Alexander “Sasha” Stone

Information Technology, otherwise known as “IT,” is an amazing field that has grown exponentially over the past decade. I can remember like it was yesterday when Facebook came out and changed the way we communicate with one another. Today I can chat, post, and stream anything from my smartphone. I realized that with all of this technology at my fingertips it is important to know how to secure my information.

It was with this realization that I decided to pursue a degree in Cybersecurity.  I started my educational journey at Montgomery College and then transferred to the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) at the Universities of Shady Grove (USG).  I decided to stay at UMUC and pursue my graduate degree in Cybersecurity as well.

The biggest challenge in my Cybersecurity program has been keeping up with the ever- evolving and changing technology. As soon as you get one technology down, it is completely changed the next day. In the field of Cybersecurity, the one phase that is always said by my professors is “cybersecurity is a moving target.” That said, we can never truly get a “fit all” approach to computer security. It is important to understand that it takes not only cybersecurity professionals, but also individual users to fight against the growing number of cyber threats.

The U.S.A. alone gets hit with more than 5,000 cyber attacks every hour and more than 1 million malware threats are released every day worldwide. Check out this map that shows real-time cyber attacks in action. One helpful tip I have learned over the past few years regarding what users can do to reduce their chances of falling victim to cyber threats is to delete any emails from someone you don’t know or looks suspicious.

The growing field of Cybersecurity will continue to evolve and I can only dream of what the future holds for us in the next 10 years!