May 23, 2007
Beginning this fall, students enrolled in St. John’s
University’s College of
Professional Studies will be able to earn credits toward a
Bachelor of Science in Computer Security Systems. According to
University administrators, the degree program will be the first of
its kind offered in the New York metropolitan region.
The
Division of Computer Science, Mathematics and Science, which
developed the computer security program, will also begin offering a
two-year associate’s degree program and an 18-credit certificate
program in this area.
According to Associate Professor and Division Chair
Ronald Fechter, Ph.D., the field of computer security is
experiencing a surge in its demand for workers. Citing issues of
online identity fraud, hackers, predators and spam, he says that
companies are suddenly faced with a raft of security “pores” that
threaten their entire electronic infrastructures.
“Within about seven minutes after a computer is connected to the
Internet, hackers can sniff out ports, and systems can become
compromised,” says Fechter, adding that computer viruses and worms
cost individuals and companies tens of billions of dollars in
damage and lost service each year.
Because of the problem, the U.S. Bureau of Labor recently
reported that it expects the pool of computer science-related jobs
— most of which include security components — to rise at least 27
percent through 2014. Moreover, adds Fechter, computer security
salaries are at least 10 to 15 percent higher than those in other
computer science-related areas.
“Computer science is back, and computer security is one of the
hottest specialties in the field — with information security
spending a top priority in organizations,” says Fechter, explaining
that computer-security jobs — unlike other industry professions —
are not in danger of being outsourced to other countries.
Business experts agree. In a recent editorial, CIO magazine
opined: “Security needs to be tightly tied to the business, and
there needs to be someone in-house to manage it. Treating it as any
less is playing Russian roulette with the entire enterprise.”
Fechter predicts that the new bachelor’s program will funnel
graduates directly into entry-level positions such as application
security analyst, Web security administrator, cryptanalyst and
computer forensic specialist. Median salaries for such position
range from $60,000 to $80,000 per year, according to
Salary.com.
Students enrolled in the new bachelor’s program will have the
option to follow customized tracks in mathematics, business,
telecommunications, cyber forensics, criminal justice,
criminalistics and corporate security. (The cyber forensics,
criminal justice and criminalistics tracks are offered jointly with
the Division of Criminal Justice.) Fechter says that the breadth of
the program will make graduates even more attractive to job
recruiters.
“Companies are looking for people with across-the-board business
skills and a second area of knowledge,” says Fechter. “They don’t
simply need techies. They need people with business savvy, with the
ability to write, with the potential to move up in management. We
offer options to do that.”
To support the new program, the University will add six
specialized computer-security courses to its existing repertory of
related offerings. Among them are “Cyber Threats and Detection,”
“Computer Forensics,” “Network Security” and “Cyberlaw and Ethics.”
The University recently hired a computer-crime expert to serve as
the program’s principal instructor. According to Fechter, he has
been consulted by the writers for the CBS program CSI to validate
story lines. His name will be announced this summer.
For further information about the Computer Security Systems
program, please contact Dr.Fechter at (718) 990-6473 or fechterr@stjohns.edu