Jeansonne to Give Presentation at NSA Conference

WINTERVILLE—Pitt Community College instructor Joe Jeansonne will deliver a presentation next month as part of the 2022 National Security Agency Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) Cybersecurity Symposium in Atlanta.

Jeansonne, a Certified CyberOps Associate with a master’s degree in digital communications from East Carolina University, has served as instructional coordinator of Pitt’s IT: Cybersecurity degree program the past six years. All told, he has 26 years of experience in the IT field, including 19 as a PCC instructor.

During the symposium, he’ll share his expertise with developing a ‘hands-on’ security compliance course that covers International Organization for Standardization guidelines, National Institute of Standards and Technology frameworks, incident response and business continuity planning.

“The course introduces information security compliance and standards, along with how they apply to corporate IT environments,” Jeansonne said. “… The content is traditionally very cut-and-dried, but it’s an area local businesses have identified as a ‘skills gap.’”

To close the gap, Jeansonne said PCC’s cybersecurity program takes a “more outcomes-based approach” to teaching security compliance coursework. He said students complete hands-on labs using the college’s cyber-range as part of the class.

“This approach to learning helps them understand the ‘why’ of corporate compliance,” Jeansonne said. “Students also demonstrate the ‘how’ by creating corporate policies and procedures that ensure compliance.”

Each year, the CAE symposium provides members of the cybersecurity community an opportunity to network, receive updates, and present research. This year’s event will take place June 9-10 and is open to all existing CAEs in Cyber Defense, CAEs in Research, and CAEs in Cyber Operations, government representatives and invitees, and CAE candidate institutions.

05/16/2022