Bolstering digital defense

Frank Casabianca from the National Security Agency showed the Enigma machine at the Center for Cybersecurity.

Center for Cybersecurity emerges from new major

The Mount is helping to keep our students and our local community one step ahead of the hackers with the Center for Cybersecurity.

Launched in late September – just in time for Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October – the center has already shared a wealth of cyber defense resources. The initiative is maintained by the college’s Division of Mathematics & Information Technology.

“Cybersecurity is everyone’s business,” noted Sagar Raina, associate professor of IT. “As an institute of higher education in the Hudson Valley, the Mount has a critical role to play in educating people about cybersecurity.”

To that end, the Center for Cybersecurity is committed to bringing expert speakers to campus. One such speaker was Frank Casabianca from the National Security Agency (NSA), a visiting professor from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a former NSA director put it, “Our job is to make codes and break codes,” Casabianca noted.

After a discussion of cryptanalysis and its purposes in the Cybersecurity field, students and community members marveled at the authentic WWII Enigma machine Casabianca had brought. The Enigma machine was used extensively during World War II by the German military. Messages encoded with the machine were considered so well protected, it was used to send top secret information.

“The Enigma [has] rotors inside that will change every time you press a key, and it actually changes the cipher alphabet you get every time,” Casabianca explained. The machine is, essentially, a “very complicated way of picking a new alphabet.”

Other speakers in the burgeoning program have included Mount alumnus Brendan DuRoss ’17, a Cloud Security Analyst at Tanium; Alex Valentin, Chief Information Officer at the Mount; and SecurEd Inc.

“Cybersecurity is everyone’s business ... The Mount has a critical role to play in educating people about cybersecurity.”

Sagar Raina, associate professor of Information Technology

At left: The Center for Cybersecurity hosted a live demonstration on “How to Fly a Drone Safely” with Mount student Kelsey Cueto of Hopewell Junction, and the Drone Cadets.

employees Paige Zellapa, director of Operations, and Emily Vogel, software architect.

The Center for Cybersecurity joined the ranks of the Mount’s other centers and institutes of excellence, including the Catholic and Dominican Institute; the Center for Adolescent Research and Development (CARD); the Center on Aging and Disability Policy (CADP); the Collaborative for Equity in Literacy Learning (CELL); and the Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness.

To learn more about the Center for Cybersecurity and to access its resources, visit cyber.msmc.edu

Offered as both an IT concentration and major, the Mount’s Cybersecurity program provides theoretical and hands-on skills to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities in software, operating systems, networks, and more. A major or concentration in Cybersecurity at the Mount can lead to careers in technology, security software, defense, government, teaching, e-commerce, banking, finance, business, and more. In addition, the college is offering a Cybersecurity Certificate program with three track options: Cybersecurity, Ethical Hacking, and Digital Forensics.

Mount introduces new Philosophy major

Philosophy chronicles the history of human thought and our pursuit of wisdom. It is the discipline that invites us to ponder the meaning of life, discuss questions of ultimate significance, and expand our knowledge of the universe. Recently, the Mount announced the addition of a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy to the college’s list of majors. Until now only offered as a minor, through the analytical and critical thinking skills developed, as well as its emphasis on the study of ethics and morality, this program promises to provide students with a broader understanding of the world around them and their own place within it.

At the Mount, Philosophy majors will address the areas of metaphysics (study of reality), epistemology (study of knowledge), ethics, and logic, through a sequence of foundational courses, and will continue to investigate these topics in advanced courses in one of several defined tracks. Through these varying tracks, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the many ways philosophy connects with a variety of academic disciplines and interests, including how the major supplements the college’s focus on community engagement and service. Along with the insights gained from examining these issues, Philosophy students’ studies will aid in the development of communication, interdisciplinary, and problemsolving skills necessary for a student’s education and preparation beyond the classroom.