Texas Border Business
Our country is facing new challenges every day regarding digital crimes. As the world shifts to more virtual domains, Laredo College continues to prepare educational alternatives in the computer technology field to fulfill the need of professionals for this evolving field. This fall semester, our institution will launch an Associate of Arts in Science with a concentration in Cyber Defense and Digital Forensics.
“We are in the era of technology and innovation. It is crucial for our college to offer engaging and innovative programs,” LC President Dr. Ricardo J. Solis said. “These two fields offer critical academic support for future professionals that will protect the private or public sector around the nation against cyber-attacks.”
These programs are only 60 credit hours each, and each program will admit 20 students. Those enrolled for the associate degree may also complete the one-year certificate simultaneously since the curriculum falls under the same guidelines. Graduates who succeed in the essential roles of preserving information and fighting against cybercriminals may earn a salary ranging from $30,000 to $90,000 a year.
The Cyber Defense Program targets several essential areas such as ethical hacking, intrusion detection, risk management, scripting and automation. Students will also obtain hands-on experience by utilizing industry-proven cybersecurity software and techniques, which students will apply at various national cybersecurity competitions and cyber ranges.
The abilities that these students will obtain from these programs will open new employment opportunities and will facilitate their professional growth. Graduates will acquire the skills necessary to begin a career as network systems administrators, junior system engineers, security analysts, information security analysts, security operations center specialists and network operations center specialists.
Laredo College wants to address the continuous virtual threats by also educating committed individuals in Digital Forensics. This degree is part of the forensic science field. It focuses on investigating, identifying, recovering, analyzing, preserving and documenting digital evidence from cybercrimes. The evidence is gathered for the purpose of presenting to a court of law where required.
Students enrolled in this program will have the opportunity to utilize the forensic toolkit software FTK to conduct live data acquisition and investigations. Law enforcement agencies across the nation currently use this software to conduct investigations. Program graduates will be ready for many employment opportunities such as digital forensic analyst, internet crime investigator, forensic technician, eDiscovery operations technician and digital forensic examiner.
Those interested in taking it to the next level and registering for any of these two programs must attend a mandatory information session where program entry prerequisites will be discussed. If the potential student is an IT professional or a state or local law enforcement agency member, program prerequisites are waived.
