Our mission

The interdepartmental nature of our center prepares students for careers as cybersecurity experts able to identify system vulnerabilities, detect and anticipate cyberattacks, and secure information assets. We provide an environment of a practical hands-on cybersecurity to prepare our students for jobs in intelligence agencies, the federal government, the private sector, and academia. Graduates become professionals continually learning and exploring information as software, science, and technology continually evolve and criminals seek ever more ways to exploit system vulnerabilities.


General cyber defense program

General Cyber Defense program provides deeply technical, inter-disciplinary skills grounded in the computer science, networking, and computer engineering disciplines. It prepares students for graduate study or employment related to using defensive measures to prevent, identify, analyze, and report events that might occur within the software or network to protect information and information systems from threats.

Collaboration and outreach opportunities

Research


Involvement with local K-12 schools

Last week we had a special guest coming down from CCSU, special thanks to Professor Williams for teaching us about cryptography

A few examples of our involvement with local K-12 schools are listed below:

Partners in Industry


Board of industrial advisors

Christopher Leigh

(Chair)

David Mott

(Member)

Michael Johnson

(Member)

Nick Sorgio

(Member)

Vishal Salvi

(Member)

Tim Carling

(Member)

Mark Coderre

(Member)

Laboratories

CCSU’s Cybersecurity program is strongly supported by hands-on and experiential learning. Located in the new Applied Innovation Hub, the Cybersecurity Lab and the Networking lab are equipped with state-of-the-art network devices, security appliances, and servers to practice networking and cybersecurity skills. The Electronics laboratories support teaching and learning in design, development, testing, and analysis in circuits, digital logic, microcomputers, and embedded systems.

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Electronics Laboratory

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Networking and Cybersecurity Laboratory

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Networking and Cybersecurity Laboratory

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Electronics Laboratory

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Networking and Cybersecurity Laboratory

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Networking and Cybersecurity Laboratory

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Student Resources & Internship Opportunities

There are two thriving student clubs that can help bolster students' interest in Cybersecurity and CS.

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Cybersecurity Club

The purpose of the Cybersecurity Club is to promote knowledge and experience in cybersecurity and technology, to further student interest and engagement in the field of cybersecurity, and to encourage teamwork, leadership, and networking. For more information or to join our mailing list, check out our linktree!

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CS Club

The purpose of the Computer Club shall be to promote students and further their knowledge in the computing fields; to further the opportunity for students to gain real-world experience in computer-related fields; and, to encourage interest in the computing fields outside the classroom. For more information or to join our mailing list, check out our linktree!

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Internship Opportunities

Students majoring in Cybersecurity are connected with industry, alumni, and government for competitive internships, which often lead to employment. Our recent cybersecurity students have been working as paid interns for industry companies, hospitals, government, and educational organizations including CCSU and K-12 school districts.

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News and Events

CCSU Cybersecurity Showcase

The event showcased the exciting research and cybersecurity projects conducted by CCSU students and GenCyber high school participants, mentored by CCSU faculty throughout the past year. It attracted attendees from various backgrounds, including CCSU students and faculty, teachers from surrounding high schools, as well as middle and high school students and their families who were part of CCSU's GenCyber summer camp. See details here.

May 1st, 2023

CCSU Cybersecurity Center hosts Farmington High School Hackathon

CCSU's Cybersecurity Center collaborated with Farmington High School's Cybersecurity Club to host an engaging hackathon, igniting passion for cybersecurity among high school students. See details here.

April. 28, 2023

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NSA Releases Best Practices For Securing Your Home Network

The National Security Agency (NSA) released the "Best Practices for Securing Your Home Network" Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) to help teleworkers protect their home networks from malicious cyber actors. See the report here.

Feb. 22, 2023

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CTF Competition

CCSU Cybersecurity Capture-The-Flag (CTF) 2022 competition (1st Cybersecurity CTF competition) will be held 10/30th -11/4th.

Oct 30th - Nov 4th 2022

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GenCyber Summer Camp

The Central Connecticut State University GenCyber Cybersecurity Summer Camp is based on the national GenCyber initiative to create and inspire the next generation of cybersecurity students. The free week-long program will be hosted on CCSU’s New Britain campus July 18th through July 22nd, 2022 and is open to 100 students entering 7th - 12th grade who are eager to learn about the field of cybersecurity.

July 18th - 22nd 2022

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Presentation to Computer Science Teacher’s Association CT on Teaching Cryptography to Middle and High School Students

Dr. Chad Williams (Chair, Department of Computer Science at CCSU) will give a talk about using creative games to teach Cybersecurity.

Feb 7th 2022