ANDREA MABRY | University RelationsEmployers are having a difficult time filling jobs across the United States right now. But this is nothing new for businesses and government agencies seeking personnel trained in cybersecurity. According to the 2021 State of the CIO survey from the publication CIO, cybersecurity jobs are the most challenging IT jobs to fill, surpassing AI/machine learning and data science/analytics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs in the information security analyst category will grow 31 percent (adding more than 40,000 jobs) by 2029, much faster than the average. The pay is attractive as well; the median salary in 2020 was $103,590 per year.
The demand for cybersecurity professionals tracks with the rise in online crime. According to the latest FBI Internet Crime Report, internet crime complaints rose 70 percent in 2020 over 2019, to their highest number ever, with reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. Business Email Compromise, the leading category, totaled $1.8 billion in reported losses in 2020.
In 2017, the National Science Foundation designated UAB as one of its CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program sites. Students accepted to CyberCorps receive stipends of $34,000 per year, covering expenses including education-related fees, professional development and books. There is even a health insurance reimbursement allowance. In return, students complete an internship with a federal, state, local or tribal government organization in a position related to cybersecurity and work in such an organization after graduation for a period equal to the length of their scholarship.
“So far, we have offered 23 scholarships to excellent students from across the nation, many of whom are from underrepresented groups, including women and minorities. Sixteen of them have successfully completed their degrees and are now either already working for government agencies at all levels or in the process of securing such a job offer.”
— Yuliang Zheng, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science and principal investigator for the NSF grant
The NSF funding “allows us to create full-ride scholarships for students to complete an M.S. in Cyber-Security degree,” said Yuliang Zheng, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science, who is principal investigator on the grant. “So far, we have offered 23 scholarships to excellent students from across the nation, many of whom are from underrepresented groups, including women and minorities. Sixteen of them have successfully completed their degrees and are now either already working for government agencies at all levels or in the process of securing such a job offer.”
In September 2021, UAB earned a grant renewal from the NSF for $313,363. Jeffery Walker, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, and Associate Professor Ragib Hasan, Ph.D., and Professor Tracy Zhang, Ph.D., both of the Department of Computer Science, are co-principal investigators.
The project title, Justice Science Meets Computer Science: Preparing an SFS Workforce Ready to Face Cyber-Crime Challenges, describes the aspect that sets UAB apart: It is a collaborative effort between the Department of Criminal Justice and the Department of Computer Science. “Our program is unique in that it not only represents a joint effort between computer science and criminal justice, but also has an emphasis on helping students to acquire knowledge and skills in both cybersecurity and data science, two areas where our faculty excel in both teaching and research,” Zheng said.
Recent UAB graduate Lindsey Sandlin, who was part of the CyberCorps scholarship program, just began work in a cybersecurity role at a federal executive agency in Washington, D.C. ANDREA MABRY | University Relations“The supplementary grant represents a recognition of our success,” Zheng added. “It will allow us to attract more students to the program, contributing to cybersecurity workforce production for Alabama and the nation.”
UAB’s Master of Science in Cyber-Security program has two tracks: Cyber Defense and CyberCrime Investigations. The CyberCrime Investigations track enables students to move beyond responding to an attack and into determining where it came from and who was behind it, Walker said: “This can aid in stopping the attackers before they strike again.” Students in the program also have the opportunity to work in the Computer Forensic Research Lab at UAB, where “they work directly on large-scale cybersecurity projects for financial institutions, corporations and the federal government,” Walker said. Between 60 and 80 students are generally working on contracts in the lab. “For the most part, these students are snapped up as soon as — if not before — they graduate,” Walker said. “The reputation of the lab is that companies can hire these students knowing that they are already well trained and have substantial experience in what they will be doing when they graduate.”
The CyberCrime Investigations track was particularly appealing to recent graduate Lindsey Sandlin, who was part of the CyberCorps scholarship program and just began work in a cybersecurity role at a federal executive agency in Washington, D.C. Sandlin says digital forensics courses trained her in everything from investigating email spam to learning how to examine encrypted phones. “The master’s program at UAB is ideal for a student like me who wants a combination of both specialties,” she said.
