Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Degree in Maine

The University of Maine in Augusta has recently opened the Maine Cyber Range, a training center that is available to students, businesses and individuals with the goal of getting ahead of cyber threats and helping to fill the many cybersecurity positions that are open across the United States. Chancellor of the University of Maine System, Dannel Malloy, said that “There’s no bigger threat to democracy than the manipulation of information.”

Senator Angus King of Maine, who founded the recently formed Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which is designed to protect the U.S. from cybercrime and hacking, noted that the opening of this Cyber Range places Maine in the lead of protecting sensitive data through cybersecurity. The college has partnered with CyberBit, a global cybersecurity firm with offices in Israel, Texas, the United Kingdom, Germany and India, to provide cybersecurity training to other educational institutions, organizations and businesses.

CyberBit’s COO, Gilad Weitman, notes that 14,000 cyber professionals are currently in need in the New England area, to fill open cybersecurity positions. The Center for Strategic and International Studies surveyed information technology decision makers in eight different countries in 2019, and found that 82 percent of employers said their company was experiencing a shortage of cybersecurity skills. Seventy-one percent believed that the shortage had caused damage to their businesses.

It is clear that cybersecurity is a booming discipline and a field in which more trained and educated professionals are needed. Getting into the field of cybersecurity requires a bachelor’s degree. If you live in Maine and would like to discover how you can enter the world of cybersecurity by getting your bachelor’s degree, keep reading.

Cybersecurity in the News in Maine

It was recently reported in the Bangor Daily News that personal data and information about crime suspects and victims had been hacked into in June 2020 and stolen in a cyberattack on a Maine intelligence agency. Five gigabytes of information from the Maine Information and Analysis Center was stolen by the group Anonymous and published by the group calling themselves Distributed Denial of Secrets. The stolen and published documents show the center’s interactions with outside law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels. Potential suspects and details about victims’ experiences were all detailed within these documents.

Many in Maine law enforcement are questioning not only how something like this could happen, but also how it can be prevented from occurring again. A Maine lawyer who has cybersecurity experience notes that after assessing what has been compromised, the agencies must manage the damage by contacting witnesses, making any adjustments to things that have been threatened by the release of information, assessing policies to make sure that information collected is consistent with state statutes and the agency’s purpose, and safeguarding information to make sure that this type of breach can be prevented from occurring again.

Maine Cybersecurity Undergraduate Education

Holding a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity in Maine can help you to become eligible for many great jobs within the field, such as:

  • IT Specialist (Information Security) – US Department of Defense, Bath and Kittery
  • Information Security Analyst – IT Services, Augusta
  • Information Security Analyst I – Martins Point Health Care, Portland
  • IT Specialist (Information Security)- US Department of Veterans Affairs, Augusta
  • Cyber Security Operations Manager – SAIC, Portland
  • Systems Security Risk Specialist, Intermediate – Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Brewer
  • Security Specialist – Bates College, Lewiston
  • Cybersecurity Analyst – Tyler Technologies, Yarmouth
  • IS Security Engineer, Privacy & Security – Maine Medical Center, Portland
  • Cybersecurity Data Protection & Analytics – Humana, Portland

Bachelor’s Degree Cybersecurity Programs in Maine

No matter what bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity you choose, be sure that the university or college in which it is housed is accredited by an agency listed with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) .

Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE)

The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created the National Centers of Academic Excellence. This program recognizes the best undergraduate and graduate cybersecurity degree programs in the U.S., including within the state of Maine.

Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education in Maine

Just one bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity in Maine has received the nod to become a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CD):

Maine Cybersecurity Center

46 University Drive

Augusta, ME 04330

CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2024

Dr. Henry Felch, Director of Maine Cybersecurity Center and Program Chair

(207) 621-3371; [email protected]

More Bachelor’s Degree Programs in Cybersecurity in Maine

Additional cybersecurity programs in Maine leading to a bachelor’s degree include:

Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

180 West River Road

Waterville, ME 04901

Frank Appunn, Ph.D., Professor of Information Technology Management

(207) 859-1369; [email protected]

Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

23 University Drive

Fort Kent, ME 04743

(207) 834-7500

Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

College of Arts & Sciences

181 Main St.

Presque Isle, ME 04769

Dr. Jason Johnston, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

(207) 768-9652; [email protected]

Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

Department of Technology

P.O. Box 9300

Portland, ME 04104

(207) 780-5670; [email protected]

Maine Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Degree Programs

While classes will vary from one college or university to the next, the following are typical courses found in a Maine bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity program:

  • Networking I & II
  • Operating Systems Security
  • Integrative Programming
  • Ethical Hacking
  • Cyber Laws, Policies, Ethics
  • Computer Systems Forensics
  • Algorithms in Programming
  • Data Structures
  • Databases
  • Network Defense

Professional Cybersecurity Certifications in Maine

After getting your bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity in Maine, consider becoming certified in one or more of the following areas to make yourself even more of a hot commodity in Maine’s cybersecurity job market:

  • Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT)
  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • CompTIA Network+ Computing Technology Industry Association
  • CompTIA Security+ Computing Technology Industry Association

Employment Outlook for Cybersecurity in Maine

Maine’s Center for Workforce Research and Information reports that, from 2016 to 2026, jobs for information security analysts (the occupational classification including cybersecurity analysts) are projected to increase by 22.7 percent. Annual openings are expected to increase by 9.6 percent each year. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity in Maine should place you in a positive position and safeguard your future career opportunities.