{"id":188239,"date":"2026-02-17T12:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/building-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-professionals\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T12:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:25:10","slug":"building-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/building-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"Building the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Professionals<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/news.ua.edu\/2026\/02\/building-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-professionals\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-02-17 12:17:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: news.ua.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

University of Alabama students are gaining experience in the cybersecurity industry, preparing for careers after graduation, without even leaving campus. As members of the first cohort of the workforce development program in UA\u2019s Security Operations Center, eight students are working alongside the Office of Information Technology and TekStream analysts to fight cyber threats to campus.<\/p>\n

First Line of Defense<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity threats, such as email phishing and spam, are a reality for all organizations, and the University is no different. OIT\u2019s cybersecurity team works around the clock with vendor partners to keep University data safe.<\/p>\n

OIT staff and the student interns are the first to see potential issues as they arise. They collaborate on finding solutions or deciding if the issue needs to move to the team at TekStream, a cybersecurity solutions vendor working with UA, or the OIT Security team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use industry-leading security platforms from Splunk and Microsoft, where the students monitor security alerts,\u201d said Taylor Anderson, OIT\u2019s chief information security officer. \u201cThe students are part of a Slack channel with TekStream, so they\u2019re in constant contact with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students enjoy getting to actively engage in solving real issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy analyzing security alerts because each alert can be different,\u201d said Ciara Laird, a junior management information systems and business cybersecurity double major. \u201cI like the problem-solving aspect of determining whether the activity is benign or something that needs escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not Just a Student Job<\/p>\n

The students in the program have found this work is not just about looking at a computer all day.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting a behind-the-scenes look has been eye-opening, especially in seeing how frequently attacks occur and how much coordination and complexity go into keeping a network of this size secure,\u201d said junior computer science major Joseph Du.<\/p>\n

Ava Henry, also a junior computer science major, agrees. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much work and coordination go into protecting cybersecurity. Being behind the scenes has shown me how complex and ever-expanding the field really is, as well as how involved students can be in meaningful, real-world situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

And cybersecurity isn\u2019t just for computer science majors. Anderson believes that any student gets important takeaways from working in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have computer science majors, of course, but we also have business majors,\u201d he said. \u201cAll majors are welcome if you want to explore a career in IT. We encourage different perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program is open to freshmen up to juniors since there is in-depth training that the students do before they can assess even the first issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cTekStream takes each student through a six-week training program where they get to shadow with TekStream analysts and then TekStream analysts reverse shadow them,\u201d Anderson added. \u201cThey then become a Tier I SOC Security Analyst.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students receive expert guidance from TekStream staff and training on networking and information security concepts. And they use advanced tools such as Splunk Enterprise Security and Splunk Security Orchestration, Automation and Response, or SOAR.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite parts of each shift is getting to investigate incidents. I grew up playing strategy games, so the problem-solving aspect really excites me,\u201d said Henry. \u201cEvery shift feels a little different, which keeps it interesting. It\u2019s especially rewarding because I\u2019m constantly learning something new and building on what I already know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Du added, \u201cI really enjoy the investigative nature of my role. Gathering small cyber-clues and piecing it all together to form a complete story is very rewarding and knowing I\u2019m helping to keep UA\u2019s network safe and secure gives real meaning to my work!\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing a Future<\/p>\n

This hands-on training not only prepares students for immediate responsibilities in the SOC but also lays the groundwork for their long-term professional growth in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

TekStream offers career-building opportunities for students who successfully complete the program. Their framework empowers students to work side-by-side with industry experts.<\/p>\n

The skills they use daily not only serve UA and its security needs. They also serve the students for life beyond the SOC.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting hands-on experience is incredibly important, especially in a technical field,\u201d said Henry. \u201cApplying what you learn in class or online is completely different when you\u2019re actually behind the keyboard, working through real situations, and gaining experience that truly prepares you for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laird agrees, \u201cThis is not a passive or observational role. We are trusted with meaningful responsibilities and exposed to real-world security incidents that have a tangible impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Professionals https:\/\/news.ua.edu\/2026\/02\/building-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-professionals\/ Publish Date: 2026-02-17 12:17:00 Source Domain: news.ua.edu…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/news.ua.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SOC-featured-pic.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24,25],"class_list":["post-188239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity","tag-phishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188241,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188239\/revisions\/188241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}