As soon as a house or a building is built and ready to be occupied, it needs locks. No sooner are the doors equipped with locks, however, then some people may start making picks to defeat them.
This, says Mike Stiber, is the nature of cybersecurity.
鈥淭he only safe computer is one that is unplugged from the net and other networks and is turned off. Given that that鈥檚 impractical, cybersecurity becomes one of the frontiers of the computing profession,鈥 said Stiber, professor in the 糖心vlog视频鈥檚 School of STEM.
As the need for cybersecurity professionals continues to rise, UW Bothell remains committed to advancing curriculum and professional development in the cyberspace arena. Recently, the University of Washington was re-designated as a by the National Security Agency.
鈥淭his designation represents a commitment on the part of both the faculty and the institution that we want to engage the national community of cybersecurity institutions in the conversation about the education and training of cybersecurity professionals,鈥 Stiber said.
Because cybersecurity encompasses a broad array of professions 鈥 and the avenues to finding those careers are equally varied 鈥 UW Bothell offers multiple degree paths to suit the needs of students at different points in their education and career.
Making a mid-career shift
UW Bothell鈥檚 graduate certificate in Software Design and Development program was designed for people with undergraduate degrees in programs outside computer science who want to build the foundation they need to pursue a graduate degree or even jump straight into a career.
鈥淲hat this does is greatly broaden the pipeline into the profession,鈥 Stiber said, adding that the graduate certificate is also a great opportunity for people looking to make a mid-career shift 鈥 students such as Chris Lakin.
When Lakin moved to Seattle in 2014 with a degree in marketing and several years of experience under his belt, he saw it as a chance to rethink his career path.
As he looked into pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in cybersecurity UW Bothell, he realized that the certificate program would give him the credentials needed to apply for the master鈥檚 program. He completed the certificate in 2015 and then graduated with his Master鈥檚 in Cybersecurity Engineering in 2017.
鈥淪ecurity is like an umbrella,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here are a lot of different avenues that you can go into with security, and the program at UW Bothell gave me a little taste of every single one of the aspects 鈥 from networking to application security courses on malware and cryptography. Those fundamentals are still relevant to my job today.鈥
There are a lot of different avenues that you can go into with security, and the program at UW Bothell gave me a little taste of every single one of the aspects 鈥 from networking to application security courses on malware and cryptography. Those fundamentals are still relevant to my job today.
Chris Lakin, Cybersecurity Engineering 鈥17
Being a self-starter
Lakin now works as a senior technical project manager on the penetration testing program at Dropbox in Kansas City, Missouri, where he grew up. In this role, he collaborates with a team to identify vulnerabilities across the company鈥檚 products.
He noted that throughout his career, he鈥檚 met many people in the industry who, like him, didn鈥檛 have a security background at the beginning of their careers.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if you are just starting off in your career and want to make that shift, or if you鈥檝e been in a career for 55 years already. Anyone can make that shift if they really want to,鈥 he said.
The biggest challenge of his work, Lakin said, is that it鈥檚 an ever-evolving, growing field that requires a lot of effort to stay current, but that鈥檚 also what he likes most about it.
Indeed, being a motivated self-starter is a must for anyone looking to go into cybersecurity or computer science in general, he noted.
鈥淚f you are even remotely considering a career in this industry, just jump in with both feet,鈥 he said. 鈥淭ry to consume as much knowledge and information as you can, attend conferences, chat with people who are already working in the types of jobs you鈥檙e interested in and listen to podcasts 鈥 anything you can do to take advantage of the resources available to you.鈥
Working in the public sector
When Ian Moore first began his life in public and military service by joining the Navy in 1994, he had no idea it would later lead to a career in cybersecurity. His interest in computers was first sparked while stationed in Japan working in intelligence. Born and raised in the Greater Seattle Area, Moore returned home from the Navy in 1998 just in time for the tech boom that would come to shape much of the city鈥檚 economy.
He completed an associate degree in General Engineering at Shoreline Community College before transferring to UW Bothell. While working toward his bachelor鈥檚 degree in Computer Science & Software Engineering, Moore was also in the Air Force ROTC at the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus.
After graduating in 2002, he went into the Air Force with the intention of flying planes. Instead, he wound up working as a communications officer 鈥 a role that was a precursor for being a cyberspace officer.
鈥淢y classes at UW Bothell were the seed, and that鈥檚 where I was first exposed to the defense side, then the Air Force sparked my interest further,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淭he defense side scratched the itch that I had to be a problem solver and to defend the organizations I worked with.鈥
Keeping the nation secure
After the Air Force, Moore put his computer skills to work as a developer for Booz Allen Hamilton in Nebraska. He then worked as a network defense analyst for the U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska, which is the nuclear command and control headquarters for the U.S. and the operation center for the Defense Department鈥檚 Global Information Grid.
鈥淚 was the first person to be devoted full time to cyberspace planning, and so I was able to influence our command and control plan as it relates to cyberspace and the commands throughout the world,鈥 Moore said.
In 2021, he began working as Washington鈥檚 cybersecurity state coordinator for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. In this role, he supports state, local and tribal organizations 鈥 as well as private industry 鈥 with their cybersecurity.
Much of Moore鈥檚 work at CISA also involves public speaking, whether he is giving presentations to the organizations he works with or speaking at conferences about best practices and the latest cybersecurity recommendations. 鈥淚 pride myself on my ability to communicate but also to be able to translate 鈥榞eek鈥 into 鈥榥on-geek,鈥欌 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 become my superpower.鈥
Moore noted that while public speaking is not a skill that immediately comes to mind when thinking about jobs in cybersecurity and computer science, it鈥檚 become instrumental to his career. For others looking to go into cybersecurity, he recommends they get comfortable with the skill of translating their knowledge in front of large groups.
Raising critical awareness
Apart from working with other government agencies and private industry, Moore also works to raise awareness about cybersecurity among the general public.
While individuals may not need the same level of cybersecurity as a government agency or an organization, Moore says there are still some basic hygiene items that everyone should take to protect themselves:
- Use strong, unique passwords that are not shared across applications.
- Enable multi-factor authentication for online banking, social media or any other site or application that contains sensitive information.
- Think before you click if you receive an email from an unknown or suspicious sender. If the content evokes a sense of fear or urgency, step back and analyze the content and sender because it鈥檚 likely a scam.
- Keep your software up to date, both on mobile devices and computer systems.
For more steps and information on how 鈥渟ecure our world鈥 even with your personal devices, he recommends going to the .
鈥淚f everybody does their part, both from the individual level and the organizational and national level, if everyone secures their own assets,鈥 he said, 鈥渢ogether we can secure our world.鈥
