Saint Francis University

Center for Cyber Defense Education

NSA/DHS Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense

Center for Cyber Defense Education at Saint Francis University

The mission of the Center for Cyber Defense Education at Saint Francis University is to advance Cybersecurity education and understanding through SFU’s academic programs and community outreach. The Center will serve to support advances in the field of security and information assurance at SFU and in our community.

The Cybersecurity Administration program (along with the Center) was accepted as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, a designation awarded by the National Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Such a designation opens doors for us as a program and to our program's graduates.

Cybersecurity - woman looking at screen with a virtual lock

Center Personnel

Dr. Kevin Slonka, Center director; assistant professor of Computer Science and Cybersecurity
Mr. John Valkovci, associate professor of Cybersecurity Administration
Mr. Mike Zambotti, visiting assistant professor of Cybersecurity Administration
Dr. Dan Wetklow, professor and program lead for Computer Science
Dr. Rachel Wagner, chair of Math/Engineering/Computer Science & Cybersecurity Administration

Cybersecurity Program of Study at SFU

The Cybersecurity Administration (CSA) major at Saint Francis University is specifically designed to develop a new generation of information security specialists. Our program is delivered in a hands-on, real-world format to meet the needs of a variety of students. The program is aligned with national cybersecurity professional job performance standards and frameworks, as well as industry needs, and is mapped to federal and national standards, such as the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE).

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FREE High School Courses

As part of our academic partnership with EC-Council, the world's largest technical certification body, we are delighted to offer a number of online, asynchronous courses for free to current high school students. These courses provide foundational knowledge and can help students gauge their interest in various cyber security pathways they can traverse upon acceptance as a Saint Francis University student.

The current course being offered is:

Ethical Hacking Essentials

Access is provided at no cost to the student or the student's home school. Simply fill out the following form so we can verify your status as a current high school student. Once verified you will be emailed instructions on accessing the course!

COURSE REGISTRATION

Cybersecurity Industry Advisory Board

Current Members

Rich Murphey, Ph.D., Consultant
Giovanni Palmieri, 2021 SFU alumni, Sheetz Cybersecurity
Jason Rhykerd, CCO Sheetz
Mark Sherman, Cybersecurity /Engineering
Joe Wynn, CEO Seiso

Meeting Minutes

August 11, 2022

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Cybersecurity News at Saint Francis

Student certification exams: Congratulations to Digital Forensics II students, who recently took the ACE certification exam - we had a 100% pass rate on the exam for the second year in a row!

Students: Join our Cybersecurity Club! Contact Club President, Mr. Seth Bender.

April 30, 2021: Congratulations to the students in Mr. John Valkovci's Digital Forensics II (CSA 202) class. Eleven out of eleven takers recently passed the AccessData Certified Examiner certification exam. This credential demonstrates the user’s proficiency with AccessData’s Forensic Toolkit (FTK), an industry-standard software for computer forensics.

Resources

NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center
University Policies (pertaining to cybersecurity)
CAE in Cybersecurity Forum
CAE in Cybersecurity Events