Cyber Defense Certificate
It seems we learn daily of a crisis caused by cyber security challenges of both public and private sector employees. This growing field is in high demand for talented cybersecurity professionals who are driven by their love for technology and the interesting, challenging, and meaningful work that a cyber defense career can provide.
Why study Cyber Defense at Coastal Georgia?
At Coastal, you will experience hands-on learning, where the focus is on the process, not the outcome. Those who work in the field of cyber defense can make an impact by helping keep governments, businesses, and even our nation’s critical infrastructure safe and functioning.
What will I learn?
Upon completion of the Cyber Defense Certificate, students will be able to detect and prevent intrusions and other suspicious attempts to access a computer and its resources by hackers. They will be able to manage incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity within information security by providing contingency operations.
What can I do when I graduate?
There are various career paths students can take once completing the Cyber Defense Certificate. They include:
- Data Security (protecting and maintaining the integrity of businesses, customers, and other data)
- Application Security (ensuring software and other applications cannot be hacked, compromised, accessed, or disabled without proper authorization)
- Network Security (protecting network infrastructure and software from unauthorized access)
- Operational Security (day-to-day monitoring and security management)
- Identity and Access Management (IAM) (authenticating users and authorizing them to access specific applications, data, and other systems)
- Privileged Access Management (PAM) (controlling and monitoring privileged access for users, accounts, applications, and other system assets)
- Vulnerability Management (VM) (proactive identification – such as scanning – and resolution – such as patching, systems hardening, implementing new solutions, etc., of potential threats and vulnerabilities in the IT ecosystem
- Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (this can include mobile device management – MDM – and other processes and technologies for securely enabling a mobile workforce
- Security Training (teaching employees and other users to identify and appropriately deal with common security issues like phishing, malware, or social engineering.
Fall | Spring | Summer |
CYBR 1000: Introduction to Cyber Security | CYBR 2000: Human-Centered Cybersecurity | CYBR 3110: Fundamentals of Cyber Defense and Cyber Crime |
CYBR 2050: Networking Fundamentals | CYBR 3110: Fundamentals of Cyber Defense and Cyber Crime | ITEC 4500: Special Topics in Information Technology |
CYBR 3110: Fundamentals of Cyber Defense and Cyber Crime | ITEC 3200: Computer Networks | ITEC 4510: Special Studies in Information Technology |
CYBR 3155: Ethical Hacking | CYBR 4210: Network Defense | |
CYBR 4200: Advanced Cyber Defense |
Contact Information
Dr. Nelbert St. Clair
Dr. Nelbert St. Clair is an Assistant Professor of Cyber Defense and Director of the Coastal Cyber Center. He earned his Doctor of Science (Dsc) in Information Systems and Communication from Robert Morris University (Moon Township, PA), M.A. in Information Technology Management from Webster University (St. Louis, MO) and a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno (Reno, NV). He earned all his civilian education while severing (now retired) in the Army National Guard for 23 years. He currently maintains 15 active cyber/IT certifications.
Dr. St. Clair started at the College in Fall of 2019, with the task of building a Cyber Defense program from the ground up. As the Director of the Coastal Cyber Center, a non-profit center aimed to provide IT services to non-profit and small businesses, he reaches out to the local community with the help of the Cyber Defense students. He believes in giving back to the community.
Dr. St. Clair inspires students to begin a career in the field of Information Technology. He brings to the Cyber education world, 23 years of experience in leadership, security, and military knowledge (National Guard including two deployments), 14 years in the private sector and 8 years working for the federal government. Dr. St. Clair’s main focus is cybersecurity education, but he enjoys recruiting new students and partnering with local businesses, to provide cyber education and services to the community, with the help of his students.