Oak Ridge Today

Roane State grad now at ORNL, researching how to thwart vehicular cyberattacks

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Sam Hollifield (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler

Roane State staff writer

This Roane State Community College graduate now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researching what he told an interviewer is “the cat-and-mouse game that is modern cybersecurity.”

Specifically, Samuel Hollifield Jr. is looking into ways to defend vehicles’ computer systems from being hacked. He’s a cybersecurity hardware engineer. “Never in my life would I think I’d have a job defending automotive networks,” he said.

His education at Roane State played a huge role in his career path, Hollifield said. “It sounds like a cliché, but Roane State, it changed my life,” he said. “I’m a huge cheerleader.”

A Kentucky native, Hollifield initially attended a community college there but had to withdraw as his late father’s health declined. Employed in the coal-mining industry and afflicted with black lung disease, his father died at age 56.

[Read more…]

Roane State students analyze Election Commission website for hacking

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State Digital Forensics Cyber Security
A team of students from Roane State Community College’s Digital Forensics class was recently requested by Homeland Security to explore the cyber hygiene vulnerability of the Election Commission website of a West Tennessee county. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

Submitted

Roane State team assesses Election Commission website for vulnerabilities

A team of students from Roane State Community College’s Digital Forensics class was recently requested by Homeland Security to explore the cyber hygiene vulnerability of the Election Commission website of a West Tennessee county, said George Meghabghab, head of the college’s computer science division.

The project was initiated by Homeland Security official James Cotter, who met with Meghabghab during July and August to flesh out the project, including expectations from each other and outcomes. Such a project is ongoing on other Tennessee election commission websites, Meghabghab said. He described the efforts as critical tasks of Homeland Security in Tennessee.

[Read more…]

Roane State wins $1 million grant to help mechatronics, cyber security programs

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State Community College has won a $999,950 state grant that will be used to expand dual enrollment studies in mechatronics and computer technologies at 11 high schools in four rural East Tennessee counties. Dual enrollment courses enable high school students to obtain college credits.

The community college’s grant proposal, titled “Fast Forward for Success,” was one of 28 grants selected for funding out of 61 requests filed under the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education program.

That effort prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide, according to an announcement from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s office.

“These funds directly support our workforce development efforts in distressed and at-risk counties and are a key component of our strategy to prioritize rural Tennessee,” Lee said in the announcement.

[Read more…]

Roane State students win bronze medals at SkillsUSA national competition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State Skills_usa Competition

Roane State Community College’s Cory Watson and Dylan Tipton (cybersecurity) and Kevin Spakes (programming) won bronze medals in the SkillsUSA national competition this summer. From left are Spakes, Watson, professor George Meghabghab, and Tipton. (Photo by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Competing for the first time on a national stage, three Roane State Community College students won two bronze medals at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

Kevin Spakes, who graduated in May and had a full-time internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, won his honor for programming, while Cory Watson and Dylan Tipton took home the bronze for cybersecurity.

Watson also interned full-time at ORNL after his graduation in May, while Tipton is a rising sophomore at Roane State.

The 2019 National SkillsUSA conference was held in June in Louisville, Kentucky, and some 6,500 students from across the country competed. [Read more…]

Cybersecurity expert to lecture at Roane State in Oak Ridge on Oct. 19

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Adam Keown, cybersecurity expert for the Tennessee Valley Authority, will speak on Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

Keown’s talk, “Enterprise Cybersecurity: Organization, Job Roles, and Information Security,” will be held in Room 104 of the Goff building. Anyone is welcome to attend, a press release said.

Keown has been a program manager in the TVA Cybersecurity Risk Management team since 2016. In his role, he is responsible for understanding cybersecurity risk at TVA and communicating risk issues to leadership and TVA business units, the press release said. [Read more…]

Cybersecurity expert shares career opportunities with Roane State students

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Cybersecurity expert Rob Ashcraft of Sword & Shield Enterprise Security discusses career opportunities with Roane State students. (Submitted photo)

Cybersecurity expert Rob Ashcraft of Sword & Shield Enterprise Security discusses career opportunities with Roane State students. (Submitted photo)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

In this era of online hacking and ransomware, jobs in cybersecurity are booming, and they pay extremely well, an expert in the field told Roane State Community College faculty and students.

Rob Ashcraft, with the state’s largest firm of its kind—Sword & Shield Enterprise Security of Knoxville—recently gave an overview of the various positions available in the profession.

The demand for those jobs is growing 350 percent faster than other information technology positions, and those with the appropriate certifications can make as much as $55 an hour.

“I think you made a good choice,” Ashcraft told students now enrolled in Roane State’s new cyber defense program, which was launched in the fall 2017 semester. “It’s a great career, and it’s a lot of fun.” [Read more…]

Roane State Internship Fair connects students to valuable opportunities

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Representatives of 15 area employers participated in Roane State Community College’s first Internship Fair, held Sept. 27, 2017, in the Coffey-McNally Building on the Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

Representatives of 15 area employers participated in Roane State Community College’s first Internship Fair, held Sept. 27, 2017, in the Coffey-McNally Building on the Oak Ridge campus. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

There are numerous job internship opportunities available in the area, Roane State students learned during the college’s first Internship Fair.

Representatives of 15 employers answered students’ questions, took down contact information, and even conducted some interviews during the event, held last month in the atrium of the Coffey-McNally Building on the Oak Ridge campus.

“We want to match students with part-time, skill-building opportunities,” said Kim Harris, Roane State’s workforce training and placement director.

Too many graduates in the college’s non-healthcare fields come out of Roane State with a degree but no job experience, she said. Internships offer employers a chance to “test drive them (potential employees) before you hire them.” [Read more…]

Roane State joins National CyberWatch Center as college grows high-tech cyber defense program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

George Meghabghab leads Roane State's cyber defense program. The college is now part of the National CyberWatch Center. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

George Meghabghab leads Roane State’s cyber defense program. The college is now part of the National CyberWatch Center. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

In this era of widespread hacking, ransomware, and other cyberattacks, Roane State Community College is about to launch an educational counterattack.

Preparations are under way for the college to become a center for academic excellence in cyber defense.

George Meghabghab, professor of computer science and director of Roane State’s computer information technology program, recently unveiled the college’s long-range plan to expand its IT (information technology) curriculum.

“We’re going to begin a culture of cybersecurity,” he said. “Cybersecurity is a growing field, and our goal is to build a program that teaches the very latest technology and is closely aligned to industry needs.” [Read more…]

Roane State professor to lead May 25 cybersecurity seminar at Anderson County Chamber

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State computer science professor George Meghabghab will lead a cybersecurity seminar on Thursday, May 25, at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, which is at 245 North Main Street in Clinton.

The Snack-and-Share session will last from 3-4:30 p.m. Register for the seminar at www.andersoncountychamber.org.

Meghabghab is the director of Roane State’s Computer Information Technology program, a press release said. The program includes a programming concentration and a new cyber defense concentration.

Roane State cyber defense students will learn how to recover data using digital forensics techniques, perform computer forensics analysis and validation, design and configure firewalls, and configure and implement intrusion detection systems, among other skills. [Read more…]

Roane State launches new program in computer information technology

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane State Computer Information Technology

George Meghabghab, right, is the program director for Roane State’s new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College has launched a new program that includes extensive instruction in computer programming and prepares students for valuable tech industry certifications.

Classes for the new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology begin this fall. Nearly all of the program’s courses can be taken online.

“We are very excited about the computer information technology program,” program director George Meghabghab said. “Our curriculum is closely aligned with the skills tech companies want in their employees.”

Students will learn to develop applications, design and query databases, maintain and secure networks, and more. Course subjects include HTML and CSS, programming, database concepts, JavaScript, and network routing. [Read more…]