Vincennes University’s plan to reduce the risk of cyber-threats to Hoosiers and help strengthen the mission of the Indiana Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IN-ISAC) will soon become a reality after they selected EC-Council, a world leader in cyber security training and certification to accomplish this mission. Certified Secure Computer User (CSCU), an end-user security course by EC-Council, will be introduced to secondary-education levels in Indiana via high school students enrolled in VU’s dual credit programs, Project Excel and Early College.
In the Fall of 2018, Vincennes University will include the CSCU certification course within Introduction to Computer Concepts (COMP110), a 3-credit-hour course within the Core Transfer Library (CTL) for the state of Indiana. VU is gearing up for this by certifying faculty in CSCU at 12 surrounding high schools in the state of Indiana. VU has also recently launched EC-Council’s globally recognized Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification in their Bachelor’s in Technology degree program, which has a concentration in Information Technology, and their Bachelor’s in Homeland Security degree, which has a concentration in Cybersecurity and Information Technology.
Leading these initiatives is Jaci Lee Lederman, a Certified EC-Council Instructor and chair of the Department of Information Technology at VU, and Wesley Alvarez, Director of Academics for the U.S. Academic Division at EC-Council. “Providing high school students access to the CSCU course and certification will expedite the cyber-secure education needed by our future workforce. Cyber-secure work habits can start in high school. After piloting the CSCU course on the VU campus, I see merit in experienced IT students and professionals taking the course. The course is a resource that can help IT students and professionals alike understand what everyday computer users need to know. In the effort to configure the next best system to thwart cybercrime, organizations might overlook educating end users about secure computing,” says Lederman.
The purpose of the CSCU course and certification to this three-hundred-year-old organization is to provide individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to protect their information assets. The skills learned from this course includes identity theft, fraud, phishing scams, virus and backdoors, email hoaxes, online sex offenders, hacking attacks, and social engineering. This will help students take the necessary steps to mitigate their security exposure. After the course, students will also be eligible to attempt the CSCU certification exam and achieve an industry-recognized certification before they graduate high school.
“This course highlights the actions we take unknowingly every day on our computer that could put us at risk of losing data as a result of a cyber-attack. As an IT professional, I understand that protecting an organization’s infrastructure is the top priority of any Information Technology department. However, setting up systems to protect an organization’s digital assets is only one part of the effort. The human factor should not be ignored. The everyday computer user must be educated on cybersecurity so that he or she can contribute to the organization’s security efforts,” Lederman said.
About Vincennes University
VU offers a baccalaureate degree in Technology, including a concentration in Information Technology and in Homeland Security, which comprises a concentration in Cybersecurity and Information Technology. Associate degrees include Information Technology, IT Support and Cyber Security, Computer Programming, Web Design, and Game Development, as well as Law Enforcement, Conservation Law, and Legal Studies. Details are available by contacting Jaci Lederman at [email protected]. More information is available at www.vinu.edu/information-technology and www.vinu.edu/dualcredit.
About EC-Council
EC-Council has been the world’s leading information security certification body since 2002. EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals with various information security and e-business skills. It is the owner and creator of the world famous Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), and Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) programs, as well as many others programs. EC-Council Foundation, the nonprofit branch of EC-Council, created Global CyberLympics, the world’s first global hacking competition. For more information, visit https://www.eccouncil.org/academia.
