Worldwide, there has been growing concern about cyber-attacks and an incessant demand for cybersecurity professionals. This program delivers job-ready cybersecurity incident analysts, incident responders and penetration testers, who are adept at securely managing IT infrastructure, identifying cybersecurity risks, effectively responding to incidents, and communicating and collaborating with stakeholders.
Cybersecurity Safeguards our Digital World
Worldwide, there has been growing concern about cyber-attacks. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged over 790,000 complaints from the public in 2020 – an increase of 69% from 2019. As the value of our digital assets and communications grows, and as we become more dependent on digital solutions in our professional and personal lives, we need cybersecurity specialists trained on the latest security tools, technologies, and processes to safeguard us. Proactive security skills feature amongst the Top 10 disruptive technology skills of 2020 and demand for skilled people in this area are projected to grow by 39% over a 5-year period.
Cybersecurity professionals are expected to have a strong foundation in areas such as Networking, Programming, Systems Administration, and IT Infrastructure Management. Moving beyond foundational skills they need to be well versed in the core security functions of vulnerability and threat identification, protection and defense of IT assets, detection of cyber-attacks and security breaches, and the required response and recovery procedures.
University of Maryland research indicates that there is a cyber attack every 39 seconds.
As 5G and machine learning proliferate, ransomware attacks, data breaches and the imminent threat of cyberwarfare continue to rise.
There is a high demand for cybersecurity professionals across industries
Job Data
30%
Year on Year growth for Cybersecurity specialists.
Source: LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report
31%
Projected growth for Information Security Analysts (2019-29).
Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook, USBLS
74%
Global Companies believe cybersecurity is a top priority.
Source: World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2020
Our program begins by helping students build a strong networking and OS foundation. It emphasizes design, implementation, and administration of IP networks. Students become competent at Linux systems administration, and learn how to deploy and manage common applications and services using Linux servers. They are encouraged to develop an automation mindset and build the skills to automate routine IT infrastructure deployment, configuration, and monitoring activities.
After the foundation phase, Students are introduced to security frameworks that give them a conceptual understanding of IT assets, threats, vulnerabilities, and risks. They learn to install and configure network security devices and perform penetration testing to identify threats and vulnerabilities. Further on, they learn to manage and analyze cyber-attack incidents in compliance with standard incident response and security operations procedures.
Student Guidelines
Students must possess the curiosity and a determination to persist with the demanding hands-on exercises and assignments.
In addition, Students need to fulfil the below requirements:
High School Diploma from an accredited institution
Spoken and written English skills
Appropriately configured PC with webcam and headset
Uninterrupted internet connection
Uninterrupted time to complete the learning activities on schedule
Delivery Guidelines
Students must possess the curiosity and a determination to persist with the demanding hands-on exercises and assignments.
Live online lectures on context-setting and concept building concepts.
60% of the program is hands-on i.e. in each program, a Student would spend over 60% of time on coding or hands-on activities
Students who are keen on taking up a cybersecurity incident analyst role or those looking for a career shift into cybersecurity can take up this program. No prior programming experience is required to do this program – just curiosity and a determination to persist with the demanding hands-on exercises and assignments.
Some other basic requirements are:
High School Diploma from an accredited institution.
Spoken and written English skills.
Appropriately configured PC with webcam and headset.
Uninterrupted internet connection.
Uninterrupted time to complete the learning activities on schedule.
Our program gradually transforms students with no information technology background into cybersecurity incident analysts, incident responders and penetration testers. They become adept at securely managing IT infrastructure, identifying cybersecurity risks, effectively responding to incidents, and communicating and collaborating with stakeholders.
Our program gradually transforms students with no data analytics background into confident data analysts who can contribute effectively to data lifecycle activities such as data sourcing, data munging, wrangling and storage, data modeling and statistical analysis, data visualization, and data-based storytelling.
On successful completion of all the assignments and projects, each student will be able to:
Perform network administration and troubleshooting on Linux
Automate tasks using shell scripting
Configure and manage application servers
Install, configure, and monitor network security devices
Ensure IT infrastructure assets are securely provisioned
Manage advanced server configurations and virtual IT infrastructure
Ensure proper configuration and security of fixed and mobile end-point devices
Scan, monitor and perform penetration testing to identify threats and vulnerabilities
Troubleshoot and document security incidents
Work in an Agile team environment
Comply with standard operating procedures and practices to track, report, manage and analyze incidents
This program is designed to build the core competencies i.e., the knowledge and skills required to perform the tasks required for the Cybersecurity Specialist role. As part of the learning journey, they build the right attitude that sets them up for seamlessly transitioning to this role, as well as making them aware of some of the best practices that professionals are expected to adopt. The tough challenges that they encounter as part of the program and the capstone project help accelerate their experience. As part of our holistic approach to making them job-ready we ensure that students are equipped, not just with technical competencies, but also the complementary engineering and behavioral competencies.
We emphasize, that doing this program is not just about attending live sessions alone – it is also about following through and completing the hands-on assignments and projects as well. For an assignment to be considered complete, students must refactor their solution after getting it reviewed. Assignment completion is necessary to move forward in the program.
Yes, our virtual programs are designed specifically to address the challenges of individuals who are employed but actively pursuing a career change or advancement in their existing field. The part-time schedule allows you to continue working or pursue other interests, while advancing your skills through your active participation in the program.
Yes, we offer students career support and coaching throughout the duration of the program. Students have an opportunity to develop a close working relationship with a career advisor to discuss resume building, job sourcing, interview techniques, salary negotiations and more.
We believe the main criterion for success in our program is your effort and determination to succeed, as well as time. You will need to be prepared to dedicate the necessary time to the program in order to be successful (typically between 20 -24 hours per week).
No. You are required to possess a High School Diploma from an accredited institution or a GED, as well as being proficient in spoken and written English.
Our program requires you to participate in four (4) hours of scheduled/live in-class sessions, three (3) separate days per week (for example, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday live class sessions). Additionally, eight (8) to twelve (12) hours of time out of class is expected to be necessary to complete assignments and prepare for course assessments, for a total expected time commitment of 20 -24 hours per week.
What makes our program different is our extensive relationships with leading global companies that hire information technology professionals. Our decades long relationships with these global leaders provides us with unmatched insight and understanding of the specific skills that these employers are demanding as part of their digital transformation efforts. Working with our partners, we built our programs to embed these mission critical skills and abilities into our programs so that students who successfully complete the program are job ready, day-one, with the skills and abilities that are in high demand in today’s technology-focused workforce.
Our faculty (Lead Mentors/Instructors) are typically working professionals who are subject matter experts in their field. They are encouraged to bring real-world experience and situations into our classrooms to expose our students to projects and challenges that replicate the experiences you will have as a working professional in the information technology sector. The objective of our faculty and our programs is for you to be job ready on day one of your new career.
Courses are available 100% virtually with live online sessions occurring three (3) days per week. You are expected to attend all of the live sessions in the program in order to be successful. In the rare instance where you simply are unable to attend one of the live sessions, we record them and make them available to you after the live session is completed.
Yes, appropriately configured PC with webcam, headset, and uninterrupted internet connection. Required specifications for your PC are as follows:
To attend the program, Students are expected to use their own computer and have an uninterrupted broadband internet connection.
Hardware Requirements:
Laptop/Desktop with Intel i5 (or later) with minimum 8 GB RAM (recommend 16 GB RAM).
Minimum of 50+ GB Free HDD Space.
Windows 10 (Patched with Latest Security Updates) and/or Ubuntu OS (Can be used as a Dual Boot).
HD Webcam.
Audio enabled preferably with headset.
Software Requirements:
Google Chrome Browser.
To join the virtual live sessions, Students will need to download and setup a light client on their computer (one time setup) as required.
For offline work, Students will need to install Slack on their computer and cell phone.
From time to time, Students may be required to install a few software updates during different parts of the program. Faculty will share the details during the respective stages of the program. The software needs may vary from program to program. These are mostly either open sources or evaluation version.
For some of the programs, MS Office tools would be required. For example, Data Analytics program will require Students to have MS Excel.
NOTE: These bootcamps are designed to prepare students for new or advanced careers in the selected field. Candidates who complete this course will receive a Certificate of Completion from Fresno Pacific University. While students who complete this program will have obtained the required skills and instruction necessary to sit for the relevant national certification exam associated with the selected course of study, these bootcamps are not designed to be exam-prep courses.
