The headlines are global and Dr. Susan Lincke, computer science professor and certified systems information auditor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, knows all too well the magnitude of cybercrime:<\/p>\n
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- 30,000 computers paralyzed in South Korea<\/em><\/li>\n
- Data looted from more than 100 major<\/em> U.S. companies<\/em><\/li>\n
- President threatens trade sanctions for <\/em>cyber espionage <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cRight now it\u2019s way too easy and we\u2019re all not secure enough,\u201d Lincke said. \u201cIf you talk to the people in security, they say there are two types of companies: companies that have been broken into and know it, and companies that have been broken into and don\u2019t<\/em> know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Systems](\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/forwisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2013\/04\/IT.jpg\")
<\/a>n Lincke, second from right, works with students, from left, Raul Barrera, Charles Huggins, and Kristen Thompson in the UW-Parkside Cyber Security Lab. The university\u2019s cyber security program recently received certification for the National Training Standard for Information Systems Security.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Interpol, the international police organization, calls cybercrime \u201cone of the fastest growing areas of crime.\u201d Criminals worldwide are exploiting technology\u2019s speed and anonymity. Attacks against computer data and systems, identity theft, penetration of online financial services, virus deployment, \u201cBotnets,\u201d and email scams such as \u201cphishing\u201d are just a few of the tools at their disposal.<\/p>\n
Inside the Cyber Security Lab<\/strong><\/p>\n
On the ground floor of Molinaro Hall at UW-Parkside, computer science students are learning to detect\u2014and prevent\u2014cybercrime. The Cyber Security Laboratory is open only to students studying in this cutting edge field. It\u2019s isolated from the campus computer network, enabling students to investigate security issues without running the risk of being hacked from the outside or hacking the university network.<\/p>\n
UW-Parkside has a variety of computer labs. However, inside the Cyber Security Laboratory, the environment is\u2026different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cyber Security Lab does<\/em> have a different atmosphere,\u201d said graduate computer information systems student and cyber security certificate holder Shannon McCumber. \u201cThere\u2019s a feeling of exclusivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here, the object is to understand how break-ins occur and how to defend against them.<\/p>\n
\u201cNetwork security focuses on what\u2019s called \u2018pen testing\u2019 or penetration testing,\u201d\u00a0 Lincke said. \u201cThat is: How do you monitor to make sure your firewalls are working? Can you break into the network by looking at different servers and seeing what ports are open and then making sure that only the required ports are open?<\/p>\n
\u201cI show students how we can monitor the transmissions of what\u2019s happening to their computers. There\u2019s no way of breaking in without sending a packet over a line. And if you\u2019re monitoring what\u2019s happening on the line, then you know what\u2019s going on with your computer,\u201d Lincke said.<\/p>\n
![\"pink](\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/forwisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2013\/04\/cyber-security.jpg\")
<\/a>The Cyber Security Laboratory is separate from the campus network allowing students to investigate security issues without the dangers of being hacked.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n - Data looted from more than 100 major<\/em> U.S. companies<\/em><\/li>\n