At the North City campus, Brown’s specialty is teaching how to design layered security architecture that can be analyzed for flaws, while also preparing them for CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) certification.
The Murrieta resident and St. Petersburg, Florida, native served in the Navy Reserve for more than 21 years before recently retiring as a Petty Officer 1st Class. His civilian career includes designing a software system for a Florida-based insurance company and working as a cybersecurity analyst at companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lockheed Martin.
WE recently spoke to Professor Brown about his role as an IT instructor at College of Continuing Education and his impact on the future of the growing cybersecurity workforce.
Can you share your thoughts about the growing demand for and importance of cybersecurity professionals?
Every industry, from banking to healthcare and everything in between, utilizes information systems to allow organizations to create, manage, and store data pertaining to their industry. Cybersecurity tools and specialists are used to create systems, processes, and policies that are designed to protect that data. Over the last 20 to 30 years, information systems have become vital to the operation of every organization, and the need for professionals who are specialized in protecting the data produced, stored, and transmitted will only continue to grow.
What makes SDCCE’s program so unique?
It provides cybersecurity training that is current and free, and it covers skills and concepts that can be applied to industry careers that students currently have or are aspiring to begin. Students learn the basics of cybersecurity architecture and tools to protect a network from hackers. They learn to use tools and guidelines to build security policies and procedures, to design layered security architecture and analyze it for flaws, and to use industry standards for software security.
How would you describe your students?
Our students come from every walk of life. Ages 18 to 75, they have differing aspirations as to what they want to do with this knowledge. However, to enroll, you must have work experience or educational background in software, hardware, and networking. This is a next step in taking their knowledge in those topics and applying cybersecurity concepts to be able to protect the data created, stored, or transmitted on information systems.
Why should students enroll in SDCCE’s cybersecurity program?
Students who are ready to grow to that next level and who desire to increase their knowledge while making themselves more marketable should enroll in this program. The networking that I highly encourage students to do while in class and the opportunities brought by our guest speakers help students to understand the cybersecurity market and what the industry is looking for in cybersecurity professionals.
What is the best part about teaching at College of Continuing Education?
The people who I get to interact with, whether they are staff or students. To be able to work with such a diverse group of professionals and students helps me to keep the fire burning to continue to grow and learn.