Education and Professional Development Opportunities
The Maritime Security Center (MSC) provides maritime security-focused educational programs designed to enhance our nation's maritime domain awareness, the resiliency of our Marine Transportation System, and the technical skills and leadership capabilities of the current and future maritime and homeland security workforce. Central to the MSC's mission is the transfer of its research into maritime security-centric educational programs, professional development courses and workshops.
Professional Development Courses
The Maritime Security Center offers the following professional development opportunities:
Maritime Cybersecurity – U.S. Coast Guard Course
The two-day, instructor-led course provides a fundamental understanding of cybersecurity concepts including evolving threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations within the context of the Maritime Transportation System (MTS). The course aims to prepare Coast Guard personnel with the working knowledge of cyber and physical security to be able to assess cyber risks as part of facility and vessel security inspections, as well as in their cyber incident response efforts.
Maritime Cybersecurity Enterprise Risk Management and Leadership Course
This one-day, instructor-led course will provide maritime business professionals with a high-level overview of cybersecurity concepts and cyber risk management frameworks that can be utilized to achieve a more cyber aware and resilient business enterprise.
Cybersecurity Risk in Critical Infrastructure for Board Directors
New Course Offering – Launch Date: Nov. 3, 2023
Board of Directors, Trustees and Advisory Board Members play an important role in the governance and stewardship of publicly and privately owned critical infrastructure organizations. Cyber threats and vulnerabilities in Information and Operational Technologies (IT/OT) pose complex challenges to the management and operations of these vital systems. This two-hour, executive-level course provides board members with best practices for managing cyber risks, and strategies for enhancing resilience to cyber attacks.
Control System Cybersecurity
New Course Offering – Launch Date: Fall Semester 2023
The MSC is developing a one-day course tailored to engineers and IT personnel working within critical infrastructure sector domains. The highly engaged, instructor-led course will introduce attendees to control system cybersecurity, how is it different than IT or even OT cybersecurity, what has happened to date, and what needs to be done to better secure critical infrastructures. The course will examine selected actual control system cyber incidents to provide real-world understanding of the current situation.
Discussion-Based Tabletop Exercises
MSC Research PI Brant Mitchell, Director, Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI) at Louisiana State University led the Center's efforts to develop discussion-based tabletop exercises to support port facility emergency response and preparedness capabilities. The objective of the Center’s work in this area was to build a web-based repository of scenarios and exercise templates that can be used and customized by the USCG and port facility operators across the country.
Review the Exercise Development Kits developed by SDMI >
MSC Legacy Programs
These student program opportunities are no longer being offered. The description and details are provided as part of the Center’s program archive.