Post by caseagainstfaith on Nov 4, 2011 13:46:34 GMT -5
Jordan Jueckstock and his wife Jessica applied to the University of Tulsa’s Cyber Corps Program after receiving an e-mail from a professor with the subject line “Do you want to be a MacGyver?”
References to the TV secret agent aside, the Jueckstocks got full scholarships and a stipend to attend the two-year master’s program, paid by the U.S. government. In return, the former software developers, both in their mid-20s, must work for a federal agency for at least two years after graduation.
The U.S. is beefing up its cybersecurity as more and more sensitive data -- from medical records to power grids -- go online, becoming vulnerable to attacks and viruses. By offering scholarships, the government aims to win the tug of war with private contractors, Silicon Valley and Wall Street for the small pool of qualified computer-security specialists. The recruitment strategy has been successfully applied to get more doctors and military officers into government service.
“If we can get these students to stay for two to five years, that’s a win,” Mischel Kwon, former director of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, said in a phone interview. She now runs the Cyber Defense Lab at George Washington University.
The government is proposing to increase the budget for its Scholarship for Service program by 67 percent to $25 million next year, according to the National Science Foundation, which administers the program. Since the program began in 2001, about 1,500 graduates have joined 140 federal agencies, including the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
‘Best Draft Picks’
The global information-technology security market was estimated at about $35 billion, according to a study released in February by Forrester Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The NSA and CIA try to get the top students for internships and then invite them back after graduation, Richard Schaeffer, a former NSA information assurance director, said in an interview.
“It really becomes a race as to who can clear them first,” Schaeffer said.
Before universities award scholarships, students are vetted to ensure their interest in government service, according to the National Science Foundation. Sujeet Shenoi, director of the Tulsa program who sent the MacGyver e-mail, compared the process to professional sports.
“I need to get the best draft picks,” Shenoi said.
About 145 universities have computer-science programs that qualify for the cybersecurity training program and about 40 of those colleges get scholarship funding.
References to the TV secret agent aside, the Jueckstocks got full scholarships and a stipend to attend the two-year master’s program, paid by the U.S. government. In return, the former software developers, both in their mid-20s, must work for a federal agency for at least two years after graduation.
The U.S. is beefing up its cybersecurity as more and more sensitive data -- from medical records to power grids -- go online, becoming vulnerable to attacks and viruses. By offering scholarships, the government aims to win the tug of war with private contractors, Silicon Valley and Wall Street for the small pool of qualified computer-security specialists. The recruitment strategy has been successfully applied to get more doctors and military officers into government service.
“If we can get these students to stay for two to five years, that’s a win,” Mischel Kwon, former director of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, said in a phone interview. She now runs the Cyber Defense Lab at George Washington University.
The government is proposing to increase the budget for its Scholarship for Service program by 67 percent to $25 million next year, according to the National Science Foundation, which administers the program. Since the program began in 2001, about 1,500 graduates have joined 140 federal agencies, including the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
‘Best Draft Picks’
The global information-technology security market was estimated at about $35 billion, according to a study released in February by Forrester Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The NSA and CIA try to get the top students for internships and then invite them back after graduation, Richard Schaeffer, a former NSA information assurance director, said in an interview.
“It really becomes a race as to who can clear them first,” Schaeffer said.
Before universities award scholarships, students are vetted to ensure their interest in government service, according to the National Science Foundation. Sujeet Shenoi, director of the Tulsa program who sent the MacGyver e-mail, compared the process to professional sports.
“I need to get the best draft picks,” Shenoi said.
About 145 universities have computer-science programs that qualify for the cybersecurity training program and about 40 of those colleges get scholarship funding.
source - www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/cyber-macgyvers-trade-hacking-expertise-for-u-s-scholarships.html
So basically judging from this article, if you like computers there is a way for the government to give you a full ride scholarship to learn how to hack computers....I mean become "CyberSecurity Officials" you just have to promise you will work for a federal agency after you graduate. Sounds interesting to me at least.
