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Mount Cyber Center

National Security Agency Program of Study Validation

Mount St. Mary's Bachelor of Science (BS) in Cybersecurity program has been validated by the National Security Agency (NSA) as having met the curriculum and program validation standards through academic year 2030. Institutions that receive this Program of Study (POS) designation have met rigorous requirements set forth by the NSA, designed to produce cybersecurity graduates with the skills to address the critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals required to defend America's cyberspace. Students who complete all requirements established by the NSA will receive a certificate of completion for their records.

Cybersecurity Activities

Mount St. Mary’s University actively engages cybersecurity students through a variety of hands-on and professional development opportunities. These include participation in a student-run Cybersecurity Defense Club (CDC), where students compete in cybersecurity competitions; “SmallTalks,” in which students present current cyber topics to peers and faculty; guest presentations from industry leaders; and the annual SPARC Festival, where students showcase their capstone research projects to the campus community.

The Mount's Security Operations Center (SOC)

Since 2019, Mount St. Mary's University has operated a student-powered Security Operations Center (SOC). This program, led by the Mount's Information Technology department in collaboration with the Cybersecurity and Computer Science programs, provides meaningful contributions to the security of the institution. Originally designed and developed by undergraduate IT student workers, the SOC reflects the Mount’s emphasis on experiential learning and student leadership. Today, it is staffed primarily by student SOC Analysts who work alongside IT staff in support of the University’s broader technology and security mission.

In this role, students gain direct, early-career experience within an enterprise IT and cybersecurity environment. Student SOC analysts support alert triage, threat hunting, investigative workflows, and incident response activities, applying industry tools and methodologies in real-world contexts. They also collaborate closely with IT staff to develop and maintain processes, detection algorithms, and technologies that strengthen the University’s security program. Through the SOC, students build practical skills and professional readiness, applying and extending concepts developed through their coursework while also serving the Mount community as an integral part of the University's broader defense strategy.

Mount Cyber Defense Club

Learn about our Cyber Defense Club events.

Mount Cyber Center News

Read the latest Mount Cyber Center news.

External Cyber News

See what's making headlines around the world.

Institutional Security Resources and Awareness

Students, staff, and faculty seeking security awareness and security resources should visit the ITSC cybersecurity site (requires Mount login).

Cybersecurity Student Resources

Things to Explore (links to external resources):

Industry Advisory Panel

Mount St. Mary's University maintains an active Industry Advisory Panel that provides ongoing guidance to ensure our cybersecurity curriculum aligns with current workforce and industry needs. Our panel includes:

  • David Bryan - Principal, Cogent Force, LLC
  • Christian Johnson - Principal Engineer, AWS
  • Steven O'Dell - Sr. Director C&H National Security, ASRC Federal DNC
  • Nancy Rittie - Senior Digital Forensics Examiner, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Ryan Trost - VP Infosec Operations, Charter Communications

Presentations and Talks

Below are samples of this year's SPARC Lightning Talks, Post Sessions, Honors Presentations, and SmallTalks, from our Cybersecurity seniors. Additionally, a sample of some of the Department and CDC activities sponsored by the faculty or students.

SPARC '26 Festival - Lightning Talks

Digital Forensics and Incident Response in Cybersecurity Investigations
  • This presentation provided an overview of digital forensics and incident response, focusing on the identification, preservation, and analysis of digital evidence following cybersecurity incidents. Key areas discussed included computer, network, mobile device, and cloud forensics, along with the historical development of the field as digital technologies became more prevalent. The presentation distinguished between live forensics, performed while systems remain operational, and dead forensics, conducted after shutdown. Current challenges in the field include strong encryption, complex cloud infrastructures, and anti-forensic techniques designed to hinder investigations. The importance of maintaining proper documentation and chain of custody procedures was emphasized, particularly in legal contexts. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack was examined as a real-world example, with multi-factor authentication and blockchain technologies identified as important considerations for future cybersecurity and forensic practices.
The Accidental Kill Switches of Cyber Warfare
  • This presentation examined how flaws and implementation mistakes within malicious software have contributed to the disruption and mitigation of major cyberattacks. Emphasis was placed on the relationship between malware complexity and the increased likelihood of programming errors that can be exploited by defenders. The WannaCry ransomware attack was discussed as a primary example, highlighting how the ransomware’s sandbox-detection mechanism enabled a security researcher to halt its spread through the registration of a domain name. Additional case studies included the Conficker worm outbreak, which was weakened by weaknesses in its random number generation process, and the Morris Worm incident, one of the earliest large-scale internet worms, which unintentionally propagated beyond its intended scope. Together, these examples demonstrated how operational and coding errors within malware can significantly influence the outcome of cybersecurity incidents.
The Algorithmic Adversary: Understanding AI-Driven Cyber Threats
  • This presentation explored the evolving role of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity, emphasizing its function as a dual-use technology that can enhance both defensive and offensive capabilities. Key topics included AI-driven phishing campaigns, where machine learning techniques are used to automate target research and generate convincing fraudulent communications at scale. The discussion also addressed the growing threat of deepfakes and synthetic identity attacks, which complicate traditional methods of authentication and impersonation detection. Particular attention was given to the concept of agentic AI, referring to autonomous systems capable of independently planning and executing cyberattacks with minimal or no direct human intervention. The presentation emphasized that artificial intelligence is not only increasing the scale and efficiency of cyber threats but is also fundamentally transforming the methods and sophistication of modern cyberattacks.

SPARC '26 Festival - Poster Sessions

Cloud vs On-Prem Infrastructure Security
  • This presentation looked at how cloud and on-premises security compare in terms of cost, scalability, and overall protection. The presenter uses real breaches like the Capital One breach in 2019 and the Equifax breach in 2017 to show how both types of environments can fail in different ways. Capital One had a cloud misconfiguration issue, while Equifax had a failure to patch a known weakness on its systems.
The Role of Large Language Models in Cybersecurity Operations
  • This presentation covered how large language models like AI tools are starting to be used inside security operations centers to assist analysts with the large volume of alerts they receive every day. The speaker explained how an LLM can read and organize logs, find unusual activity, and pass useful information to a human analyst who then makes the final call. This technology helps SOC teams work faster, with fewer distractions.

SPARC '26 Festival - Honors Presentations

Hybril: A Lightweight Multi-Language Static Application Testing Platform
  • Hybril is a lightweight, web-based application security platform built to make static code analysis easy and accessible. Instead of requiring a complex setup like traditional tools, users can simply upload their code, run scans, and review results in one streamlined workflow:  upload, scan, review, and finally, download.  The platform supports multiple languages by integrating open-source tools and combines their findings into a clean, standardized report format.
Ethics and Security in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming embedded in critical systems and everyday life, due to its rapid development. This integration presents a myriad of opportunities and notable challenges.  The widespread implementation of AI in our systems brings efficiency and innovation.  However, it is important to understand the ethical and security concerns that this innovation brings with it, which include risks to data, algorithmic bias, and the spread of misinformation.  This research will analyze the importance of ethics and security within AI development and use by discussing literature, ethical frameworks, and evaluating real-world case studies.  This analysis is vital when implementing proper governance models and security protocols.  Consequently, this research will provide a combination of ethical and technical discussion points to develop recommendations on improving secure AI use that balance innovation and responsibility.
Mitigation of Memory Vulnerabilities: A Necessary Shift to Memory-Safe Programming Languages
  • The research conducted for this paper sought to address the concerns of memory vulnerabilities that have been present in systems and applications for many decades. The most common of these memory vulnerabilities that are frequently exploited are buffer overflows, use-after-free, use of initialized memory, and double-free vulnerabilities.  Memory vulnerabilities are of great concern as they are incredibly common in many systems.  In this proposed roadmap, we consider several factors, such as when memory-safe languages will be implemented, what language(s) will be used, transparency, and developer training.  Through the use of memory-safe languages and replacing existing unsafe language use, we may significantly reduce the risk of malicious attacks on systems and make it significantly more expensive for malicious actors to compromise these systems.

Cyber-Focused SmallTalks - Spring '26

Rethinking Vulnerability Scoring:  Automating Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
  • This presentation examines a research study that applies machine learning to automatically evaluate vulnerability severity in cyber-physical systems. The authors introduce a model that predicts CVSS scores from vulnerability descriptions, helping address issues like inconsistent scoring and slow analysis. The findings highlight how automation can improve cybersecurity practices in critical systems.
Trusted Tools as Weapons:  Examining the Stryker Attack
  • This talk explores the attack against Stryker, highlighting how trusted Microsoft enterprise tools such as Intune may have been used to execute a large-scale system wipe. We will walk through a likely attack chain based on available information and discuss the broader implications for detection and defense.
Heterogeneous Computing
  • This talk compares the roles of CPU, GPU, and TPU in modern applications. It evaluates each processor's specific features, strengths, and weaknesses to show how they work together to handle workloads efficiently.
The Hack that Almost Compromised the Internet:  Inside the XZ Backdoor
  • This talk analyzed the XZ utils vulnerability backdoor in the long-term supply chain compromise. It covers the attackers' use of social engineering,  system manipulation, and code obfuscation, along with broader implications for open-source software and its security.
No Tool Too Small: Lessons Learned from the Notepad++ Vulnerability
  • This presentation was given by the Mount's SOC team and focused on how a vulnerability in a widely used and seemingly insignificant text editor became a target for threat actors, highlighting how even basic tools can introduce unexpected cybersecurity risks. The incident was explored, along with the broader impact it had on users and organizations. 

In-House CTFs - Spring '26

COAD Hub CTF Validation for Accepted Students Day
  • Professor Rittie developed a custom CTF for an accepted students event in January, themed as an 1980s era “lost” computer system that had been rediscovered and which was to be restarted. To complete the game, four challenges (Math, Cyber, CS, and Data) had to be completed, along with a final challenge to restore the system and win the game.  To validate the platform before the event, a COAD Hub was held where students competed to complete the CTF, ensuring the system functioned properly before the event.
Cyber Defense Club In-House CTF
  • To foster the development of our students’ cybersecurity skills, an in-house CTF was held, leveraging the picoCTF platform. Many students participated in the challenge, garnering Professional Development Points as well as playing for prizes for the top three scorers.  The challenges ranged from easy to difficult, giving opportunities to players at all experience levels.  These events help to expose new members to the CTF world, as well as help prepare our upperclassmen who are required to join the NCL solo and team competitions.

Contact Us

For more information, contact our point of contact Margaret Leary, Ph.D., at m.s.leary@msmary.edu or alternate point of contact Jonelle Hook, Ph.D., at jhook@msmary.edu.

Visit us at LinkedIn:  Mount St. Mary's University Cyber Center