Category Archives: cybersecurity

Ethical Hacking Lecture – April 10th

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Brandi Wolfe and Wyatt Crawford, Cyber Security Specialists from Ethical Intruder will be holding a lecture on Wednesday, April 10th from 4:30 – 5:30 pm in the Wheatley Atrium.

This is a Top Secret Colonials sponsored event. Students will receive one (1) hour of SET credit for attending. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please read below for information on the presentation and speakers.

Title: Ethical Hacking – Thinking Like a Penetration Tester

Overview: Hackers have an offensive mindset and approach security in a very different way. It begins by realizing that all hacks come from taking technology that is intended to work in a specific way and getting the technology to produce unintended results. The discussion will cover the mindset and process for performing a penetration test.

Ethical Intruder is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Cyber Security firm. Ethical Intruder was formed with personnel from security, software engineering and product design backgrounds. They provide security evaluations to assess technical environments and help organizations to build Cyber Security roadmaps aligned with their business or compliance requirements. Their clients are across a broad range of industries including Health IT, Finance and Department of Defense.

 

Insider Threats Lecture by Tracy Cassidy of CMU – Thursday March 21st

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Tracy Cassidy from the CERT Team at Carnegie Mellon University will be holding a lecture on Insider Threats on Thursday, March 21st from 4:30 – 5:30 pm in the Wheatley Atrium.

This is a Top Secret Colonials sponsored event. Students will receive one (1) hour of SET credit for attending. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please read below for information on Tracy Cassidy.

Tracy Cassidy is an Insider Threat Researcher at the CERT Insider Threat Center, part of the Software Engineering Institute (FFRDC) at Carnegie Mellon University. Her work at CERT Insider Threat Center has focused on researching behavioral and socio-technical factors surrounding a variety of insider threats such as espionage, fraud, information technology sabotage, theft of intellectual property, workplace violence and terrorism. Prior to becoming a researcher, Cassidy was a practicing clinical psychotherapist. As a psychotherapist, she focused on clients with criminal backgrounds, substance abuse problems, and severe mental health issues. She was a long time contracted Federal Services Program Director for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Federal Probation and Pretrial Services which provided mental health and substance abuse services for hundreds of clients entering or exiting the federal criminal justice system in Northern California, Hawaii, and Guam. During her work at CERT, she has been continually looking at ways to bridge the technical-behavioral gap in addressing insider threat and cybersecurity challenges. Tracy has her B.A. in Psychology and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Cassidy is an active member of InfraGard as well as the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) community where she sits on the DC Chapter board and is the local Chapter Development Chair. She is one of the original founders of BSides Pittsburgh.

Organizations across all industry and government sectors face risks from insider threats. Insiders can use their authorized access to systems, facilities, and information to either maliciously or unintentionally harm their organization and this threat may not stop when the employee leaves the organization. Technology has made it easier to exfiltrate proprietary, sensitive, or classified information as seen in many recent cases. During this presentation, Tracy will discuss the types of insider threats, case examples, and the potential risk indicators that might be visible to give technical and behavioral clues that the insider is on the pathway to insider risk. Insider threat mitigation is about prevention, detection and response- all topics of discussion during this presentation.

Jason Haddox and Blake Gabriel will hold Security Lecture – February 27th

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Jason Haddox from Dick’s Sporting Goods and Blake Gabriel of Proofpoint will be holding a lecture on Wednesday, February 27th from 4:30 – 5:30 pm in the Wheatley Atrium. This is a Top Secret Colonials sponsored event. Students will receive one (1) hour of SET credit for attending. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please read below for information about the presenters.

Jason Haddox – Senior Security Analyst, Dick’s Sporting Goods
RMU Graduate Class of 2003 – Bachelor’s in MIS

Jason got his start in IT working as a student tech at the RMU computer center in 1999 – he worked all 4 years while going to school. He has 15 years of full time IT experience and currently works as a Sr. Security Analyst in the SOC at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Blake Gabriel – Director Field Sales, Proofpoint
RMU Graduate Class of 1992 – Bachelors’ Degree in Marketing

Landed an internship with Haamco, a paper supplier that had a partnership with RMU. He sold papers to small business, 7-11 and retail stores. Back then it was all about point of sale. Went into the IT space upon graduation and he has been selling software for over 27 years in various roles and forms. He has prior experience working at IBM, Computer Associates, Intellect Design Arena, SEEC, Oracle, and now as a Director at Proofpoint leading the Mid-Atlantic Region.

U.S. Steel seeking Summer 2019 Interns

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U.S. Steel is encouraging highly motivated students interested in IT and Computer Science to join our Summer 2019 intern cohort.

U.S. Steel is one of the largest steel sheet and tubular products manufactures in the world. They produce steel used to create the everyday products used in the automotive, appliance, container, industrial machinery, construction, and oil and gas industries.

U.S. Steel’s internship program provides meaningful, hands-on work experience while helping students develop career-related skills. Students can participate in the program as either a full-time summer intern or a part-time co-op working during the school year.

Below are direct links to the open roles in the Pittsburgh area:

9718BR: U.S. Steel Cyber Security Internship

9455BR: U.S. Steel Programming Research Engineering Internship

Scheller Cyber Security Lecture – February 13th

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Derek Scheller from Scheller Cyber Security will be holding a lecture on Wednesday, February 13th from 4:30 – 5:30 pm in the Wheatley Atrium. Derek will be discussing how to obtain a job in cyber security and information on owning a tech company.

This is a Top Secret Colonials sponsored event.

Students will receive one (1) hour of SET credit for attending.  Light refreshments will be served.

About Scheller Cyber Security

In 2004, Derek Scheller joined the Pennsylvania Air National Guard as an IT Specialist determined to serve his country the best way he knew how, by working on computers and networks. Though he was a system administrator in the Air Force, he spent his free time working in cybersecurity and Linux infrastructures. He attended California University of Pennsylvania and earned a B.S. in Computer Information Systems in 2009. After working on his degree, he attended Pittsburgh Technical Institute becoming a Microsoft Network Professional. It was there he first earned his CCNA-R/S, as well as several Microsoft Certifications.

After completing his formal education and feeling he could do more, he left the Air National Guard in December 2010 and joined the Active Duty Army. It was here that he not only took on roles in information technology but also cybersecurity. While enlisted in the Army, he worked towards and earned his CCNA-Security, CEH, CPT, GSEC, GCED, GCIH, and GPYC. In 2017, Derek was medically retired from the Army though never giving up on the ideals instilled in him.

In July of 2017, Derek founded Scheller Cyber Security and has made it his mission to help companies across the country. As a consultant and trainer, he looks to help secure the networks of the United States even to this day. To prove his mettle on January 31, 2018, Derek passed the CISSP exam which is known as one of the elite certifications in cybersecurity, and on March 5, 2018, his endorsement was certified by (ISC)2 and he became an official CISSP. With his goals never wavering, he now aims to earn his OSCP in the pursuit of knowledge.

Established in 2017, Scheller Cyber Security is a disabled-veteran owned business serving from the Greater Pittsburgh Region. It is our mission to provide quality and dependable service to businesses and homeowners alike. Where most enterprises strive to get the most by fulfilling the needs of fortune 500 companies, we aim to provide the same much-needed services to those that don’t have the revenue of the larger enterprises. Whether you have one store or run a business from home, we can help. With services such as wireless network security, computer repair, training, and system administration there is nothing we can’t solve. As ransomware and botnets spread you need to be at the forefront of security. Anti-virus is only one layer of a much needed defense-in-depth structure. With our services, we can provide you with the necessary capabilities to prevent ransomware and other attacks. With the training services we provide, we can help you and/or your employees spot phishing scams and secure their social networking accounts. No matter what your needs, Scheller Cyber Security can provide the service.

Evan Kinney Interviewed by The Washington Center about the National Security Seminar

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TWC_NatSec_EvanKinneyLast May, over 60 students from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. to attend a two-week National Security seminar at The Washington Center. A Robert Morris University student Evan Kinney, a member of the “Top Secret Colonials,” was interviewed about his experience.  Evan is a Cyber Forensics and Information Security major.  You can read his Q&A with The Washington Center here:

https://www.twc.edu/articles/national-security-seminar-qa-evan-kinney

BNY Mellon’s “Be a Cyber Hero” Workshop for Girl Scouts Needs Volunteers

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BNY Mellon will lead a Cybersecurity workshop, “Be A Cyber Hero” for Daisy, Brownie, & Junior Girl Scouts. Girls will learn how to stay safe online. They’ll also have fun using their investigative skills to uncover problems & find solutions. This workshop will provide the cybersecurity badge & fun facts about cybersecurity for all 3 age groups.
 
The event will be held on Saturday, December 8th from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the innovation center in downtown Pittsburgh.  RMU students with an interest or skills in cybersecurity are needed to help with a demo and workshop for the girl scouts.  If you are interested, please contact Lauren Rauscher at rauscher@rmu.edu as soon as possible.

Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society – Seeking Charter Members

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We are forming a chapter of the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society here at RMU.  Alpha Phi Sigma is the only Criminal Justice Honor Society, is a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies and affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.  The goals of Alpha Phi Sigma are to honor and promote academic excellence, community service, educational leadership, and unity.  We need a minimum of 12 students to form the chapter.  Please consider adding your name to the list of charter members.

Please email Selene Cerankosky at smcst116@mail.rmu.edu to add your name.  We are also looking for executive members to serve on the board.  Please indicate your interest in serving on the board as well. Qualifications are below.

Baccalaureate students shall be enrolled at the time of application in the institution represented by the chapter and:

  • have declared a major, minor or equivalent in the criminal justice or related field
  • have completed at least 4 courses in criminal justice, have a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale

All applicants should have completed 3 full time semesters or its equivalent, have a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale.

Alpha Phi Sigma recognizes academic excellence of Undergraduate and Graduate students of Criminal Justice, as well as Juris Doctorate students.

[Posted on behalf of Selene Cerankosky.]

Preparing for a Career in Cybersecurity

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Most of you are probably preparing for careers in cybersecurity. I myself will be graduating this Spring with two degrees in hand. But as I start thinking about graduation, I have to ask myself: is this enough? Will my degrees get me where I want to go?

In short, the answer is probably yes. Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand these days. However, I don’t just want a career in cybersecurity; I want to land my dream job. After conducting some research, I found a great article by Forbes magazine on how to start a lucrative career in cybersecurity. Here are 6 ways to jump-start your career in this field:

1. Don’t specialize just in security.

The best security professionals are well-rounded individuals. Even if you are great at the security side, you should sharpen your skills in other departments. It would be beneficial to learn the fundamentals of data networks, gain experience with multiple operating systems, or become proficient in multiple scripting languages.

2. Network

Get to know as many people in your industry as you can. Go to on-campus events, make friends with your professors, attend career fairs. Knowing many people in your industry can help you greatly when it comes to finding a job.

3. Start studying up on IT basics.

Learning IT fundamentals is an important part of having a successful cybersecurity career. Pay close attention in your classes that teach these fundamentals; they may not be the most fun, but the information that you learn will benefit you immensely.

4. Earn some certifications.

The Security+ certification is a good place to start. This shows employers that you can handle the job duties of a cybersecurity job and that you know the fundamentals. Your Computer Network Security course should provide you with the opportunity to take this exam. The Network+ certification is also in high-demand.

5. Show initiative in your own time.

Self-learning and experimentation is critical. Many employers will ask you about your home lab: what kind of systems you are running, the level of security, what work you’re doing. They want to know what you have learned in your own time.

6. Hone your data analysis skills.

Any cybersecurity expert should have the ability to notice trends in large amounts of data. It’s worth it to take a course it data analysis to gain these skills.

Hopefully after reading this article, it will inspire you to get a jump-start on your career. But one of the most important things you can do is never stop learning! Get as much education as you can. Fill those big brains with all of the knowledge you need to be successful.

If you would like to read the full article, click here.

Source: Laurence Bradford, Forbes Magazine. How to Start a Lucrative Career in Cybersecurity.

 

Information Session with Highmark Health Systems

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The Computer Information Systems Department invites you to attend:

Information Session with Highmark Health Systems
Monday, October 22, 2018
4:45 – 5:45 pm
Atrium in Wheatley Center

Highmark Health Systems is looking to recruit for both internships and full-time opportunities in the areas of Information Security and Application Development.

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Pizza and drinks will be provided.  Attendance will be counted for SET credits.