Cybersecurity Center

WIU Cybersecurity Center (WIU-CC)

We all live in a hyper-connected world where cybersecurity is of paramount importance. As an academic institution, Western Illinois University (WIU) plays an important role in educating our students and providing relevant information to our community about cybersecurity threats as well as career opportunities. Established in 2021, Western Illinois University Cybersecurity Center (WIU-CC) is a university-wide effort to marshal multidisciplinary resources for cybersecurity education, outreach, and research.

NICE Workforce Framework

The NICE Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity defines a work role as a grouping of work for which an individual is responsible or accountable. Our Cybersecurity degree program prepares students for the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles:

Infrastructure Support
(Primary Focus)

Responsible for testing, implementing, deploying, maintaining, and administering infrastructure hardware and software for cybersecurity.

Defensive Cybersecurity
(Primary Focus)

Responsible for analyzing data collected from various cybersecurity defense tools to mitigate risks.

Systems Administration
(Secondary Focus)

Responsible for setting up and maintaining a system or specific components of a system in adherence with organizational security policies and procedures. Includes hardware and software installation, configuration, and updates; user account management; backup and recovery management; and security control implementation.

Network Operations
(Secondary Focus)

Responsible for planning, implementing, and operating network services and systems, including hardware and virtual environments.