Message From Leadership
Director: Morgan Zantua
This week, I’d like to talk about the Center for Cybersecurity Innovation. (www.C4CyI.cityu.edu)
In 2014 CityU ‘s Center for Information Assurance Education (CIAE) was designated as an NSA Center for Academic Excellence.
The CAE designation began in 1999 with seven schools. Today, there are three NSA designations: Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), Cyber Research (CAE-R), and Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) and less than 450 colleges and universities with at least one CAE designation. Presently, CityU Seatte is designated as a CAE-CD with plans to apply for the CAE-CO status within the next three years. Of the 5,000 colleges and universities in the United States, less that 9 percent of higher education institutions hold a CAE designation. The CAE system is an elite community.
In 2019 CityU’s Center for Information Assurance Education re-designate as a CAE-CD. 
To become a CAE takes commitment, persistence, responsibility, and leadership. These are the same qualities demonstrated by successful technology professionals.
In 2020 when the Technology Institute within the School of Management became the School of Technology and Computing, the Center for Information Assurance Education transitioned to the Center for Cybersecurity Innovation. The Center’s new name reflects C4CyI’s aspiration. Our technology-based society requires innovative approaches to protect the sixteen critical infrastructure sectors. The ransomware attacks on the Energy Sector (Colonial Pipeline) and the Food and Agriculture Sector (JBS Foods) demonstrate the vulnerability of our infrastructure and the impact these attacks have upon our economy and our society. Our leadership embedded security practices into STC degrees. Security is essential and security is everyone’s business.
This Saturday, the Secretary of the Cybersecurity Club will invite students entering CityU’s teacher education program to join the Cybersecurity Club. The message: Cybersecurity is everyone’s business.
In the spirit of outreach, I am encouraging everyone reading this message to demonstrate leadership and become a cybersecurity evangelist. Learn more about security, attend the Cybersecurity Club on Thursdays from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PT.
Club Announcements
- STC Data Science Club
Do you want to have real-world experience using the Machine Learning technique? Do you want to have a great data science project on your resume? We want you as a member of our Kaggle competition team. Click here to join the meeting at 3:00 PM PDT on 7/16/2021 Friday.
- STC Cybersecurity Club
- STC Tech Club
The STC Tech Club meet every Thursday from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM (PDT) via Teams: STC Tech Club Weekly Meeting – Summer Quarter. For students or faculty who would like to present, choose a date, and upload your presentation here.
Faculty Recognition - Dr. Cris Ewell
Faculty Interview - Dr. Cris Ewell
Morgan: Cris, congratulation on being recognized last week as one of the Top 100 CISOs by CISOs Connect. This is quite an honor and follows your move earlier this year to take the position as NRC Health’s Chief Security and Privacy Officer. You worked at UW for thirteen years and were working as Chief Information Security Officer of UW Medicine when you joined CityU as Associate Faculty for STC. Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for the STC Thursday Byte. Let’s start off by telling us about your career path that brought you to where you are today.
Cris: Like most CISOs, it was not a straight path. I started out owning a restaurant (learned about customer service), joined a volunteer fire department and then went on to become a paramedic (learned how to make critical decisions with limited information), took over running the paramedic service (learned about managing highly trained professionals), switched over to technology full time and worked for several companies learning about networks, security, risks and threats (learned about controls and how to implement without negatively impacting the business), went back to school and did not stop until I had by PhD (learned about the research, theories and practical application of controls), and then kept honing my information security, management and leadership skills until I was eventually landed a CISO position.
Morgan: What’s one thing you wish you had known when you began your career?
Career Tips
The importance of a well-crafted cover letter cannot be overstated. A résumé contains the information potential employers need to know about where you’ve worked and what you have done, but they may not even get to your résumé if your cover letter doesn’t excite them. A cover letter is the gateway to the résumé.
This Week in Tech History July 12th – July 16th
Calling all gamers! This is the week to celebrate a major milestone in gaming from Nintendo with the release of the Family Computer (FAMCAM) in Japan. The Nintendo 8-byte game console used television consoles as the display unit. Two years later FAMICOM entered the American video game market. Super Mario Brothers, Pac-Man, Pinball and The Legend of Zelda are four of the over 200 licensed games developed into the 1990s. Nintendo combined marketing strategies and technology to build confidence in the gaming industry and bring arcade games into the home, hence the name Family Computer (FAMICOM).
Tech Humor
