D’Eufemia, Treasure
AU Cyber Club – Leadership Team for Academic Year 2024-2025:
- Patrick D’Eufemia, President
- Sean Lewis III, Vice President
Assumption University Center for Cybersecurity
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Assumption University Resources:
- Information Security Resources
- Computer and Network Use Policies
- Password Strength Demonstration
- WiFi Hacking Capture-the-Flag Challenge
- CyberCamps
“Live” Cybersecurity Threat Maps:
Regional Resources:
- Massachusetts Cyber Security: A collection of resources offered by state government.
- Massachusetts Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Resources: Get the information you need to keep your personal or business information secure.
- Report a suspected cybersecurity threat: for Massachusetts state employees.
- NSA/DHS CAE Northeast Regional Resource Center: Performs outreach and builds relationships with educational institutions in the region
- MassCyberCenter Municipal Cybersecurity Toolkit
- MassCyberCenter Mentorship Program
- MassCyberCenter Job Board
National Resources:
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences: A professional organization that provides leadership to advance science and its application to the legal system.
- CAE Community: A portal for recognized Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyberseccurity.
- California Cyber Hub: A catalog of active and past cyber training and competition opportunities.
- Check Point Software: Leading cyber security products for mobile security, data centers, and next generation threat prevention.
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE): A detailed list of publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD): A collection of known vulnerabilities shared to raise awareness and cybersecurity.
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Mission is to secure the nation from the many threats we face.
- DHS Stop, Think, Connect Toolkit: Provides informative educational cybersecurity resources for all segments of the community.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): Provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity and to develop effective alliances with law enforcement and industry partners.
- National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE): Aims to energize and promote a robust network and an ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.
- National Security Agency/Central Security Services (NSA/CSS): Leads the U.S. Government in cryptology that encompasses cybersecurity products and services in order to gain a decision advantage for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances.
- National Cyber Watch Center: A consortium of higher education institutions, businesses, and government agencies focused on collaborative efforts to advance Information Security education and strengthen the national cybersecurity workforce.
- The CERT Division: Anticipating and Solving the Nation’s Cybersecurity Challenges.
- Threat Cloud: Live Cyber Attack Threat Map.
- Digital Attack Map: This Google Jigsaw project displays to most powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks happening now.
- Information is Beautiful: World’s Biggest Data Breaches & Hacks
- United States – Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT): The Nation’s flagship cyber defense, incident response, and operational integration center.
- RSA: Security solutions to address cyber threats.
- Shodan: Explore the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Symantec: Global Leader in Next-Generation Cyber Security.
- CISCO: Worldwide leader in IT and networking.
Career Resources:
- Cyber Careers Heat Map: Provides a granular snapshot of demand and supply data for cybersecurity jobs.
- CyberCareers.Gov: Supports identification of existing and forward-leaning strategies that help the Federal Government build a cybersecurity workforce pipeline; and recruit, hire, develop, and retain top talent.
- Federal Government Cyber Workforce Dashboard: The purpose of the dashboard is “to inform cyber workforce planning efforts and support agencies in data-driven decision making on current and future cyber workforce requirements.”
- National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS): Connects Government employees, students, educators, and industry with cybersecurity training providers throughout the Nation
- NICCS: Interested in a career in cybersecurity?
- NSA Day of Cyber: An interactive, self-guided, and fully-automated cybersecurity career experience.
- TITANS: Technical Internships to Advance National Security.
- MassCyberCenter jobs board
- NCyte Center – Cybersecurity Work Roles and Position Descriptions
Professional Development Resources:
- CERT Insider Threat Certificates
- CISCO Career Certifications
- Check Point Training and Certifications
- CompTIA Certifications
- FISMA Certification
- International Info System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) Inc. Certifications
- ISACA Certifications
- Microsoft Security Certifications
- RSA Cybersecurity Training and Certifications
- SANS Information Security Training Opportunities
- Symantec Certification Program
Education & Research Resources:
- CybrScore: Cybersecurity and IT assessment tool.
- DETERlab: Offers hands-on security education.
- Cyber Patriot: A National youth cyber education program and competition.
- FREE Cybersecurity Training for Veterans: Online, on-demand training center for veterans.
- OWASP Hacking Lab: Provides free remote security (web) challenges and riddles.
- Hack the Box: A well-known security testing playground with multiple difficulty levels, rankings, training opportunities, and a job board.
- Offensive Security Labs: Provides hands-on labs, several paid training opportunities, and certifications.
- Pentester Lab: Provides training opportunities and labs to practice security testing techniques.
- Pentester Academy: Provides training opportunities, hands-on exercises, labs, and bootcamps.
- Capture-the-Flag Time: Lists active and upcoming CTF events and provides past CTF event writeups for review.
- SEED project and Labs: A collection of hands-on laboratory exercises (called SEED labs) for computer and information security education.
- Towson University’s #CYBER4ALL: A collection of cybersecurity resources.
- Other FREE Resources
Cybersecurity News Sources:
- Cyber Wire Event Tracker: A free, community-driven cyber security news service based in Baltimore.
- Inside Cyber Security: A must-read coverage of the emerging cyber agenda for the new administration and in Congress.
- Homeland Security News Wire: Strategic Communications for Government Security and Defense.
- Security Week: Internet and Enterprise Security News, Insights and Analysis.
- Tech News World Cybersecurity: Information on the Latest Technology Developments in Cybersecurity.
- National Cyber Watch: Creating a culture of collaboration through coordination of a broad national network of networks.
- Security News Port: Gathers the latest news on security, viruses, Trojans, hackers, hackings and other things of interest to security professionals.
- Security Weekly: A podcast for IT professionals by IT professionals. The site hosts several different shows and hundreds of bonus articles available to read at your leisure.
- IT Security Portal: Highlights the latest IT, computer and network security articles and news.
- Security Focus: A comprehensive source of security information on the Internet.
- The Hacker News: Features latest cyber security news and in-depth coverage of current as well as future trends in Infosec and how they are shaping the cyber world.
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is Director of Cybersecurity Program and Professor of Practice at Assumption University and has formerly served as Director of the Maine Cyber Security Cluster (MCSC) at the University of Southern Maine (USM). Ray previously served as Chair of the Division of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) during which time he orchestrated the effort to achieve program accreditation under the auspices of the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). While at UMFK, he also successfully orchestrated and led a multi-campus initiative to attain National Security Agency (NSA)/Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognition of the distributed University of Maine System (UMS) Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance and Cyber Defense Education. He now serves as a program reviewer for other institutions seeking recognition. Ray has also served the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) as an on-site evaluator for higher education institutions in New England. In 2007, both chambers of the Maine State Legislature passed a legislative sentiment recognizing his work in higher education in the St. John Valley. The proclamation was sponsored, and later presented to Albert, by Fort Kent area Representative Troy Jackson and Senator John Martin. Ray’s industry experience includes serving NASA – Johnson Space Center as a Software Quality Assurance Engineer on its Space Station Freedom Project, Macro Development Corporation as a software developer, and QualityQuest, LLC as a CEO.
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Raymond Albert, Director of Cybersecurity Program and Professor of Practice
Giana Battista, Adjunct Faculty/Cybersecurity
Michael Gioia, Adjunct Faculty/Cybersecurity
Pawan Gupta, Adjunct Faculty/Computer Science
Jennifer McLarnon, Adjunct Faculty/Cybersecurity
Peter Sullivan, Adjunct Faculty/Cybersecurity
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Assumption University, in support of Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) and its STOP, THINK, CONNECT campaign, has joined the MassCyberCenter, and many other organizations in celebrating October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This year’s overarching theme is “See Yourself in Cyber.” Many opportunities and resources are available under “Resources” above and at the following links. Join in the celebration and help raise cybersecurity for all.
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) celebrates CSAM
- National Cybersecurity Alliance celebrates CSAM
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- Cybersecurity Guide Interview with Professor Albert, Ph.D.
- Spectrum News 1 Interview with Prof. Albert, Ph.D.: Cybersecurity professor explains how cyberattacks could impact the U.S.
- Assumption Professor quoted in AdvisorSmith Report: ‘Cyberattacks Affected 42% of Small Businesses in Past Year
- Cybersecurity Forum 2021: Cybersecurity Career Options – What Everyone Should Know – Recording
- Cybersecurity Forum 2021: Cybersecurity Career Options – What Everyone Should Know
- Assumption’s Cybersecurity and Marketing Programs Collaborate to Offer a Unique Course
- Telegram & Gazette: College Town: Assumption cybersecruity students get mentors
- Cybersecurity Forum
- Spectrum News: Assumption University to Host Panel on Cyber Attacks During Election
- Cybersecurity Forum: Cyber Threats and the 2020 Election
- Boston Globe: Mass. has been pummeled by ads on Question 1. They veer into exaggeration and ‘fearmongering,’ experts say
- Worcester Magazine: Education: The Innovation Roundup
- Assumption to Empower Underrepresented and Next Generation of Cybersecurity Leaders
- O’Reilly ’21 Gaining Hands-on Experience through Cybersecurity Internship
- Prof. Albert Discusses Assumption’s Cutting-Edge Cybersecurity Program
- Cybersecurity Program Joins Extensive Network of Business, Government Agencies, and More
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All students are encouraged to participate in the “Quad Cyber Challenge”, by completing the “Cyber Challenge Checklist” and watching the “How Not to Get Hacked” video series. This will be taking place on April 10-14, 2023,
The Quad Cyber Challenge is “… a call to action for every internet user to learn more about cybersecurity and protect themselves, their devices, or their customers from the growing threats of online attacks. Everybody knows the risks of being hacked, but few know all the simple steps they can take to prevent being hacked. That’s why we [Quad Partners] want millions of people around the world to learn more by taking the challenge and committing to safe and secure online practices.”
Assumption University Cybersecurity Program Validated by U.S. National Security Agency
The “Program of Study” validation, awarded by the National Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program – which is managed by the NSA – means the University’s cybersecurity curricula and its B.S. in Cybersecurity degree meets or exceeds NSA standards in articulating cybersecurity education. As a result, Assumption University is on path to becoming only the third NSA-recognized Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) in Massachusetts.