In late 2019, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced that it was increasing its enforcement of privacy and cybersecurity statewide. The New Jersey Division of Law created the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Section in 2019 to help enforce laws protecting cybersecurity and privacy in the state. The office announced that in 2018, the state experienced 906 separate data breaches that were reported to the New Jersey State Police, compared with 958 such breaches in 2017. The Attorney General’s office helped to recover $6.4 million that was lost through cybercrime during the first three quarters of 2019. New Jersey also joined in with other states in some multi-state recovery actions for consumers during that time. The multi-state recovery efforts that New Jersey participated in include:
- Claims against retailer Neiman Marcus in response to a cyberbreach that exposed the credit card information of shoppers. New Jersey received $57,465 in the $1.5 million settlement against the retailer. Over 17,000 New Jersey residents were affected by this breach.
- 30 states, including New Jersey, filed data breach and consumer privacy claims against the health insurance company Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield. The health information of 10.4 million consumers, including 40,000 New Jersey residents, was exposed. New Jersey received $72,168 in the settlement which totaled millions of dollars and required cybersecurity upgrades at the company.
- New Jersey was part of the Leadership Committee that helped investigate claims of a data breach against Equifax in 2017. This resulted in $6.36 million payment to New Jersey and hundreds of millions of dollars paid to consumers around the world whose data was affected.
As of late 2019, there were 18 separate bills pending in the New Jersey State Legislature that addressed privacy and cybersecurity. Increased public awareness of privacy concerns and cybersecurity have prompted much of New Jersey’s focus on these important issues.
If you would like to work in the important field of information security in New Jersey, getting an associate degree or certificate is a great start. Please keep reading to discover how you can start achieving this goal.
New Jersey Cybersecurity in the News
In August 2020, it was announced that New Jersey launched its first cybercrime support and recovery hotline. Residents just have to dial 2-1-1 to report a cybercrime and to find resources to help them recover from financial fraud, identity theft, cyberbullying, cyberstalking and a host of other cybercrimes. This is the second such cybercrime hotline system in the United States, and was started by NJ211 and Cybercrime Support Network.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center notes that in 2019, 9067 New Jersey residents were affected by cybercrime. Their losses totaled over $100 million that year.
New Jersey Cybersecurity Jobs for Associate Degree and Certificate Holders
Jobs in cybersecurity can often be obtained with an associate degree or certificate (undergraduate or graduate). Jobs in New Jersey for which these graduates may qualify include:
- Cyber Security IAM Architect – Cognizant, Teaneck
- Senior Cybersecurity Analyst – AT&T, Middletown
- Cyber Security Investigator – Pinkerton, Florham Park
- Cyber Security Operations Engineer- Comcast, Moorestown
- Cybersecurity Analyst – Indra, Howell Township
- OT Cybersecurity Consultant- Cognizant, Bridgewater Township
- Cyber Security Analyst – The Judge Group, Princeton
- Cyber Security Platform Engineer- NBS Universal, Inc., Englewood Cliffs
- Information Security Analyst – CityMD, New Providence
- Cybersecurity Professional – Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton
Cybersecurity Associate Degree and Certificate Programs in New Jersey
When choosing an associate degree or certificate program in cybersecurity in New Jersey, make sure that the college or university housing it 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) established the National Centers of Academic Excellence program to recognize outstanding cybersecurity degree and certificate programs, calling them Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD).
New Jersey’s Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education
In New Jersey, the following cybersecurity programs are Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE):
- Brookdale Community College –
–Associate of Applied Science in Network Information Technology
–Certificate of Achievement in Cybersecurity Academic Credit
Engineering & Technology, STEM Institute, Cyber Center
765 Newman Springs Road
Lincroft, NJ 07738-1543
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2024
Mike Qaissaunee, Professor, Dept. Chair and Cyber Center Director
(732) 224-2879; [email protected]
- County College of Morris – Certificate of Achievement in Information Security
CCM Center for Cyber Security
214 Center Grove Rd.
Randolph, NJ 07869
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2022
Professor Patricia Tamburelli
(973) 328-5799; [email protected]
- Rutgers University – Cybersecurity Certificate (undergraduate)
Camden College of Arts & Sciences, Dept. of Computer Science
BSB Room 322
227 Penn Street
Camden, NJ 08102
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2021
Suneeta Ramaswami, Dept. Chair
(856) 225-6077; [email protected]
- Stevens Institute of Technology – Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Risk Management
School of Business
1 Castle Point Terrace
Hoboken, NJ 07030
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2021
Susanne Wetzel, Program Director
(201) 216-5610; [email protected]
More Cybersecurity Programs in New Jersey
Other programs to consider in New Jersey include:
- Fairleigh Dickinson University – Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Administration (online)
Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
School of Public & Global Affairs
1000 River Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Sai Sankar, Research Coordinator
- Rowan College South Jersey – Associate of Science in Cybersecurity
Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
Business, Education, Social Science & Technology Division
Gloucester Main Campus
1400 Tanyard Road
Sewell, NJ 08080
Anthony Haddad, Administrative Professor
New Jersey Associate Degree Cybersecurity Program Courses
When you enroll in an associate degree program in cybersecurity in New Jersey, you can expect to take courses such as:
- Core Server Operating System
- Linux Installation & Configuration
- Principles of Information Security
- Network Infrastructure Implementation
- Computer Forensics
- C++ Programming
- Security+
- Ethical Hacking
New Jersey Information Security Salaries
New Jersey is the second-highest paying state in which information security analysts work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2019 data). At that time, they were making $121,570 annually, second only to New York’s cybersecurity professionals who were earning $121,750 per year. Those working in the Newark/Jersey City metropolitan area earned even higher average salaries, at $127,850 annually.