Computer Information Systems (CIS) / LSC Center for Cybersecurity
The LSC Center for Cybersecurity was created to provide a broad range of system security and information assurance services for local businesses and the community at large. The Center provides students with real-world cybersecurity education through several business and government partnerships. Lake Superior College offers a Network Administration and Cybersecurity AAS degree that is available online or on-campus. LSC partners with St. Cloud State University (SCSU) for our students to transfer and complete their bachelor’s degree on the SCSU campus.
Get a 4-year bachelor’s degree in IT Security at LSC
LSC partners with SCSU to offer a four-year bachelor’s degree in IT Security. Students attend classes in Duluth at the LSC campus. You can find more information about the grant and transfer program on our LSC/SCSU partnership page.
LSC’s Network Administration and Cybersecurity Degree
We offer students additional security classes so that they can receive an A.A.S. in Network Administration and Cybersecurity. The new classes that have been added to the planner are the following. Additional classes were added to the planner as part of the Center of Academic Excellence process:
- CIS 2811 Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems Fundamentals
- CIS 2812 Network Security
- CIS 2813 Forensics and Incident Response
- CIS 2814 Ethical Hacking and Systems Defense
Center Administration
Goals
- Promoting cybersecurity careers to middle school and high school age students
- Expanding and enhancing cybersecurity curriculum labs, skills events and competitions
- Building a national infrastructure of qualified cybersecurity educators
Membership
The LSC Cyber Center partners with any institution committed to offering cybersecurity courses or programs. It will also partner with businesses and government agencies interested in supporting cybersecurity education. Organizations can become partners by sponsoring events, volunteering expertise or assisting in the design of instructional resources. The Center is committed to serving the needs of the higher education academic community in the areas of cybersecurity skills, curriculum, and faculty development. It will share cybersecurity resources with the goal of continuous improvement of their cybersecurity program.
Governance
The LSC Center for Cybersecurity is managed by the staff and faculty at Lake Superior College in Duluth. The Center is led by Matt McCullough the point of contact who reports to Brad Vieths, Dean of Business and Industry and Dr. Rogers, LSC President. The Center management team includes instructors Tom Gustafson and Tom Janicki.
Student Cyber Defense Activities
These are extracurricular activities that students can participate in to further their understanding of cyber security.
Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
This annual competition allows institutions of higher education to assess their students’ depth of understanding and operational competency in managing the challenges inherent in protecting business IT networks.
National Cyber League
The National Cyber League provides an ongoing virtual training ground for faculty and students to develop and validate cybersecurity skills using content aligned with individual and team games
Cyber Aces
This is an online course that teaches the core concepts needed to assess and protect information security systems.
Air Force Association (AFA) Cyber Patriot
The competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services in a six hour period.
US Cyber Challenge
The challenge is designed to connect America’s best and brightest to the cybersecurity industry.
LSC GenCyber
GenCyber is a free cybersecurity camp for students and teachers in Grades 7 – 12. It’s sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) but must be approved yearly in the spring.
College Partners
St. Cloud State University
Lake Superior College is part of a National Science Foundation grant through St. Cloud State University to provide full scholarships and stipends to students who continue their education in cybersecurity at St. Cloud State University.
College of St. Scholastica
Lake Superior College has a transfer agreement with College of St Scholastica.
Excelsior College
Excelsior College offers bachelor’s degrees in both Cybersecurity and Information Technology. They also offer LSC students a discount in tuition and a generous credit transfer. This program is totally online.
Bemidji State University
Lake Superior College has transfer agreements with Bemidji State University.
Dakota State University
Lake Superior College has a transfer agreement with Dakota State University.
Metropolitan State University
Lake Superior College has a transfer agreement with Metropolitan State University.
Minnesota State University – Moorhead
Lake Superior College has transfer agreements with Minnesota State University – Moorhead.
Government Resources
National Science Foundation
Lake Superior College is involved in a grant with the National Science Foundation for Cybercorps: Scholarship for Service.
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency has sponsored a GenCyber cybersecurity camp at Lake Superior College.
Selected Conferences
Secure360
This is a great conference that the LSC Cyber Defense team attends in May in Minneapolis, MN with lots of great cybersecurity information and career opportunities.
Cyber Security Summit
Fall conference in Minneapolis, MN that brings together government, business and academia.