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OREM — Professors at Utah Valley University say hackers and cyber scams are changing every day, and it's time to fight back. So, they’re gearing up to offer a new certification in cyber security.
Dr. Michael Savoie, dean of the university's College of Technology and Computing, said between email scams, data breaches and phishing scams, it's hard to keep up.
“The cybersecurity world is changing rapidly. Where we were even three years ago is significantly different than where we are today,” Savoie said.
The focus of security experts has also changed, he said. Just a few years ago his department mostly tried to keep viruses or malware out of a computer system. But now there are just too many viruses to deal with.
“What we know now is that it’s almost impossible to stop them from getting in. What we really want to do is detection,” Savoie said.
The tried and true methods of scamming are still happening all over the world. For example, different variations of the “Nigerian Prince” scam are still being passed around and, as Savoie explained, that’s because it works.
The cybersecurity world is changing rapidly. Where we were even three years ago is significantly different than where we are today.
–Dr. Michael Savoie, College of Technology & Computing
“It’s not really about the technology as much anymore as it is about the creativity of the person who’s doing the breach,” he said.
But Savoie also said hackers are getting a lot smarter on how they attack someone. Some of their viruses are designed to evolve.
“[When] they get caught by the anti-virus the first time, the virus has enough to learn how it got caught. So, the next time the virus scan comes, it hides itself,” Savoie side.
There are other programs that learn how much data can be extracted before being spotted, then trickle out small amounts of information that wouldn’t be spotted by the anti-malware protection. Plus, many more hackers are focusing on attacking mobile devices and not just computers.
Savoie said the university's post-baccalaureate certification will likely be available for students starting in the fall of 2015.
