Access to transfusable blood in the United States is not a standard to all but a privilege to some. Amidst a national blood shortage that is leaving medical professionals without the necessary resources to tend to their patients, cybersecurity attacks have further restricted this mandatory access to blood.
On Jan. 30, the New York Blood Center had to postpone blood draws due to potential cybersecurity threats, according to the Cyber Management Alliance. Another notable blood bank, OneBlood, had patient data leaked in a ransomware attack in late July 2024. To improve security, the company had to resort to less efficient, yet safer, modes of operation, according to the Cyber Management Alliance.
As technology advances at a seemingly exponential rate, so too are cybersecurity threats, many of which put people’s lives on the line. To combat these growing cyber risks, Moorpark College founded its Cybersecurity Program, which has recently been praised for its success.
“Isn’t technology being used by every human on the planet?” said Edmond Garcia, Cybersecurity Club co-advisor and Computer Network Systems Engineering professor. “So why aren’t our classes — why aren’t colleges exploding with technology curriculum, especially focused on cybersecurity? The point is, we didn’t miss the target. We realized we needed to have a cybersecurity program, so we built one.”
Moorpark College’s Cybersecurity Club, which was created four years ago, is still relatively new but has nonetheless been recognized for its immense success. It allows students of any caliber to learn the skills necessary for the workforce and cybersecurity competition against other colleges and universities.
“There’s going to be — if you know anything that is happening in our world — cybersecurity [needed] every day,” said John Forbes, vice president of academic affairs, in front of the VCCCD Board of Trustees. “The vectors of attacks in terms of threats to our own personhood and to our own finances, [shows that] we need these [cyber security specialists], and we are producing the top ones.”
While community colleges are often represented as having fewer resources and lesser quality programs compared to their university counterparts, the Cybersecurity Club at Moorpark College outranks top universities in cybersecurity competition.
In fall 2024, Moorpark College notably ranked as the No. 23 best overall team nationally and the best community college team in the continental United States, according to Cyber Skyline in collaboration with the National Cyber League (NCL).
“Across the whole nation, we are the top-ranked,” said Forbes. “We are the only community college in the top 50 out of 500 schools that compete in cybersecurity. We are [No. 23] and of note, we are right ahead of University of Alabama, Auburn and Purdue — l like that.”
In December 2024, Moorpark College was the recipient of the $50,000 scholarship, “Neighborhood Champion,” courtesy of Bank of America. These funds have been allocated specifically for the Cybersecurity Program, according to Forbes.
The program also recently received two anonymous $25,000 donations, according to Garcia.
“This [$50,000 Bank of America] grant will change lives, strengthening the economy of Ventura County by producing the technicians needed to support the cybersecurity sector,” said Moorpark College President Julius Sokenu in a news article published by Moorpark College.
Garcia emphasized, however, that the success of the program can be in large part attributed to the team’s consistent dedication to improving its craft. The team practices every Monday at 8 p.m. over a Zoom call, meeting together 50 out of 52 weeks throughout the year. While this training regimen can be extreme to some, the officers constantly support club members throughout this process.
“Most importantly, I think the reason the students do so well, honestly, is because of the tone and the support that they get from the officers,” said Garcia. “The club president, the vice president and all the club officers really set the tone for the club. It’s like we’re navigating this big ship and everybody’s got their oar, and they’re all keeping that boat afloat.”
The source of this dedication, Garcia believes, is due to the close–knit community that the team fosters. Team members join together to attend team dinners, even having taken a trip to Las Vegas together where they attended the annual DEF CON event, a cybersecurity conference where students could learn from experts in the field.
“Teamwork, it’s basically at the heart of everything we do,” said Cybersecurity Club President Anthony Stumpf. “We’re preparing for competitions, we’re working as a team to solve challenges together [and] we’re hosting events. In that respect, collaboration is key.”
The Cybersecurity Club is one of several extracurricular opportunities that can be coupled with the Cybersecurity Program and the many available Information Technology Certificates offered by Moorpark College. Students also have access to internships, the computer Open Access Lab and specific program curriculum that could help lead them down a path of employment, notably for the United States Navy, according to Garcia.
This most recent addition to the cybersecurity curriculum is a Bachelor of Science in Applied CyberSecurity and Network Operations. The degree is yet to be officially approved due to conflicts with California State University degree overlap; however, when it is approved, Garcia expects it will provide both an affordable and quality program.
“[Students] … want to know that when they graduate, the skills that they have [are] going to lead towards employment, and it’s got to be an affordable program,” said Garcia. “It has all the right components for the workforce … [for] the student that wants to enter the workforce. That’s our focus.”
Students interested in becoming a part of the club or want to learn more about the Cybersecurity Program and extracurriculars centered around it should see Garcia at the Open Access Lab on campus. Click here to learn more.
“You come to the lab, you see amazing students that are very proficient, they’re really awesome and they are here to learn,” said Eduard Petrov, co-advisor and former president of the club. “You get inspired by yourself. I think exactly this whole community; the unity in the community, is really what helps a lot of students.”
Crime pays. It disadvantages and hurts others too. As our world has shifted toward an increasingly digital one, cybercriminals are taking advantage of this technological dependence. These criminals seek the same rewards as they have in traditional crime, but what differs is their technological means of siphoning these rewards.
As the next generation of cybercriminals has evolved, small businesses, large pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies all hope for a defense. This defense comes from Moorpark College’s Cybersecurity Program and its encompassing Cybersecurity Club, which provide students the opportunities to protect the increasingly digital, yet vulnerable, world.
