By Kim Lamb Gregory
Keeping our online information safe in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has
become a major challenge, according to several experts who spoke at an October 91Ƶ
Cybersecurity Awareness Month event.
Computer Science student Steven Lang and ‘24 Information Technology alumnus James Piedrasanta were among the speakers, with Lang discussing AI and cybersecurity and Piedrasanta sharing the results of his study into college students and cybersecurity.
“National Cybersecurity Awareness Month aims to help people avoid cyber threats and encourages more people to join the field of cybersecurity,” explained 91Ƶ Chief Information Security Officer Carlos Miranda. “Each year there is a theme to encourage best practices in cybersecurity. This year’s theme was ‘Secure our World.’”
The audience was made up of area high school students who learned about the latest in cybersecurity and about possible careers in the field.
Both first generation college students, Piedrasanta and Lang are finding career success in the rapidly expanding field of cybersecurity, which has been complicated by the proliferation of AI.
“With Artificial Intelligence, malicious actors can generate text that is designed to mimic a real email,” Lang said. “Before, the emails would be silly or not be spelled right or obviously not generated by an English speaker. But with AI, you can get this computer-generated output that makes it look authentic.”
As an Information Security student assistant, Lang keeps up on the latest in AI and is now CompTIA Security Certified, which means he qualifies for a job in the field when he graduates.
Also, CompTIA Security Certified, Piedrasanta works as an intelligence specialist at the Navy Reserve Center in Port Hueneme. The San Fernando Valley native graduated from a Los Angeles community college, then joined the U.S. Navy for 8 ½ years.
“I used to be a mechanic in the Navy, and I still wanted to work in machine maintenance and troubleshooting. I felt like Information Technology was a good transition,” he said.
While at 91Ƶ, Piedrasanta conducted a research project about cybersecurity and college students after observing students who visited the campus’ Veterans Resource Center.
“Military and non-military students would come in, print out documents, open up their email and just leave the page open,” Piedrasanta said.
While conducting his senior capstone project, Piedrasanta found that seniors about to graduate were most likely to be casual about cybersecurity.
“It could be that seniors have a lower level of awareness because they’re leaving the safety net of the University,” Piedrasanta explained to the audience, suggesting it might be an indication that graduating seniors need to be vigilant about keeping their information safe.
Other speakers included representatives from area information security firms, as well as representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation who said the bureau is always looking for job applicants well-versed in cybersecurity.
Lang and Piedrasanta believe 91Ƶ is an ideal place to gain that expertise.
“Before I came to 91Ƶ, I was a mechanic with no prior Information Technology knowledge,” Piedrasanta said. “But when I graduated, I was certified and felt very confident.”