Page 45 - BusinessWest January 9, 2023

Jackson Perez says he’s learning how to hack into networks, knowledge he can use to help companies protect against threats.
tion Officer Mary Kaselouskas, who touted the future Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at Springfield Union Station.
The SOC on that site will provide threat monitoring and other cybersecurity services for Commonwealth municipalities and small-business and nonprofit customers, while the cyber range will serve as a testing lab to mirror real-world IT environments to provide hands-on training opportunities to local companies, uni-
versities, and other cyber-focused organizations.
As the grant recipient, STCC will staff and operate the Union Station facility in partnership with a consor- tia of area higher-education institu- tions, including Bay Path University, UMass Amherst, Western New Eng- land University, Elms College, and Springfield College, each of which bring a range of undergraduate cer- tificate and degree programs in IT, cybersecurity, computer science and programming, digital forensics, and more.
The SOC will have full-time employees but also offer training opportunities for students at area colleges by way of internships and work-study programs. Meanwhile, the cyber range will allow both stu- dents and employees of companies and municipalities to experience simulated threats in a virtual envi- ronment, with hands-on training
in live-fire attacks, blue-team/red-team events (in which one team attacks a system and the other defends it), and other training mod- els, potentially leading to certification in security fields for students.
Perez said cybersecurity students will benefit from the experi- ence that the center will provide.
“The SOC they are planning will give students who go to STCC the experience they need,” he noted. “It will instantly boost their résumé above so many people. That SOC will not only give them the experience, but put them in the real-world situation and see what they will be doing for the rest of their lives if they like this career path.” BW
“That SOC will not only give them the experience, but put them in the real-world situation and see what they will
be doing for the rest of their lives if they like this career path.”
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