Shakour Abuzneid is a professor of cybersecurity and computer science and the cybersecurity program director at Roger Williams University. The Bristol-based university was recently designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency, identifying the university as a leader in cybersecurity education. Abuzneid spoke with Providence Business News about the designation and what this will mean for the university moving forward.
PBN: What does receiving this designation from the National Security Agency mean for RWU?
ABUZNEID: With 12 undergraduate and graduate programs within RWU’s Center for Cybersecurity, Applications, Research and Cyber-Defense Strategies, we have seen our graduates thrive in careers such as chief information officer, security engineer, technology forensic analyst, and risk manager, and in every industry.
The NSA’s Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation signifies that Roger Williams University has shown an institutional commitment to excellence in the cybersecurity field and to continuing to improve our programs as cybersecurity challenges and needs evolve.
To earn the national accreditation, our programs underwent a rigorous examination that lauded our world-class faculty and program-learning outcomes that combine theory and practice to best prepare our graduates for successful cybersecurity careers. The CAE-CD distinction assures our students that they are learning in competitive programs recognized by the top federal security agency and will have exclusive opportunities for scholarships through grants and other funding sources.
PBN: Regarding workforce needs, what is the demand from the cybersecurity sector that RWU is currently seeing, particularly locally?
ABUZNEID: Ultimately, every industry and business entity will need cybersecurity knowledge to protect their clients’ financial information, and to protect themselves. We’ve seen data breaches and ransomware attacks occur locally at state agencies, private institutions and town governments recently. No one is immune these days from a cyber hack, and that is why the demand for cybersecurity professionals has grown exponentially and will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
Global cybersecurity job vacancies grew by 350%, from 1 million openings in 2013 to 3.5 million in 2021, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. The number of unfilled jobs leveled off in 2022, and remains at 3.5 million in 2023, with more than 750,000 of those positions in the U.S.
Rhode Island is one of the states experiencing substantial increasing growth in cyber-related jobs. Industry efforts are advancing dramatically to source new talent and keep current with professional training, but experts predict that the disparity between demand and supply will remain through at least 2025.
PBN: How is RWU addressing this workforce need?
ABUZNEID: RWU’s cyber programs are designed based on diverse business and industry needs – and we meet students where they are. For example, our graduate programs – master’s degrees and stackable graduate certificates – are all offered online, attracting students from across the country and working professionals seeking to get into the cybersecurity field. We also prioritize recruiting and supporting women and underserved student populations in order to create a larger and more diverse pipeline of talented professionals.
Beyond foundational courses, RWU’s programs address the security of evolving technologies such as Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. RWU also boasts distinctive interdisciplinarity: The cyber program is housed within a School of Justice Studies, intersecting with the criminal justice fields and featuring digital forensics courses that train students in collecting evidence from crime scenes and preparing it for admission to the court system.
And as home to the only law school in Rhode Island, RWU uniquely offers a dual graduate degree in cybersecurity and Juris Doctor of law focused on cybercrimes and cyberwarfare across the legal system.
PBN: Is RWU partnering with local companies to help address cybersecurity workforce needs? If so, what companies?
ABUZNEID: We seek input and guidance on building our cybersecurity programs from an advisory board of leading experts working in companies across the East Coast. These diverse cyber professionals meet with us regularly to provide feedback on our programs and a connection to the latest industry insights and needs, keeping RWU on the bleeding edge of the cybersecurity field.
Further, all students are required to have a cyber-focused internship with some local or global company. We have students working in many different companies such as FM Global, Raytheon, and Mass General Brigham’s Hospital. That requires us to work with American corporations to find positions for our students. To address this need, we have a faculty acting as liaison to work with students and companies to find opportunities for our students and help companies find the talent they need.
In technology, there is nothing static except the need for dynamicity all the time. This requires not only teaching evolving cybersecurity topics but also getting faculty trained and involved with industry trends and projects.
PBN: Is RWU developing new cybersecurity programming going forward?
ABUZNEID: RWU is creating interdisciplinary offerings across computer science, criminal justice, forensic science, law and more to help our students design powerful combinations of academic degrees and credentials that best position them for a career across all the areas that cybersecurity reaches.
Students need to be super competitive using their talents in the market and to prove their competencies by applying and successfully getting industry-level certificates in a wide magnitude of multidisciplinary areas. For instance, students will need to understand some medical backgrounds to be able to provide secure designs for medical and IoT [Internet of Things] devices. They will need to understand how the cloud is structured and interconnected so they can develop secure applications.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.