Director: Professor Jeffery Barnett, PhD.
Contact: jbarnett16@saddleback.edu
The objective of the CAE Cyber Defense initiative is to fortify our national information infrastructure by endorsing advanced education and research in cyber defense, thereby cultivating experts in the field.
The initiative empowers students to actively enhance their grasp of comprehensive cyber defense methodologies, strategies, and protocols. It prepares them to work jointly as specialists, ensuring our nation can efficiently avert and address significant cyber incidents. This initiative plays a pivotal role in progressing cutting-edge cybersecurity insights and methodologies.
The vision for Saddleback College’s CAE-CD program is to:
Saddleback's cybersecurity/cyber defense program starts students on a pathway to becoming a United States Department of Defense (DOD) Cyber Security Service Provider (CSSP) in the form of a Computer Science Associate in Science degree that is built for transfer along with the preparation needed to take the Certified Ethical Hacker exam which meets the minimum certificate requirements for the CSSP Analyst, Infrastructure Support, Incident Responder, and Auditor Levels.
The United States Department of Defense Cyber Security Service Provider (CSSP) workforce consists of five different levels of employment (e.g. Analyst, Infrastructure Support, Incident Responder, Auditor, and Manager), with each requiring one or more industry certificates along with a four-year degree. The CSSP is a highly sought-after certification issued by the Department of Defense that indicates a candidate's fitness for the DOD CSSP workforce.
Certificate Type | Unit Requirement |
---|---|
Associate of Science Degree | 60 units and over |
Certificate of Achievement | 18 units and over |
The following is a list of Saddleback's Cybersecurity Program faculty and their specializations.
Name | Role | Specialization |
---|---|---|
Art Nitta | Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics | |
Jeffery Barnett, PhD. | Faculty | Cybersecurity |
Karla Soler | Associate Faculty | Cybersecurity / Digital Forensics |
Steve Linthicum | Associate Faculty | Cybersecurity |
Steve Korper | Faculty | Network Security |
Cybersecurity journals and articles are available through the Saddleback College Online Library at no charge. Just follow the login instructions on the Online Library link on the Saddleback.edu home page. Professional Journals available at the Online Library include:
Our university partners and other Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense education
The following is a list of Saddleback's advisory board members for Cybersecurity.
Name | Role | Organizations |
---|---|---|
Brandon Brown, PhD CISS/IA | Cybersecurity Program Director | Coastline College |
Christina Roc | Workforce Development Manager/STEM Outreach Director/Academic Engagement | Naval Information Warfare Command |
Chris Simpson | Cybersecurity Program Director | National University |
Richard Cassoni, CISSP | Professor | Mira Costa College |
Shamsi Monfared, PhD | Strategic Planning, Criminal Psychology | Private Consultant |
Steve Linthicum, JD, CISSP | Advisor | Private Consultant |
Rob Koehler | Cyber Campus Offering Leader, IBM Consulting | IBM |
In addition to mentoring for CyberPatriot competitions, Saddleback College students participate in a variety of cyber competitions to sharpen their hands-on skills in cybersecurity. Competitions include the Western Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (WRCCDC), National Cyber League (NCL), and SoCal Cyber Cup.