My name is Diana Blankinship and after over 20 years in healthcare I made the decision to pursue additional education in cybersecurity. I was mainly drawn to the field based on the increasing demand and limited qualified candidates. So far, I have found the need for military cybersecurity most interesting and the need for healthcare cybersecurity most applicable to my current career. I also have several friends who enjoy working in the cybersecurity field. They have provided me with valuable tips and advice which will help me to hopefully transition my career from healthcare compliance to cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is applicable to pretty much every field. Four majors at ODU that can also relate to cybersecurity include Business Analytics; Computer Science; Digital Marketing; and a major that I just learned about by visiting the ODU site – Cyber Operations, a branch of Cybersecurity. The main reason all of these disciplines will involve cybersecurity is the mere fact that much work is done through the internet or applications that could have potential cybersecurity risks. Business Analytics includes computers skills for decision-making – risks and vulnerabilities could infect the use of the computer. Computer Scientists are the programmers who will need to ensure software design is resilient to cyberattacks. They will need to ensure there are no bugs in the software they create by using up to date programming languages and no errors in the programming. Digital Marketing will also need cybersecurity as marketers work online to promote and also discuss products with potential customers. Cyber Operations places an emphasis on technologies and techniques at operational and system levels. Through a job search on google, I was able to locate a cyber operations specialist position in the army which included utilizing cyber security skills to defend weapon systems such as satellites, navigation, and aviation systems. Cyber Operations Specialist | U.S. Army (goarmy.com)

Individuals in every discipline must be aware and help prevent cyberattacks by methods such as phishing, vishing, and identity attacks.