Page 33 - BusinessWest October 13, 2021
P. 33

 Cybersecurity
Threat Level: Constant
Opportunities Abound for Graduates of Cybersecurity Programs
Make no mistake, we live in an increasingly interconnected world, and the technology that makes that possible is always under threat from those who would mine, expose, and exploit data — often in life-altering ways. So while it’s no surprise that the cybersecurity field is rife with job opportunity, exactly how much opportunity (a half-million open jobs nationally, according to one study) may still raise eyebrows. Area universities with cybersecurity degree programs hope those statistics also raise interest in a challenging field that offers good pay and the chance to do some truly meaningful work.
IBy Joseph Bednar
t’s impossible to envision a world that doesn’t need cybersecurity, Brian Levine said, and that’s not exactly good news.
“I don’t think there’s any way this will go away, unfortunately,” he said, after listing common threats ranging from malware and ransomware attacks to massive
breaches of consumer data. “It’s an ever-present problem. So what we do here is really important.”
He was referring to the UMass Cybersecurity Institute on the Amherst campus, which launched in 2015 with
the mission of advancing what it calls “security for the common good,” said Levine, the institute’s director. For example, he has worked over the past decade to build tools used by law enforcement around the country — and the world — on cases of internet-based child sexual abuse (for example, the sharing of exploitative photographs).
“That’s a privacy issue, and a forensics issue,” he said, stressing that the institute’s researchers never lose focus on the human benefits of their work — in other words, it’s never just a technical exercise.
“The courses we offer are influenced by research that we do,” he went on. “We have a lot of pride in moving the research we’re doing into the classroom.”
 Brian Levine says the UMass Cybersecurity Institute’s work is “security for the common good.”
   CYBERSECURITY
OCTOBER 13, 2021 33
Photo courtesy of UMass Amherst
BusinessWest


















































































   31   32   33   34   35