National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity
A quick look into a program ran by the NSA that you have probably never heard of.
If I told you there was a program, sponsored by the NSA, that officially designated & endorsed various academic institutions throughout the USA for their cyber security curriculum offerings, would you be interested? Well, there is! It exists and it is called the National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity.
What is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C)?
The program is managed by the National Cryptologic School at the NSA and has partnered with major organizations, such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense Office of the Chief Information Officer (DoD-CIO), and US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM).
The goal of this program is to create & manage a collaborative cybersecurity educational program at colleges and universities that:
What is the purpose of this program and why should I care?
I think I can simplify all of the buzz words above by saying, ultimately, the goal is to not only foster a collaborative environment in higher education cyber related curriculum but also help schools graduate students who are capable of researching, analyzing and defending against various threats organizations will inevitably face.
With the NSA designating specific schools that meet their criteria, you can rest assured you are receiving superb academic training. Schools also take a lot of pride in their designation, often listing it in their course material, on their website, etc. This does not mean that any other school not officially designated is inferior or that even your employer/future employer will/will not care. It simply shows that schools have taken the necessary steps to meet designation requirements by the NSA and each year continue to stay in compliance in order to retain their designation. For me, by choosing to go to a college that is officially designated by the NSA, it is one more check in the box that I can say in my interviews/list on a resume. That might not ever mean much beyond me knowing it, and I am content with that, personally.
Several of those organizations listed above should clearly stand out to you if you are in the IT/Cybersecurity industry as they are critically important. For example, NIST developed the Cybersecurity Framework we utilize in nearly every aspect of this field. The framework integrates industry standards and best practices to help organizations manage their cybersecurity risks. It provides a common language that allows staff at all levels within an organization—and at all points in a supply chain—to develop a shared understanding of their cybersecurity risks. It went so far that Congress ratified this framework as a NIST responsibility in the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014.