Celebrating Cybersecurity Professionals at AACC

June is National Internet Safety Month, so what better time to celebrate a milestone in online security?

On Wednesday morning, the Pathways to Cybersecurity Consortium held a one-year anniversary event titled “A Celebration of Success: Increasing the Pipeline of Skilled Cybersecurity Professionals” in the Jenkins Gymnasium at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC).

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) awarded a nearly $5 million, three-year, community job training grant to the Pathways to Cybersecurity Careers Consortium, a consortium of academic, industry and government partners tasked with training new workers to work in cyber security. As of May, 322 people have entered training in the Pathways to Cybersecurity Careers program. The program's goal is to train a total of 1,000 workers.

As hackers continue to make headlines—recently, Citigroup lost $2.7 million in a hit and some of defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s sensitive data was stolen—organizations and individuals are increasingly seeking professional help in protecting data, expanding an industry that has caught the eye of local job seekers.

John R. Leopold, Anne Arundel County Executive, said, “This is one of our priorities. I created a new STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] program here at the college. I secured $3 million for it, it’s at the West County Campus, because we must fill jobs at Cyber Command [in Ft. Meade] and BRAC."

“We saw recently with Lockheed Martin and Citibank that hacker threats are real. What we have is a mismatch between jobs and the need for trained employees. That’s why most of the multi-million-dollar funding is to be used for training. I’m here today to promote training and the hiring of trained people."

Leopold continued, "Anne Arundel County is the epicenter of national security efforts. These are tough times. I’ve made reductions to the county budget, as you all know. One area where I increased the budget was the workforce development corporation. There’s nothing more important than finding a job. Having a job is the best social program we have in this country.”

“There’s nothing more important than what we’re celebrating today,” Congressman John Sarbanes told those assembled. “So congratulations to everybody here, but in particular, congratulations again to those who have gone through the program.”

“Our congressional delegation was thrilled a year ago to hear of the awarding of this grant. Here we are a year later, and we’ve seen already terrific results. This program really represents the intersection of security and infrastructure on hand, and building human infrastructure on the other. In doing that, we’re pushing the country forward."

“The most nonsensical thing in the world is to have potential workers on the one hand, who want to have a good job," continued Sarbanes. "They’re this far away from the skill set they need, so they can’t get to the job. And on the other hand, to have employers who need to fill positions, who are looking for workers. Closing that gap is the most important thing we can do, and that’s what this project is all about.”

“We know that cyber is an area of growth in the county, in the region and in the country,” AACC President Martha Smith pointed out. “Ft. Meade, NSA and defense contractors launched an initiative to train workers. It’s a great grant.”

“The amazing grant has the goal of meeting the needs of our community and preparing a workforce, which involves the success of students. Several hundred students from Anne Arundel, Carroll and Howard Community Colleges worked hard in this program’s challenging courses while balancing family and other obligations.”

According to Robert Leib, the Special Assistant for BRAC in Anne Arundel County, “Cyber security represents a tremendous opportunity for the citizens of our county. Whatever we can do to support and retrain people for these family-supporting jobs, we need to do it.”

David Bryant of Carroll County attended the event to “network with employers.” A job seeker, he “started the program about a year ago as part of the beta group, the second group” to be admitted to the Pathways to Cybersecurity Careers curriculum.

David Moran, a fellow job seeker, student of Pathways to Cybersecurity Careers and resident of Carroll County, said the program in its earlier days had its “rough spots, but it’s smoothing out now.” He’s completing the program through Carroll Community College.

Andrew DeMarco says that despite the Pathways to Cybersecurity Careers program’s benefits, it is still a tough job market. "I was doing land survey my whole life. So when the housing market collapsed, the company I was with for 23 years sent me a letter saying, ‘You’re not coming back.’ Now it’s hard to get an interview or any response. So something like this is best because they have to look you in the face. We’re hoping certificates get us started somewhere.”

Moran agreed that the job market was a challenge: “Employers need to sponsor more [security clearances.] I have a BA in information systems plus cyber security certificates, and I’m still having a hard time finding a job." He noted that job seekers are up against “a lot of companies that are being outsourced or bought by foreign companies.”

Michael Ryan, CEO of South River Technologies, said he attended the event because it “is relevant to what our company does—software and cyber security. Our software makes sure emails and secure patient information gets to the proper recipient and is not stolen.”

South River Technologies is distributed to more than 60,000 clients in 120 countries, and it’s gearing up to strengthen ties with AACC. “It’s on our radar to bring in interns. I’m here to learn about the consortium and to offer support. We understand the importance of high-tech security.”

“All of our economic wealth and our intellectual property reside on the Internet,” Keynote speaker Robert J. Giesler, Senior Vice President for Cyber Programs at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) said during his address. “Eighty per cent of hard networks are penetrated by humans, yet we still lack a workforce that knows not to click on a link from a Nigerian prince."

He continued, “The most effective defense are human beings, people trained adequately. I can’t emphasize enough that these aren’t computer scientists with PhDs. These are high school and community college students. The most interesting cyber products I’ve seen were designed by high school students who were raised on Xbox.”

For job seekers, he recommended that they “know problems facing the industry. That’s where a good mentor comes in. Everyone starts somewhere. Once you cross the threshold, the opportunities are endless.”

Kirkland J. Murray, President and CEO of the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, thanked the many partners who had signed on to the DoL grant, and he humorously reminded business people seated at tables to do something about the unemployment rate.

“Businesses here today looking to hire—job seekers please stand up—if you have a job, take a job seeker home today. They would appreciate it.”