Cyber Corps seeks to place security professionals
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The Cyber Corps, a federal program to intensively train students in systems security and related engineering and science disciplines, now has dozens of qualified students ready for government placements.<br>
ORLANDO, Fla.'The Cyber Corps, a federal program to intensively train students in systems security and related engineering and science disciplines, now has dozens of qualified students ready for government placements following graduation in the spring.
Sujeet Shenoi, a professor at Tulsa University who has helped educate the students, spoke today at the Information Processing Interagency Conference here.
Each student in the program has received a full scholarship and stipend for two years of intensive graduate or undergraduate study in information assurance science and technology. The students also have worked in government internships during the summers between their academic years.
According to Shenoi, the National Security Agency's red team of crack cybersecurity analysts already has hired two program graduates and several other students are headed to the code-breaking agency.
However, the students also work with civilian federal agencies and state and local government cyber security teams. Under the terms of their agreement to join the Cyber Corps, the students are obliged to work for government agencies for two years after graduation.
Agencies can bring the students in at various pay grades, Shenoi said, because they range in age and experience from 19-year-old prodigies to experienced veterans of agencies such as NASA.
The program is seeking to place 39 information assurance specialists who will graduate between May and September. In addition, the program has more than 100 students who are looking for internships in cybersecurity fields stating in May 2003 for the summer months. Cyber Corps graduates frequently hold certifications from the Pentagon's Committee for National Security Systems Certifications in various computer security disciplines.
The corps now has a total of 133 students and its leaders are seeking 300 students annually to be educated at about 20 universities.