February Ed Report[4]-Chanel

A10 EZ RE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON POST TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

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Learn more at coloradotech.edu/HLS or call 1.855.388.8086CTU cannot guarantee employment or salary. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. Find disclosureson graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.coloradotech.edu/disclosures. 0413424 1/13

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“My mom and the rest of my family doesn’treally understand it,” she said of her passion forcodes. “My husband actually calls me a geek.”

Geek or not, Suggs, 37, has parlayed herenthusiasm for encryption into a career in oneof the hottest fields going: homeland security.She works for Cisco as a “national industrialsecurity specialist” for government clients(don’t ask too much about what she does).Suggs hopes one day to have a job with theorganization that bills itself as “the home ofAmerica’s codemakers and codebreakers”: theNational Security Agency (NSA).

To help her develop the skills she needs toachievehergoals,Suggsispursingbothamaster’sand a doctorate in information assurance atCapitol College in Laurel, Maryland. The degreeprograms are offered entirely online, so you willfind Suggs at her computer on Wednesday andThursday evenings participating in classes suchas “Network Systems Security Concepts.” Therest of the week, when she’s not working or

spending quality time with her husband andtwo children, she does classwork.

“It’s a lot of work, but I am having fun,”Suggs said.

The term “homeland security” was a new onetomost Americans in the aftermath of the attacksof September 11, 2001. But it rapidly becamea catchall for a kaleidoscopic range of activitiesundertaken in the public and private sectors aliketo protect the United States and its people andcommunities from terrorism, natural disasters,cyberattacks and other threats.

The new emphasis on homeland securityalso gave rise to an entirely new category ofjobs. Today, the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity alone employs more than 200,000people, making it the third largest federalgovernment agency after the Departments ofDefense and Veterans Affairs. And “homelandsecurity jobs” aren’t limited to DHS or evento the federal government. From local lawenforcement to electric utilities to majorfinancial institutions, countless employers needworkers with a solid understanding of thehomeland security landscape, along with keysecurity-related skills.

Enter graduate schools like Capitol College

and Colorado Technical University. Capitol,according to faculty member Jason Pittman,has seen steady increases in applications andenrollments in its undergraduate, master’sand doctoral degree programs in informationassurance in recent years. The MS in InformationAssurance, henoted, is especially popular amongstudents working in database administration,networking and related fields who want to shiftto jobs protecting and defending informationtechnology systems from cyberthreats.

“Cyberattacks are in the news every singleday, and people are seeing how these skills arein demand so they’re looking for a chance tobe part of a growing field,” said Pittman.

Colorado Technical University (CTU),for its part, recently joined a handful ofeducational institutions offering a dedicatedMS in Homeland Security. Students in the CTUprogram take core courses such as “Dynamicsof Terrorism,” “Intelligence Organizational andPolicy Challenges” and “Homeland Securityand Government.” In addition to the corecontent, students choose one of two tracks:Emergency Management and Public Health;or Cybersecurity Policy. All classes are offeredentirely online via CTU’s virtual campus.

Nadav Morag is CTU’s Dean of SecurityStudies. His curriculum vitae includes a job inthe early 2000s as senior director for foreignpolicy with Israel’s National Security Council.In that position, Morag worked with 10 othersenior government officials to develop policyrecommendations for the Israeli prime ministeron matters of national security, includingcounterterrorism policy.

In developing the new degree program,Morag said he and his colleagues at CTU aimedto target mid-career professionals in fields fromlaw enforcement to emergency managementwho need to “think more strategically” abouthomeland security topics.

“These people tend to be really good atwhat they do and they have risen through theranks and taken on more responsibility as theircareers continued,” Morag said. “But nowthey want an understanding of the broaderhomeland security picture, how their work fitsinto it, and what they can do in their jobs and

careers to help their organizations be smarterand more strategic about security.”

Students go through the MS program atCTU as a cohort; the first group started earlyin 2013. In addition to their coursework andongoing interactions with faculty and fellowstudents, students have to write a thesisidentifying homeland security solutions for theagencies where they work.

“The one big misconception abouthomeland security is that it begins and endswith DHS,” Morag said, referring to the U.S.Department of Homeland Security. The truth,he said, is that a homeland security degree canbenefit people in any number of professionsand jobs — including law enforcement officialsat all levels, FEMA personnel, local emergencymanagers, fire and emergency medical servicesworkers and more. ■

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

“[Students] want an understanding of thebroader homeland security picture, how theirwork fits into it, and what they can do in theirjobs and careers to help their organizations besmarter and more strategic about security.”

– Nadav Morag, Dean of Security Studies,Colorado Technical University

PROGRAMSPREPARE STUDENTSTO PROTECT USA FROMCYBERATTACKS, OTHER THREATS

She loves the challenge of devising and cracking codes. “I just think it is sointeresting to look at something that is encrypted and to know there is ahidden message behind it,” she said. Suggs’s bedside reading: “The CodeBook: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography.”

Chanel Suggs is a self-described“encryption nut.”

HOM

ELAND

SECURIT

YDEGREES Homeland Security

Workers in Demand• In areas from critical infrastructureprotection to customs and border securityto emergency response, homeland securityis an enormous and growing field. TheDepartment of Homeland Security aloneemploys more than 200,000 workers.

• Demand for “information security analysts”is expected to be high in the coming yearsas government and businesses striveto protect their information technologysystems and detect and thwart cyberattacks.

• A basic understanding of cyberthreats andinformation security is growing increasinglyimportant in management and IT positionsin health care, finance and other industries.

More InformationFor more information about the graduateprograms explored in this article, please go tothe following links:

Colorado Technical Universitycoloradotech.edu

Capitol Collegecapitol-college.edu

ABOUT THIS SECTION:This special advertising section was prepared by independent writer andeditorWilliam H.Woodwell, Jr. (whwoodwell.com). The production of thissection did not involve the news or editorial staff of TheWashington Post.

M Y D R E A M : Protecting Cyber AssetsMY SCHOOL: Capitol College

Capitol College isn’t for everyone.But it’s perfect for me.It’s a dangerous world—especially for our informationassets and infrastructure. But it’s also dicey for cyberterrorists who have Capitol College information assurancegraduates tracking them down. Capitol’s MS and certificateprograms in IA provide in-depth knowledge on overcomingmalicious intrusions and threats to government and privatesector environments. And courses are conducted online sobusy professionals like me can improve their expertise andskills while balancing work and family. It’s clear CapitolCollege provides me with the best way to secure informationassets as well as a better career.

To learn more about our DSc, MS, BS and certificate programs

in information assurance, visit capitol-college.edu/wpe

Capitol College is recognized as aNational Center of Academic Excellencein Information Assurance Educationby the NSA and DHS.

A Leader in CybersecurityEducation Since 2001

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