Ruston, La. – Cyber engineering and security is one of the fastest growing and top paying fields. Louisiana Tech University was the first college in the country to offer a bachelor’s degree program in the field. 

Dean of the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech, Dr. Hisham Hegab says, “It really kind of grew out of some collaborations and work we did with the Air Force Office of scientific research. They were really letting us know about this need for this new type of professional.”

Cyber security and cyber engineering is a mix of computer science, electrical engineering, and math with a focus on cyber security. The need for professionals in this field is constantly growing. According to the National Initiative for Cyber-security Education there is over 285,000 job openings right now. By the year 2020 there will be over 1.8 million more cybersecurity professionals needed to accommodate the predicted global shortfall. 

“It’s growing exponentially at this point. we’re seeing cyber security issues pop up in every single industry,” says Dr. Hegab. 

Cyber engineering program chair Miguel Gates says students learn not only how to prevent hacking but also how to become hackers.
“We teach them both sides of it actually. In order for you to be able to defend a system you 
have to be able to first break into it.”

Cyber engineering student, Austin Blanchard, agrees technology is huge right now but so is the need for safety and security.
“We’ve advanced so much and in advancing so much and becoming more connected
I think we’ve left out the security aspect of it we are now realizing that there are inherent
vulnerabilities in how we connect with each other and other systems”

Blanchard says with all the technology in our homes people need to understand the importance of this field. 
“Smart light bulbs…Alexas all those interconnected devices have huge vulnerabilities that
people don’t always know about so it’s great to have more people skilled in that area
so that we can address those needs.”

Austin Blanchard is in his third year of cyber engineering, and he wants people to make sure they are using the internet and other devices safely so they don’t become victims of a cyber attack. He says a lot of attacks come when your software is not up to date.

“Always check for updates whether you’re running Windows, MacOS, IOS any operating system that you have.”

Blanchard says it is also important you trust your instinct. An internet safety campaign he referenced uses three words – Stop. Think. Connect.

“Stop before you get on. Think about where you’re about to go online what you’re about to do. And once you are sure this is safe and you’re not doing anything risky then go head and do it. Just use common sense like you would in everyday life.”