Center for Internet Security Launches Cyber Teaching Hospital to Help Meet the Demands for a Skilled Cyber Security Workforce

EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. --(Business Wire)--

The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, today announced its Cyber Teaching Hospital, which will provide residency training programs for undergraduate and graduate students and give them the necessary skills to supplement the nation's critical need for a trained cyber workforce. The program will provide mentoring and hands-on casework during a semester-long, onsite residency at CIS. John Jay College, Norwich University (News - Alert), NYU-Poly, the University at Albany, and Utica College are among the schools participating in the initiative, with more schools to be added.

Modeled after teaching hospitals at which medical residents continue their education and training with hands-on experience working side-by-side with medical professionals, the CIS Teaching Hospital will offer selected graduate and undergraduate students the ability to work with cyber security experts from both the public and private sectors and gain practical experience they could not get in a classroom.

"Our goal with the Teaching Hospital is to bring together the brightest minds from the academic community and connect them with experts in the field, to take them from theory to reality," said William Pelgrin, CIS President & CEO. "It's a win-win: the residents get world-class mentoring and experience, and the cyber security profession gets highly skilled individuals who can hit the ground running."

The residents will be recommended for the program by the participating colleges and universities and selected by CIS based on a rigorous review process. Residents will spend a semester at CIS headquarters in upstate New York. Residents will gain practical experience in key disciplines, including incident response, computer forensics, malware analysis, vulnerability assessment, security policy and security event analysis. Financial support comes in part from the participating schools and sponsorships.

As part of the program requirements, each participant must complete a series of community service seminars called Community Lessons for Improving Cyber Security (CLICS). Through CLICS, the Teaching Hospital residents will provide educational presentations to local communities, especially focused on seniors, grade school and high school students as a means of giving back to the community and raising awareness about cyber security.

Upon successful completion of the residency program, graduates will receive a CIS certificate, and some students may continue on in their studies, while others will enter the workforce. CIS is developing a recruiting process to help match Teaching Hospital graduates with employers in both the public and private sectors who need their talents.

The first semester of the CIS Teaching Hospital is under way and will conclude in early May, with plans in progress for the upcoming summer, spring and fall semesters. CIS is accepting applications for the summer residency, which will begin May 27, 2013. Applications can be sent to CTH@cisecurity.org

Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College said, "There is no better way to learn than by doing. Students in the residency training program at the Cyber Teaching Hospital will learn how to meet the challenges to our cyber security and, when they complete their residency, they will constitute a well-trained workforce able to uncover, assess, and address risks to the safety of our networks. This is a very exciting initiative, and John Jay is happy to be among the colleges partnering with the Center for Internet Security."

Nasir Memon, Professor, Computer Science & Engineering Department at NYU-Poly said: "We are excited that NYU-Poly students will participate in this residency program and learn from the great team of reserchers at the Center for Internet Security and apply their hands-on skills and knowledge on real data at such a large scale."

Peter Bloniarz, dean of the College of Computing and Information at the University at Albany, said, "The Center's Teaching Hospital is a unique opportunity for students to work hand-in-hand with world-class cyber experts on problems that organizations face daily. Students will get first-hand experience with situations that are not just realistic but are making a real difference in the organizations that work with the Center. We're pleased to partner with the Center for Internet Security to offer this opportunity to our students."

Todd Hutton, President of Utica College said, "Utica College is privileged and honored to be a partner with the Center for Internet Security in preparing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The CIS Teaching Hospital offers a unique opportunity for the best and the brightest to hone their skills in a variety of cybersecurity specialties. Utica College is fortunate to have placed the first "resident" in the CIS Teaching Hospital. We look forward to partnering with the Center in meeting the nation's ever-growing need for extraordinarily well-trained cybersecurity experts."

Learn how your school can participate or how your company can sponsor a residency: contact CIS at CTH@cisecurity.org.

About The Center for Internet Security

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on enhancing the cyber security readiness and response of public and private sector entities. Visit CIS online at http://www.cisecurity.org; see our latest news at http://www.cisecurity.org/about/news-room/; follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @CISecurity