Cyber Security

3rd Annual Cyber Night 2024

Wednesday, May 1
6:00 pm
Warwick Campus Great Hall

CCRI's third annual Cybersecurity Night returns to the Warwick Campus on Wednesday, May 1 with a special keynote address from Rhode Island State Senator and Chair of the Senate Finance Committee Louis DiPalma in addition to an informative discussion about the college's Cybersecurity Associate Degree and our Cyber Defense Certificate.

Cybersecurity Night is also an opportunity for students – both current and prospective – interested in a career in cyber defense to network with faculty, staff, and representatives from Career Services and the Cybersecurity industry who will be on hand to discuss available opportunities and services. Another prominent speaker from the Cybersecurity community will be on hand to provide additional insight into this fast-growing program.

Cyber Defense Path Certificates will be awarded to students who completed them in the fall and the college will celebrate members of the Cybersecurity Student Club competition teams. At 5:30 pm, representatives from the R.I. Computer Museum will be in attendance and Cybersecurity Student Club will host a puzzle challenge.

DiPalma, who represents Rhode Island District 12 (Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, and Tiverton), earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Bridgeport and his master’s in Computer Science from Brown University.

A leading advocate for cyber defense at both the state and federal level, DiPalma is a Chief Engineer at Raytheon Technologies and has hosted an annual Cyber Hygiene Event for the past seven years alongside former U.S. Congressman James Langevin.

CCRI Today Interview: Prof. Michael Kelly / Cybersecurity Night 5/1/2024

About

CAE CAE Community

For the second time in the program’s history, our Cybersecurity program (A.S. in Cybersecurity) has earned designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) through academic year 2028 by the National Security Agency (NSA).

CAE-CD designation reflects the college’s ability to meet the increasing demands of contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure and addressing the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills by promoting higher education and research in addition to providing the workforce with a pipeline of qualified cybersecurity professionals.

The college earned both designations in 2018. All institutions or programs must apply for reevaluation every five academic years to maintain designation. According to the NSA, “a highly-skilled cybersecurity workforce is a strategic national security advantage.”

News

Congratulations to Michael Kelly, Director of Cybersecurity, who has been appointed to CAE-CD contact person CAE Community of Practice (CoP) for Cyber Defense (CD) committees: CoP-CD Steering Committee Member at Large and CAE-CD Community Outreach Competition 2022 Award Committee.

The Community College of Rhode Island is a member of the CAE Northeast Regional Hub.