Wyoming’s Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses, now in its fourth year, will take place on Feb. 1, 2021. This event is free and is open to all small businesses who wish to participate. This year’s competition will include Working Webinars in which volunteers from past competitions will act as peer members, assisting current participants make risk tolerance decisions for their businesses. Companies that participate in the Cybersecurity Competition will learn new tools, policies and ways of managing their cyber risks in the workplace.
This competition is run by CyberWyoming, a nonprofit organization that helps business owners develop and implement best practices in cybersecurity. It partners with Wyoming technology companies, law firms, educational organizations, insurance companies, and more. In order to participate in the competition, small business owners need only contact info@cyberwyoming.org to get a copy of a participation form and to make an appointment to discuss how to become more cyber secure.
The competition has many prominent Wyoming businesses sponsoring it, such as First Federal Bank & Trust of Sheridan, EvnTec of Evanston, Wyoming Financial Insurance, Campbell County Health, Sweetwater Technologies of Rock Springs, Team Networks of Casper, Factory IT of Jackson, IECA of Casper, Ptolemy Data Systems of Sheridan, and DigeTekS LLC.
More events such as this cybersecurity competition are needed throughout the state of Wyoming. As the state’s data protections are currently ranked last, it is clear that cybersecurity should be at the forefront of the minds of those running Wyoming businesses, of the leaders of Wyoming’s schools, and of the private citizens of Wyoming whose data is only a heartbeat away from being compromised. The best way to become more cyber-savvy is to get an education in cybersecurity in Wyoming. This article will discuss how you can get started on the path to a new cybersecurity career in Wyoming by getting an associate degree or certificate.
Cybersecurity Law in Wyoming
Many in Wyoming were upset to learn in 2019 that Comparitech had ranked Wyoming last among all states in terms of cybersecurity protections. This is largely due to the fact that Wyoming lacks even the most basic cybersecurity and data protection laws that other states have. Currently, data protection laws in Wyoming are based on the harm threshold of each individual data breach incident. There is no set deadline by which consumers must be notified of a data breach, just that such notification must occur in the “most expedient time possible without unreasonable delay.” Also, Wyoming’s government is not required to be notified in the event of a data breach of its citizens. Lawmakers and businesses in Wyoming are working to strengthen Wyoming’s data protection laws. Those who are trained and educated in cybersecurity can help greatly in this endeavor.
Cybersecurity Jobs in Wyoming
An associate degree or certificate in cybersecurity in Wyoming may help you land jobs like:
- Information Security Analyst – American Express, Cheyenne
- Remote Content Developer, Information Security Engineer – Virtual Vocations, Cheyenne
- IT Security Analyst – FIS, Empowering the Financial World, Sheridan
- Cybersecurity Specialist – AWS Educate, Cheyenne
- RMF Security Analyst – Latitude, Inc., Cheyenne
- Cyber Security IT Integration – Humana, Remote
- Cybersecurity Analyst – IBM, Laramie
- Data Security Specialist – SAIC, Francis E. Warren AFB
- Info Security Engineer – Moneygram, Rawlins
- Cyber Security Analyst – Whitney Bradley and Brown, Inc., Dayton
Associate Degree and Certificate Cybersecurity Programs in Wyoming
The most important thing in choosing a college or university in which to study cybersecurity in Wyoming is selecting a school that is regionally or nationally accredited by an agency listed with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The most common regional organizations you will see in a school’s accreditation are:
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- New England Commission of Higher Education
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- WASC Senior College and University Commission
Wyoming’s Cybersecurity Associate Degree and Certificate Programs
The following associate degree and certificate-level cybersecurity programs are found in Wyoming:
- Casper College –
—Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security
–Associate of Science in Cyber Security
–Certificate in Cyber Security
School of Business & Industry Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
125 College Drive
Casper, WY 82601
Marjorie Anderson, Department Chair
(307) 268-3539; manderson@caspercollege.edu
- Gillette College –
—Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
300 W. Sinclair
Gillette, WY 82718
(307) 681-6000
- Laramie County Community College – Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
School of Business, Ag and Technical Studies
1400 East College Drive
Cheyenne, WY 82007
Jill Koslosky, Dean of School of Business, Ag and Technical Studies
(307) 778-1154; jkoslosk@lccc.wy.edu
- Sheridan College –
—Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
1 Whitney Way
Sheridan, WY 82801
Carol Olson, Instructor
(307) 675-0505; colson@sheridan.edu
- University of Wyoming – Cybersecurity Certificate
Dept. of Computer Science Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82701
James Caldwell, Dept. Head
(307) 766-5190;
Wyoming Associate Degree in Cybersecurity Program Courses
The curriculum for an associate degree in cybersecurity program in Wyoming generally includes:
- Windows Client Operating System
- Computer Network Security+
- Computer Forensics
- Linux Fundamentals
- Scripting Languages
- Windows Server Networking
- Network Defense and Countermeasures
- Cloud Computing
- Virtualization Technology
- Hardening Network Infrastructure
- CISCO CCNA 2- Switching Routing and Wireless Essentials
- CISCO CCNA 3- Enterprise Networking, Security and Automation
Cybersecurity Job Salaries in Wyoming
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor notes that as of May 2019, information security analysts working in the state of Wyoming earned an annual mean wage of $79,010. In the Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, information security analysts averaged slightly lower salaries of $72,870 annually. No salary data was compiled on other metropolitan areas in Wyoming.