Answer the following:
- How does your major relate to cybersecurity technology?
- Select four other majors offered by ODU and explain how those majors relate to cybersecurity.
After years of working toward a degree in Homeland Security (HLS), I started working toward another degree toward Cybersecurity. These two degrees go hand in hand as a large portion of HLS focuses on cybersecurity. Critical infrastructure is a major target and a vulnerable artery of America. Whether natural disasters or terrorists disrupt these sectors, America will suffer. As sectors become more reliant on technology, security must shift from just physical to the cyber realm. A couple weeks ago, the Untied States witnessed this vulnerability with the Colonial Pipeline attack. Panic quickly spread throughout the East Coast and gas was unavailable for several days. As prices went up and people searched for gas, the company paid a 5-million-dollar ransom. This payout set a dangerous precedent and set the stage for more attacks as hackers now believe CI sectors will all pay the ransom price. Having a degree in Cybersecurity will give me a deeper understanding of the world’s quickly evolving reliance on technology and how to secure and protect our most valuable assets to the homeland.
Four other majors at ODU that relate to Cybersecurity are: Engineering, Business, Criminal Justice, and Finance. Engineers are no longer concerned with just inventing, designing, analyzing, and building. Most systems they are working with are wrapped up in modern technology susceptible to cyber-attacks. Businesses, small and large, are susceptible to cyber-attacks. From stealing intellectual property to credit card data, businesses must understand this threat and know how to protect themselves and their clients. Since cyber-attackers are generally criminals, it behooves the criminal justice department to emphasize cyber crimes and understand this evolving and modern threat. These criminals are hidden behind screens and technology that enables them to act in the dark. Lastly, finance is a major industry threatened by cyberattacks. Most Americans put their money in a bank and access their account through their phone without any thought. However, these banks and people’s private accounts are in grave danger to being hacked. The finance industry must be familiar with this threat and ready to defend against it.