Liberty retains national designation as Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense

Liberty University’s Center for Cyber Excellence has retained its designation from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) through the 2028-29 academic year.

The university initially received the designation in 2018 (designations are for five-year periods) and was recently informed of the renewal.

Liberty’s Center for Cyber Excellence, housed in the School of Business, prepares future cybersecurity professionals to enter a field that currently faces a major workforce gap. The university offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the areas of information systems, information technology, and computer science. The designation applies to Liberty’s B.S. in Information Technology — Data Networking and Security.

“The NSA CAE Cyber Defense (CD) designation is an important milestone in our continued progress in meeting the national demand for cybersecurity skills and talent with exceptional graduates who are well prepared to enter this challenging profession and to excel from day one as assets in any organization they work at,” said Computer Science Professor Richard Bansley, executive director of the Center for Cyber Excellence.

Through the university’s stellar cyber resources such as its “cyber range,” a virtual lab environment for students to simulate a myriad cybersecurity activities and business outcomes that would be experienced across some of the nation’s most sophisticated computer systems so that students can enter the workforce equipped to face any real-life challenges that arise.

Students are also afforded the opportunity to compete on any of six different cyber competition teams. Earlier this month, Liberty’s Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC) team received an invite to compete as a wildcard at the ninth Global CPTC9 competition at Rochester Institute of Technology in January.

These opportunities allow students to complement their classroom learning with practical hands-on experience and further emphasize Liberty’s goal of Training Champions for Christ in the realm of cybersecurity.