Madison Watkins, Staff Writer

On Oct. 9, Armstrong was designated as one of the 14 institutions in the country as a National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence. The recognition came from the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center. The schools that received this designation all have a comprehensive curriculum.

This comes after the designation the school received in 2015 as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. With this and the previous designation comes with an academic training partnership with the U.S. Army and Air Force Cyber workforces and a place as an academic advisory member of the National Defense Transportation Association.

Interim President Jennifer L. Frum was proud of this designation, calling it a significant accomplishment.

“The National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence designation represents Armstrong’s commitment to continuing the advancement of cyber security and digital forensics education. As cyber operations accelerate globally, we are proud to be one of the country’s leading educators of digital forensics professionals,” President Frum stated, expressing her satisfaction for this prestigious title.

Serving as a partnership between academia, standards bodies and the U.S. government, the National Centers of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence program establishes the best practices for digital forensics education. The education providers at these institutions are held to digital forensics education standards based on the knowledge, skills and abilities that are used in the field. With these standards, the discipline of digital forensics and the number of qualified professionals are increased to meet the needs of law enforcement, counterintelligence national defense and legal communities.

Our Center for Applied Cyber Education offers undergraduate and graduate-level degrees, along with multiple professional certifications, such as cyber law, cyber warfare, cyber policy, digital forensics, cryptography, healthcare informatics and social media analytics.

The director of Armstrong’s Center for Applied Cyber Education Scott Scheidt commented, “The students receive first-class instruction that prepares them to prevent and investigate cyber-attacks, monitor and secure networks, and integrate the best systems practices throughout the world. Our diverse cyber education programs are uniquely suited to meet the demands of the 21st century cyber workforce needs.”

Along with these accomplishments, Armstrong’s Center for Applied Cyber Education hosted the Air Force Association’s CyberCamp summer program in June and July and was ranked the ninth Cybersecurity program in the country by Military Times in April.