Guam Community College increases focus on IT industry
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Eight local residents have completed the Guam Community College's first IT Cybersecurity Boot Camp, a program that seeks to build a pool of experts to help manage malicious activities in the digital landscape.
“IT is the fastest growing industry in our economy, and it touches nearly every aspect of our lives," said Dr. Mary Okada, GCC president.
"If your organization has not experienced a cyber-attack of some sort yet, it is probably going to happen in the future. That is why training programs like cybersecurity operations are critical to the stability and growth of our economy and our island," she added.
GCC said the boot camp participants who have completed the program’s intensive two-and-a-half week initial training, are now either employed by or in the process of being hired by GCC’s partner companies including Docomo Pacific, G4S and Quantum Technology Group.
"We are excited to be at the forefront of this program and look forward to developing this program into the future," Okada said.
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The participants were trained to investigate endpoint vulnerabilities and attacks, prevent malicious access to computer networks and hosts, and identify and classify various types of network attacks.
The completed 28 modules ranged from understanding why networks are attacked to network security infrastructure.
“The cybersecurity boot camp program is an intense, technological, fast-paced course that deals with cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures for online privacy protection and prevention,” said Eddie L. Quitugua, who was among the graduates.
“Cybersecurity happens to be the fastest growing career in the world. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity and the amazing gift that GCC was able to provide for me – a free education. It allowed me to excel and find a career path that I truly feel comfortable in," he added.
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Others who completed the program are Angelo A. Dela Cruz, Steven G. McDonald, Nathan Jon M. Sablan, Spencer Dean P. Torres, Camarin M. Tubiera. Blaine S. Cruz and Maverick Elijah D. Gozun. Based on the proliferation of cyberattacks and greater reliance on technology in the community and economy, GCC said it will stand up more cybersecurity boot camps, to meet the growing demands in this field. The Cybersecurity Boot Camp differed from GCC’s traditional boot camp model, where participants were taught specific trades skills along with soft skills like basic first aid/CPR, work ethic and WorkKeys. For the Cybersecurity Boot Camp, participants were given intensive training focused completely on cybersecurity operations.
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