Cadet David Rodriguez, \u201927, spent part of the academic year looking for threats most people don’t realize exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A cybersecurity major from St. Augustine, Florida, Rodriguez worked in The Citadel Security Operations Center, or C-SOC, where students gain hands-on experience monitoring network activity, investigating alerts and helping identify potential cybersecurity threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like digital public safety,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe\u2019re monitoring what\u2019s happening on the network and learning how to recognize when something isn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The C-SOC allows students to work alongside IT professionals while applying concepts learned in the classroom to real-world situations. Students review network activity, analyze suspicious behavior and create reports outlining potential risks and possible responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodriguez did not arrive at The Citadel with a clear career path in mind. After considering several academic options, he chose cybersecurity and quickly discovered it was a good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really know what I wanted to do, but once I got into cyber, I stuck with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many professional cybersecurity operations centers, the C-SOC uses a tiered system that gives students increasing responsibility as they gain experience. As a tier 1 analyst, Rodriguez learned how to identify patterns in network traffic, recognize potential vulnerabilities and understand how cybersecurity professionals respond to threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside the C-SOC, Rodriguez participated in the Cyber Leadership Development Program and cybersecurity competitions, further developing his technical skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After graduation, he plans to join the Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy and pursue a career in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not just learning it in class,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe\u2019re actually seeing how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cadet David Rodriguez, \u201927, spent part of the academic year looking for threats most people don’t realize exist. A cybersecurity major from St. Augustine, Florida, Rodriguez worked in The Citadel Security Operations Center, or C-SOC, where students gain hands-on experience monitoring network activity, investigating alerts and helping identify potential cybersecurity threats. \u201cIt\u2019s like digital public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":694,"featured_media":421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other"],"yoast_head":"\n