Path to cybersecurity begins at Tulane

October has been designated National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance as an annual reminder to practice vigilance in our lives online.

This semester, the Tulane School of Professional Advancement (SoPA) began equipping students with the tools to pursue careers in the cybersecurity field through a new concentration offered through the Department of Applied Computing Systems and Technology.

Scholars of cybersecurity research the development and maintenance of secure systems and networks.

With the need for information security professionals on the rise, the new cybersecurity concentration builds on key concepts covered by the applied computing program while helping students develop the skills necessary to fight malicious cyber activity.

Jim Simmons, senior director of academic computing programs, formed a faculty committee to organize the department’s new concentration of study.

“Simmons created a committee and asked me to participate in defining the core curriculum,” said adjunct lecturer Lambert LeBleu, who is currently teaching courses in network security, firewalls and Virtual Private Networks, as well as principles of information insurance. “Once we defined the core, we then moved on to address what the elective courses would be.”

Courses offered within the concentration include System Forensics, Investigation and Response, Linux Administration and Linux Security and Network Administration.

LeBleu says that developing a background in cybersecurity can lead students toward multiple career paths as programmers, network administrators and chief technology officers working in fields ranging from incident response to security administration.

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