Committee on National Security Systems Certifies NYIT Cyber Security Courses

Old Westbury, N.Y. (March 26, 2013) – New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) has received formal validation for various cyber security course offerings from the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), an organization with representation from 21 U.S. Government Executive Branch Departments and Agencies. The validation recognizes that select courseware meets all CNSS National Training Standards for both Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) professionals and System Administrators. The Information Assurance Courseware Evaluation (IACE) Program, part of the National Security Agency (NSA), validated NYIT’s courseware as part of its role to ensure consistency in training and education for the information assurance skills that are critical to our nation.

Specifically, the IACE Program validation findings report that NYIT courseware maps to and aligns to the required CNSS standards and elements through its courses, related syllabi, and course outlines that focus on learning outcomes, projects, assignments, supplemental readings, resources, and related hands-on lab work. Other findings include:

• Through the courseware, NYIT students are exposed to U.S. government policies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), and are introduced to international standards, among others.
• During the course of their studies, NYIT students have many hands-on activities such as learning how to build and operate a small-scale LAN, identify threats and evaluate risks, configure network platforms, harden operating systems, and design backup procedures.
• Course content is very comprehensive and provides both theory and practice.
• Select courses provide advanced topics and hands-on application of network security protection methods and techniques. These include intrusion detection, forensics, cryptography, authentication and access controls, directory services, dynamic data structures, and object-oriented programming.
• Students are expected to define and implement defense in network security strategies, install firewalls, configure perimeter protection and authentication processes, as well as manage network security policies and access control accountability.
• Further, IACE noted that NYIT appears to be engaged in numerous efforts to increase cyber security awareness; for example, NYIT recently hosted a Cyber Security Conference which focused on discussing vulnerabilities and how individuals and organizations could better protect themselves against cyber-related attacks.

Overall, NYIT has some excellent courses and has done a good job in presenting their courseware materials and projects supporting this submission. Congratulations are extended for achieving this level of recognition, the IACE findings reported.

We are pleased that IACE has recognized NYIT’s cyber security courseware as meeting all the requirements of CNSS National Standards 4011 and 4013, among the most stringent government security standards today, said Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., dean of the NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. This distinction is extremely important for our students, as we focus on educating career-ready professionals who are prepared to work in defense of our nation’s security.

In addition to the 21 members of CNSS, there are representatives serving as observers from 11 additional organizations. The CNSS provides a forum for the discussion of policy issues; sets national policy; and promulgates direction, operational procedures, and guidance for the security of national security systems.

About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, more than 92,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit New York Institute of Technology at nyit.edu.