Cybersecurity

Students looking to pursue a career in cybersecurity must stay at the leading edge of vulnerabilities, threats and technological advancements. Tiffin University’s cybersecurity program aids students in analyzing new threats while applying the latest industry knowledge to develop creative, effective solutions.

In the cybersecurity program, you’ll be confronted with a range of topics, including cyber warfare, incident response, policy analysis, penetration testing, wireless security and more. You’ll learn how to lead, navigate and adapt to a complex cyber risk landscape and solve problems using innovative techniques. Using real-world case scenarios and threat actors, the program will challenge you to think critically about interconnected systems and vulnerabilities.

Professional Cybersecurity Training

• The National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have designated Tiffin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).
• The cybersecurity program covers essential workforce requirements – from cybersecurity fundamentals to computer science basics to legal/policy aspects.
• Instructors bring extensive cybersecurity experience and local connections.
• The cybersecurity program is continually being updated to reflect industry needs.
• After taking the core curriculum, you’ll be prepared to test for various common industry certifications, such as Security+ and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

In Tiffin University’s cybersecurity program, you‘ll study with faculty who bring vast industry experience. Our instructors bring years of both technical and managerial experience, having worked in the development and testing of security systems and technologies. Their sharing of real-world experience will greatly enhance your learning, as these experienced practitioners bring real-life examples of cybersecurity concepts and technologies to classroom discussions.

As part of this practical, real-world education, you’ll gain a familiarity with common security tools used in the industry. You’ll be exposed to the most up-to-date information on policy, laws and regulations. You’ll acquire current, relevant field knowledge regarding:

• Basic information security concepts
• Current threats and vulnerabilities in networks
• Laws and regulations on information security and privacy
• Ethical hacking principles and techniques
• Open-source and commercial security tools
• Incident response and business continuity
• Cyber warfare
• Mobile device and wireless security
• Linux operating system
• Computer science basics, including operating systems, networks, programming and databases

Experiential learning is critical in the study of cybersecurity, because, once in the workforce, you’ll apply security concepts each and every day. It’s why most courses in the cybersecurity program utilize hands-on exercises and lab activities that focus on the application of concepts and the use of common security tools.

Tiffin University’s Center for Cyber Defense & Forensics also provides you a hands-on cybersecurity training environment. Through collaborative projects inside the Center, you’ll learn firsthand how to find vulnerabilities in systems, how to exploit them like an attacker and then how to fix them so that they are no longer prone to attacks.

Your experiential learning will culminate with a senior seminar course where you’ll collaborate on a specific security-related project using Raspberry Pi minicomputers.

Bringing Knowledge to Practice

• All students in the program complete a 150-hour internship at a security-related job.
• Tiffin University’s Student Cyber Security teams have routinely won capture the flag events and placed third out of 20 teams in a regional competition that included 15 professional cybersecurity teams from Fortune 500 companies.
• In 2017, Tiffin University hosted the 8th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium, hosting 225 attendees to discuss the threats and challenges to maritime cybersecurity and the marine transportation system. The attendees of the symposium represented 29 different educational institutions, ­five foreign nations, the United States military, multiple private-sector organizations, federal law enforcement and homeland security agencies. Tiffin University was the smallest university to ever host the Maritime Risk Symposium, which highlighted the quality and growing reputation of the cyber defense programs at the University.

CURRICULUM

CYBER SECURITY CORE – 3 hours each

• CDS152 Introduction to Cyber Defense
• CDS345 Cyber Law and Ethics
• POL151 Introduction to National Security Studies
• POL313 American National Security Policy

Total = 12 hours

MAJOR: CYBER SECURITY – 3 hours each

• CDS244 Cyber Security
• CDS348 Incident Management
• CDS355 Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Analysis
• CDS424 Applied Network Security
• CDS444 Wireless Security
• CDS445 Cyber Warfare
• CDS491 Senior Seminar In Cyber Defense (w
• CST155 Introduction to Operating Systems
• CST201 Introduction to Programming
• CST230 Networking Fundamentals
• CST280 Database I
• CST301 Advanced Programming Techniques
• CST325 Linux
• CST330 Network Infrastructures I
• CST412 IT Project Management
• POL225 Introduction to Intelligence Studies
• SCS300 Research Design (w)
• SCS470 Internship

Total = 54 hours

This is a sample course sequence to illustrate course offerings for this major. Consult the official Academic Bulletin for detailed registration and advising information.

SAMPLE COURSES

Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Analysis (CDS355) – This course will equip students to evaluate a network to discover potential security vulnerabilities and rectify those issues. Students will learn the most common security mistakes as well as the necessary corrective action, and will be able to probe networks to determine if any of those common vulnerabilities can be exploited. The roles, missions, and appropriate applications of Red Teams and Blue Teams will be discussed. 

Information Security (CDS344) – This course will introduce information security as an essential component in our war against terrorism. All information must be secure or the probability of winning the war will be diminished. With advances in technology and software, cyber-terrorism has become very real. Computer hackers and terrorists can shut down our nation’s most critical infrastructures. There can be no doubt that cyber-terror can pose a very real threat to this nation’s security. Students will become familiar with the entire arena of information security.

Cyber Warfare (CDS445) – This course explores the past, current, and future threats of information warfare and cyber terrorism. It provides an overview of information warfare and cyber terrorism techniques and capabilities of state and non-state actors through case study analysis. An exploration of current and future technology and development of information warfare and cyber terrorism techniques is utilized to develop future threat matrices and countermeasures.

FORMAT

On Campus – Offered in a 15-week semester format with start dates of January and August

Tiffin University’s cybersecurity will prepare you for employment in the private and public cybersecurity sector, where job opportunities are growing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of individuals employed within the cybersecurity sector is slated to grow by 31 percent between 2019 and 2029. That rate far exceeds the average for all occupations.

CAREERS

• Application Security Engineer
• Cybersecurity Analyst
• Cybersecurity Incident Responder
• Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
• FBI
• Forensics Computer Analyst
• Information Security Analyst
• Intrusion Analyst
• National Security Agency (NSA)
• Penetration Tester
• Risk and Compliance Analyst
• Security Audit & Risk Management Specialist
• Security Operations Center Analyst
• Security Researcher (Threat and Intelligence Analytics)
• Threat Detection Engineer
• Threat Hunter
• United States Cyber Command
• U.S. Department of Energy

WHERE TU GRADS HAVE WORKED

While it is extremely competitive to obtain such appointments, TU alumni have gone on to careers in these agencies:

• Advanced Technical Intelligence Center
• American Airlines
• Bill.com, Inc.
• Cooper Tires
• Decypher Technologies, Ltd.
• Deloitte Canada
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Defense
• First Energy
• Nationwide
• SpaceX