Indiana universities prepare students to battle cyber crime

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Government intelligence agencies have recognized an Indiana university for its work in cybersecurity.

Earlier this month the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security designated Ivy Tech Community College as a National Center of Academic Excellence in its cyber defense education program, the Tribune-Star (http://bit.ly/2sIRoTX ) reported.

The program's goal is to reduce vulnerability in the country's information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense, the NSA said. The FBI website estimates billions of dollars are lost every year repairing systems attacked by cybercrime.

The university's two-year cybersecurity and information assurance program covers how to prevent a hack and requires students to be familiar with networks, software and server administration.

"The internet as we know it is still a wide-open frontier filled with lawlessness much as was seen in the early days of pioneers and cattle drives of the wild west," said Ivy Tech Community College student Dave Houchin. The 34-year-old expects to earn his degree in the program later this year.

"It is an exponentially growing career choice," he said. "Demand for services, such as securing and maintaining networks, will only increase."

There are almost 630 annual job openings in cybersecurity in the state, according to the 2014-2024 Department of Workforce Development and Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Demand Report.

Indiana State University will soon offer a cybersecurity studies program that will focus on human mistakes that can lead to security breaches. It will look at training programs to make employees more aware of phishing emails so they don't create a security breach, said Indiana State assistant professor Bill Mackey.

"We're teaching them how to be a human anti-virus," he said.

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Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com