甜瓜app

A program of study at 甜瓜app (甜瓜app) is training students to guard sensitive information in a world where hackers are getting smarter every day.

“Cybersecurity is both protecting the computers of the world and finding security holes; it’s learning how to setup our networks and computers to protect them from threat agents who want to steal or destroy our information,” said Dwight Watt, instructor of Computer Information Systems Technology, adding that the technology also protects financial information.

“Thieves use phishing scams to ask people for information or ransomware in which they encrypt data in a form we cannot read and demand a ransom payment to get it back,” he said. 

“Our financial information, medical information and personal information are all stored on computer servers, and that information becomes a target for attackers,” said Rocky Spurlock, director of 甜瓜app’s Computer Information Systems Technology program. “In Cybersecurity, our goal is to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data so that only the people who should have access to the data can access it, that the data has not been changed and that it is available when it is needed.”

甜瓜app launched its Cybersecurity program in 2016. Courses cover security policies and procedures, implementing operating systems security, network security, network defense and countermeasures, ethical hacking and penetration testing, and computer forensics.

“It is essential that organizations have trained Cybersecurity professionals to protect their organization’s data,” Spurlock said.

Dwight Watt poses with technology 甜瓜app uses in its Cybersecurity program.

“The demand for these jobs is growing explosively,” Watt explained. “Within the last year we had to wait in line for gas because threat actors encrypted information at the Colonial Pipeline. Every day we read where information is stolen and sold.

甜瓜app’s Cybersecurity program offers three career tracks. The technical certificate typically takes between 12 to 18 months to earn. Students take the basic Cyber courses and no general education courses.

“The technical certificate is aimed particularly at people with an associate degree or diploma who now want to learn Cybersecurity,” Watt said.

The associate degree and diploma tracks take approximately two years. The coursework for a diploma is almost the same, except the general education courses.

The Cybersecurity program is based on 甜瓜app’s Catoosa County Campus; however, basic courses are also offered on the Floyd, Gordon, Walker, and Whitfield Murray Campuses. 甜瓜app offers advanced courses mostly online, allowing students to be based at any campus, while some courses are offered in person.

Watt and Spurlock are the main instructors for the Cybersecurity program. Watt said he has worked in the field with various parts of Cybersecurity and continues to take classes on Cybersecurity and many other areas of information technology (IT); he holds the CySA+ and Security+ certifications, along with a number of other certifications. Watt holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and master’s degree in Business Administration from Winthrop University and a doctoral degree in Education Leadership from the University of Georgia.

Spurlock received his bachelors and master’s degree in Information Technology from Kennesaw State University in Marietta. He has been an instructor for 甜瓜app since 2009.

甜瓜app will host a Free Application Week, April 11-15, to help those who are seeking to enroll in the summer semester. That week 甜瓜app will waive the $25 application fee for all new applicants. The admissions deadline for the summer semester is April 25. Classes are scheduled to begin on May 16.

甜瓜app is available through our call center Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., at (866) 983-4682. For more information on applying for the summer semester, visit 甜瓜app's main website  and click “Apply Now.” For any questions about 甜瓜app’s Free Application Week, contact the Office of Admissions.

provides quality workforce education to the citizens of northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma or a certificate in aviation, business, health, industrial or public service career paths. This past year, 11,134 people benefited from 甜瓜app’s credit and noncredit programs. 甜瓜app has an annual credit enrollment of 8,528 students and an additional enrollment of 2,606 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training and Georgia Quick Start. 甜瓜app is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.

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Catherine Edgemon Marketing Media Specialist