Cybersecurity News and Events

9/7

The Cybersecurity Lab held an open house on September 7, 2024, in conjunction with the Student Life Association as part of New Student Orientation. Three groups of incoming students toured the lab as part of the Germantown Campus tour.

Students received a demonstration of the lab’s equipment and learned about activities offered through the Cybersecurity Lab. They also received information about the Cybersecurity Club and tutoring opportunities available during the regular semester.
A total of 23 students participated in the three lab tours.

10/10

Prof. David Vargas delivered a lecture titled “Investigating Child Exploitation on the Darknet,” providing an overview of how the Dark Web is accessed and explaining the specialized tools and technologies involved and how they differ from standard internet access.

Prof. Vargas also discussed the methods and investigative processes used by law enforcement to identify, track, and investigate child exploitation activities on the Dark Web.

Attendance: 27 students

10/14

Hash Salehi delivered a timely lecture titled “How We Reverse Engineer and How to Get Started,” focusing on the importance of reverse engineering smart electrical meters and highlighting why cybersecurity cannot be treated as an afterthought.

Following the lecture, Hash led a lively discussion with students, demonstrating that security must be considered one of the primary design objectives from the outset. Without incorporating security into the design process, proper implementation can become difficult, if not impossible.

Attendance: 11 in person and 23 online (34 total)

10/15

Faculty and staff from Montgomery College participated in the Maryland Cybersecurity Careers Panel hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in Gaithersburg.

Prof. Silvia Vargas and other Montgomery College staff contributed to two panel discussions focused on cybersecurity career pathways, industry needs, and opportunities for students entering the cybersecurity workforce. The event provided an opportunity to share insights and connect students with the evolving cybersecurity industry.

10/16

David Knauer delivered a lecture on the principles of lock picking through TOOOL (The Open Organization of Lockpickers). He brought a variety of tools and implements to demonstrate different techniques and provide participants with hands-on learning opportunities.

Attendance: 8 participants

10/17

Prof. Silvia Vargas delivered a lecture titled “How Digital Forensics Is Used in Modern Criminal Investigations,” providing an overview of how law enforcement utilizes digital forensics in criminal investigations. She highlighted the challenges involved in properly preserving digital evidence and demonstrated how network intrusions are documented and how evidence from cell phones is collected and analyzed.

Attendance: 46 students

10/18

Montgomery College participated in the Maryland STEM Festival at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Students and faculty engaged attendees through hands-on demonstrations and interactive activities.

The event provided an opportunity to showcase Montgomery College’s STEM programs while encouraging students to explore educational and career opportunities in STEM fields.

10/21

Professor Stephen McGowan delivered a lecture titled “How to Use Wireshark to Monitor Websites,” introducing students to Wireshark, an industry-standard cybersecurity tool that enables detailed examination of the network packets computers use to communicate.

Prof. McGowan demonstrated how to identify websites visited by analyzing DNS information, registry data, and live network captures using Wireshark. He also showed students how to interpret website usage statistics to better understand network activity.

Attendance: 48 students

10/25

Samuel Visner delivered a lecture titled “Cybersecurity and Space,” discussing the challenges involved in protecting the cybersecurity and resilience of the nation’s space systems. As Chair of the Board of the Space ISAC, Mr. Visner leads a partnership of commercial enterprises and academic institutions that provides a premier operational information-sharing capability focused on securing critical space resources.

Mr. Visner also reviewed the history of cybersecurity in space systems and outlined the policy and technological challenges affecting their security. He discussed the path forward as space systems become increasingly critical to national and economic security.

Attendance: 54 in person and 7 via Zoom (61 total)

12/6

The Montgomery College Cybersecurity program fielded three student teams in the Maryland Cyber Challenge Fall 2023 annual college competition.

Two Montgomery College teams placed second and third in the community college division, narrowly placing behind the Community College of Baltimore County.

The competition is a cybersecurity Jeopardy style event with questions covering Malware Analysis, Computer Forensics, File System Analysis, Log Analysis, Open Source Intelligence, Virtual Machines, and Wireless Analysis.

CCBC won first place with a score of 314, MC Team 1 came in second with a score of 295, and MC Team 2 came in third with a score of 279. MC Team 3 narrowly missed placing with a score of 278.

11/17

Alan Tan, from Mitre Corporation, spoke of his needs as a hiring manager for one of the premier cybersecurity firms in the world.

Alan has over 25 years’ experience in high tech, most recently as a Cybersecurity Engineer. As a team leader, he described the characteristics he looks for when hiring a new member to his team. The primary thing that Alan wants is job experience. While this experience is not necessarily in the cybersecurity industry, the fact that a potential employee has learned the mechanics of working at a job separates them from someone straight out of school. This makes summer jobs and internships invaluable to the new job applicant.

Alan also addressed several common myths.  Particularly, the reputation of the school you attended will influence your ability to get a job. Alan pointed out that the cybersecurity job market is experiencing such a shortage that any graduate from an accredited program will be considered for any job that they are otherwise qualified for.

The well received talk was attended by 65 students.

11/09

Andre Chin and Patricia Lepovetsky, Montgomery College cybersecurity alumni, spoke of their very different paths to their currents jobs as security analysts for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Andre earned his AA at Montgomery College and then started to work as a Help Desk technician. He was drawn to cybersecurity and volunteered for any such projects.  As he learned the procedures, he informally became part of the cybersecurity team. When the right position opened, Andre was able to formally join the cybersecurity team.

Patricia came to Montgomery College as a returning student who wished to transition from her career in political science to cybersecurity.  Already having a bachelor’s degree allowed Patricia to fast-track her cybersecurity studies. Her experience in Montgomery College enabled her to be hired directly from the program.

The well received talk was attended by 45 students.

10/31

Xavier Gascon Edmondson, President of the Montgomery College Cybersecurity Club, presented awards to the winners of the Fall 2023 MC Cyber Challenge.

The MC Cyber Challenge is a Jeopardy style contest where participants answer questions on computer networking, reconnaissance, the internet, digital forensics and cryptography in a timed format. The questions simulate real world cybersecurity problems and many times require the students to chain together information to arrive at the correct answers.

Five students tied for first place with perfect scores.

Ninety-one students participated in the competition.

10/30

Professor Stephan McGowan gave a lecture and demonstrations entitled Wireshark: Tips and Tricks in to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).
Wireshark is a Cybersecurity industry standard tool used to monitor computer network traffic. Specifically, it allows for the detailed examination of the packets that computers use to communicate with each other.

Prof McGowan demonstrated how to differentiate several types of packets using color to highlight each type, how to enable network name resolution, how to customize the Wireshark dashboard, how to use the command line and configuration short cuts that make Wireshark easier to use.

The well received demonstration was viewed by 20 students. A recording of the lecture will be posted on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

10/24

Professor Derick Sontz gave a lecture on Cybersecurity Learning and Career Opportunities to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).

Prof Sontz detailed six Cybersecurity career paths, explaining the unique characteristics of each path.  He then explained how employees transitioned different entry level jobs into each of the career paths. In addition, Prof Sontz reviewed online and live Cybersecurity learning courses and materials that he found effective.

The well received demonstration was viewed by 9 students. A recording of the lecture will be posted on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

10/19

Professor David Vargas gave a lecture on Blue Team Attack Frameworks to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).

Prof Vargas explained that the Blue Team is the defender vs the Red Team, the attacker. The Attack Frameworks are typical means that the Red Team uses to penetrate a network. By categorizing the different methods that attackers use to penetrate a network, the defenders have a common language to describe what is happening and how it is happening. This common language leads to a better understanding of these attacks and allows defenders to quantify how viable their defenses are.

The well received lecture was received by 45 students. A recording of the lecture will be posted on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

10/6

Adam Lederer, vice-president of the Cybersecurity Club, gave a presentation demonstrating the Flipper Zero, the popular device for reading wireless traffic.

The Flipper Zero, a new device that reads wireless traffic in the Gigahertz frequency, allows users to examine radio frequency emissions of electronic locks, cell phones, RFID tags, car fobs, and WiFi access points. The all-in-one tool, a virtual Swiss Army Knife of wireless readers, allows users to examine how devices transmit data, a fundamental understanding needed to make devices safer.

The meeting was attended by 11 students. This lecture will be available on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

9/29

Norman Singer, the Cybersecurity Program Manager, gave a lecture on how to use statics to break down casino games and properly quantify the odds and how to cobble together common high-tech items into new devices that increase your odds when playing games of chance to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).

By examining all the variables at play in Blackjack, Roulette and slot machines, a mathematical approach can increase the player’s odds over the house. A simple application of common physics principles coupled with statistics makes games of chance manageable risks that can be biased to the player’s advantage.

Norman then continued to show to couple common items such as bar codes, cell phones and video cameras can be used in tandem to mark cards as well as view the order of cards in the card hop.

The well received lecture was viewed by 10 students. A recording of the lecture will be posted on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

9/29

Professor David Vargas gave a lecture and demonstrations Online Sandboxes to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).

Prof Vargas compared and contrasted several online sandboxes, detailing their use, special features, as well as any pitfalls that might befall users uploading their files for examination. Several of the more popular sandboxes were demonstrated.

The well received demonstration was viewed by 48 students. A recording of the lecture will be posted on the Cybersecurity Club’s YouTube Channel.

9/29

Professor David Vargas gave a lecture and demonstrations of Parrot OS, a Kali Linux penetration distribution alternative to the Cybersecurity Club in the Cybersecurity Lab (Germantown HT 230).

Highlighted were Parrot OS’s collection of tools for hacking into cars as well as wireless devices. Prof Vargas gave a brief demonstration of the wireless devices tools as well as emphasizing critical steps in the distro’s installation.

The well received demonstration was viewed by 19 students.

9/19

The Cybersecurity Lab held an open house on September 19, 2023, to introduce new students to the Cybersecurity Lab and remind current students of the opportunities to learn about cybersecurity through the events that are regularly hosted.

A table was set up in the quad to directly connect with students, fliers were handed out, a raffle was held, and student contact information was gathered.

Students were informed about the many activities held in the Cybersecurity Lab, were given information about the Cybersecurity Club and reminded about the tutoring help available during the regular semester.

8/15

The Cybersecurity Lab held an open house on August 15, 2023 in conjunction with the Student Life Association. As part of the Germantown Campus tour given to incoming students, the Student Life Association brought three groups of students to visit the Cybersecurity Lab. The students were given a demonstration of the equipment and learned about the many activities held in the Cybersecurity Lab.  Further, they were given information about the Cybersecurity Club and tutoring help available during the regular semester.

Three groups, totally 24 students, toured the lab.

2/22, 3:00-4:00 pm

The MC Cyber Lab hosted Michael Chung, the president of Washington Software Company with 30 years of experience in the IT industry, software development, and IT projects management in different sectors and technologies. He advises executives to secure and automate their IT vision. He also manages multiple IT projects. Mr. Chung presented a high-level overview of security compliance standards, CMMC compliance, and roles in security compliance projects. A high number of students were in attendance. Students asked many questions on security and compliance and their implementation across various technologies. It was a great learning session for attendees.

11/10, 3:00 pm

CyberLab hosted an event titled (From Federal Agent to Hacker).

This event gave an in-depth analysis of how students can develop their skills to become ethical hackers. The presentation explained a journey that may seem impossible to many; however, students can achieve their career goals with focus and dedication. It was the journey of Clint Kehr (From Federal Agent to Hacker). He explained some challenges and solutions for overcoming and improving students' skills in cybersecurity. Over 25 students attended the event and asked a lot of questions.

The presenter (Clint Kehr) was a Special Agent with the Department of Justice. He specialized in internet investigations and conducted numerous cases on cyber threat actors on the surface, deep, and dark web, making Clint the achieved the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award.

Students were amazed by the amassed level of information during the presentation. It provided an idea to many about what they wanted to pursue and the amount of dedication and focus needed to succeed in the Cybersecurity field.

10/18, 2:00-4:00 pm

The MC CyberLab hosted a Q & A with Cybersecurity Professionals

In this in-person event, a panel of cybersecurity professionals discussed their job titles and duties, as well as the education, skills, and capabilities required for them. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and also asked for professional advice for people looking to start a career in cybersecurity. The panel featured Craig Taylor (Chief Information Security Officer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration), Angelica Andon (Cybersecurity Workforce Program Manager, U.S. Food and Drug Administration), and Zdeslav Čunko (Cyber Defense Infrastructure Engineer, Montgomery College’s Office of Information Technology. Over forty students attended the event. Students that participated in this event gained a lot by asking questions about cutting-edge technologies. It was a good learning experience for MC Cybersecurity Students.

9/29, 1:00-3:00 pm

The Cybersecurity Lab held an Open House event. The event attracted a host of students.

The students were allowed to tour the Lab and learn more about the services and equipment offered to all students. Members of the Cybersecurity Club were present and talked about the activities and competitions they have planned and other programs for the upcoming semester. The Lab offered light refreshments to the students, and students left the Lab excited and more optimistic about the cyber program.