According to statistics provided by the Massachusetts Cyber Center, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts experiences 525 million pings each day from hackers and would-be hackers who are trying to profit from victimizing state agencies. These cyber criminals may attempt to steal identities, steal money, change information, destroy information, and hold information for ransom. Massachusetts encourages residents to report all cyber incidents to the Office of the Comptroller at CTREmergencyNotification@Mass.gov, or to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The State Auditor’s office should also be notified in the case of any theft of funds or public property.
Massachusetts provides a list of pre-screened cyber and information security vendors available to assist state and municipal governments with cyber readiness and emergency incident management. There are also free security awareness training resources for employees made available from the US Department of Health and Human Services as well as from Wizer and the Mass Cyber Center.
If you would like to join the information security professionals working across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you should first obtain a certificate or associate degree in cybersecurity. Read on to discover how to do so.
Cybersecurity Law in Massachusetts
Massachusetts passed a Data Breach Notification Law in April 2019. Its formal name is “Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth” or 201 CMR 17.00. It states that any company doing business in Massachusetts that experiences a data breach must offer victims of that breach free credit monitoring, for at least 18 months, and credit freezes.
Additionally, companies in Massachusetts that experience a data breach must notify the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and the Massachusetts Attorney General. It must include information on the number of Massachusetts residents affected by the breach, what the company is doing about the breach, the name and address of the company, name and title of the person reporting the data breach, what personal information was affected by the breach, the person or entity at fault for the breach (if known) and if the organization has a written information security program and if so, if they are now updating that program.
Massachusetts Cybersecurity Associate Degrees or Certificates Holder Careers
You can enter the cybersecurity profession in Massachusetts with an associate degree or certificate. Jobs that may be available include:
- Cyber Security Analyst – ISO New England Inc., Holyoke
- Cyber Security Analyst – CERES Group, Boston
- Security Analyst – eResearch Technology, Boston
- Cyber Security Analyst – South Shore Health, Weymouth
- Security Analyst – TEKsystems, Boston
- Cyber Security Analyst – Coretelligent, Westwood
- Cyber Security Analyst – Odyssey Systems, Lexington
- Cyber Security Analyst III – Lincoln Laboratory, Cambridge
- Global Security Analyst – Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., Boston
- IA/Security Specialist Entry Level – E Talent Network, Danvers
Career Titles of Cybersecurity Associate Degrees and Certificates in Massachusetts
Cybersecurity associate degrees and certificates may have many different names. Some of them, in Massachusetts, include:
- Advanced Cyber Security Certificate
- Cyber Security Certificate
- Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security
- Associate in Science in Cyber Security
- Graduate Certificate in Information Security Management
- Associate in Science in Liberal Studies – Information Technology Cybersecurity
- Associate in Science in Computer Systems Engineering Technology – Forensics
- Graduate Certificate in Information Security
- Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics
- Advanced Certificate in Information Technology Cybersecurity
Associate Degree and Certificate Programs in Cybersecurity in Massachusetts
Make sure that the Massachusetts institution you choose for your associate degree or certificate in cybersecurity is regionally accredited by an agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE)
The National Centers of Academic Excellence program, started in 1999 by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recognizes outstanding cybersecurity degrees and certificate programs as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD).
Massachusetts Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education
These Massachusetts cybersecurity certificate and/or associate degree programs have been named Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE):
- Northeastern University – Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity
Khoury College of Computer Sciences
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2021
Megan Giordano, Assistant Director of Student Services
(617) 373-7816; m.giordano@northeastern.edu
- University of Massachusetts Lowell – Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (online)
Division of Graduate, Online & Professional Studies
220 Pawtucket St.
Lowell, MA 01854
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2021
(978) 934-2474; thesolutioncenter@uml.edu
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute – Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (online)
Cybersecurity Department
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
CAE- Cyber Defense Education- Accredited through 2024
Craig Shue, Contact
(508) 831-4933; cybersecurity@wpi.edu
More Cybersecurity Associate Degree and Certificate Programs in Massachusetts
There are additional cybersecurity programs in Massachusetts at the associate degree and/or certificate level, including (but not limited to):
- Boston University –
—Graduate Certificate in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity (online)
—Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics (on campus and blended options)
—Graduate Certificate in Information Security (online)
Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Metropolitan College
1010 Commonwealth Ave. #5
Boston, MA 02215
Eric Braude, Associate Professor/Director of Digital Learning
(617) 353-6000
- Massachusetts Bay Community College –
— Associate in Science in Cyber Security (on campus and online)
—Advanced Cyber Security Certificate (on campus and online)
—Cyber Security Certificate (on campus and online)
Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Division of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
1350 Main St. 7th Floor
Springfield, MA 01103
Chitra Javdekar, Dean of STEM
(781) 239-2585; cjavdekar@massbay.edu
- Middlesex Community College –
—Associate in Science in Liberal Studies – Information Technology Cybersecurity
—Certificate – Information Technology Cybersecurity – Entry-Level
—Advanced Certificate – Information Technology Cybersecurity
Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
591 Springs Road
Bedford, MA 01730
Nathan Percival, IT Cybersecurity Program Coordinator
(978) 364-8524; (978) 322-8317; percivaln@middlesex.mass.edu
Massachusetts Associate Degree or Certificate Cybersecurity Program Coursework
Courses common to associate degree and/or certificate programs in cybersecurity in Massachusetts include:
- Computer Systems Fundamentals
- Networking I & II
- Computer Network Security I & II
- Scripting for Security
- Virtualization and Cloud Infrastructure
- Information Storage Management
- Ethical Hacking
Salaries for Cybersecurity Professionals in Massachusetts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor notes that as of May 2019, the annual mean wage for information security analysts working in the state of Massachusetts was $106,550. This is slightly above the average national wage for the profession, of $104,210. Information security analysts working in the Boston/Cambridge/Nashua Massachusetts-New Hampshire metropolitan area earned slightly higher wages than the state average, at $106,650.