The Associate of Applied Science in Cloud Security program is designed to help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be confident and ready to work in the Information Technology field at the professional level.

Students will gain security and risk management skills that are among the most highly sought-after skills in networking. Additionally, completers will have hands-on knowledge of server configuration, client connectivity, security, networking, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, troubleshooting, optimization and backup/recovery of critical data.

Courses include preparation for industry standard certification CompTIA A+, Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Windows Operating Systems Fundamentals, Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Networking Fundamentals, Microsoft 365 Certified Modern Desktop Administrator Associate, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Microsoft Certified Windows Server 2016, Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals, Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate, Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Amazon AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Systems Security Certified Professional (SSCP), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Amazon AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate, and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation. Classes meet in state-of-the-art computer labs that offer the latest in networking technology.

Competency Goals

• Identify best practices followed by professional personal computer technicians
• Identify, install, configure, and troubleshoot computer system components and operating systems
• Maintain and troubleshoot installations of Microsoft Windows
• Identify network technologies and personal computer security concepts; install and manage network connections
• Support laptops, portable computing devices, printers, and personal computer security
• Deploy, maintain, and update Windows operating systems
• Manage devices and data, and configure connectivity
• Manage and protect devices; manage policies and profiles; and manage apps and data
• Understand host-to-network and network-to-network connections
• LAN wiring components and conventions; Wireless networking components
• Differentiate between wired networking devices
• Configure your workstation, switch, and router; control access to the network; and troubleshoot the network
• TCP/IP communications protocols basics
• Perform security assessments and identify social engineering attacks and malware types
• Summarize basic cryptographic concepts and implement public key infrastructure
• Implement authentication controls; identity and account management controls; secure network designs, appliances, network protocols
• Implement host, embedded/Internet of Things, mobile security solutions, and secure cloud solutions
• Explain data privacy and protection concepts
• Perform incident response and digital forensics
• Summarize risk management concepts and implement cybersecurity resilience
• Plan, implement, monitor, and maintain a Windows Virtual Desktop architecture/infrastructure
• Manage access, identity, and security; user environments and apps; security operations
• Mitigate threats using Microsoft 365 Defender, Azure Defender, and Azure Sentinel
• Describe the features and functions of the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS®) software, the TCP/IP Internet layer, IPv4, its addressing scheme, subnetting, the TCP/IP Transport layer, and Application layer
• Explore functions of routing Implement basic configuration on a Cisco router
• Identify and resolve common switched network issues and common problems associated with IPv4 addressing
• Describe, implement, and verify Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) and trunks
• Configure Internet access using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) clients; explain and configure Network Address Translation (NAT) on Cisco routers
• Introduce the concept of network programmability and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and describe smart network management solutions such as Cisco DNA Center™, Software-Defined Access (SD-Access), and Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)
• Implement a basic security configuration of the device management plane; Implement basic steps to harden network devices
• Troubleshoot the desktop operating system, desktop applications, and desktop networking and connectivity
• Install configure, and troubleshoot hardware devices and drivers (including mobile and personal devices)
• Install and test department-specific and line-of-business (LOB) applications on end-user computers
• Change and re-image desktop configurations as needed
• Secure Microsoft 365 hybrid environments
• Implement authentication methods, conditional access, role-based access control (RBAC), Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM), Azure AD Identity Protection
• Implement and manage threat protection; device and application protection; and Microsoft Cloud App Security
• Implement and manage Microsoft Defender for Office 365; secure data access within Office 365
• Configure, manage, and analyze security reporting; audit logs and reports; data governance and retention
• Describe how cloud adoption transforms the way IT systems work and the benefits of cloud computing with AWS
• Discuss how to design systems that are secure, reliable, high performing, and cost efficient
• Define high availability, fault tolerance, and scalability, and discuss how to avoid single points of failure
• Identify the benefits of Infrastructure as Code
• Create, manage, provision, and update related resources using AWS CloudFormation
• Compare structured query language—or SQL—databases with NoSQL databases
• Select compute, storage, database, and networking resources to improve performance
• Evaluate the most important performance metrics for your applications; eliminate unneeded costs or suboptimal resources
• Troubleshoot common errors
• Analyze components of the Security and Risk Management domain, the Asset Security domain, the Security Engineering domain, the Communications and Network Security domain, the Identity and Access Management domain, the Security Assessment and Testing domain, the Security Operations domain, and the Software Development Security Domain

This program totals 111 quarter credit hours, or 1,450 total contact hours. The program consists of seven 10.5-week quarters and takes place over a period of 2 academic years. Classes are offered in the daytime Monday through Thursday from 9:30am until 2:30pm; or in the evening Monday through Thursday from 5:30pm until 10:30pm. Students must complete all the courses listed below:

Sample Job Titles:

Computer and Information Systems Manager, Computer Network Architect, Information Security Analyst, Network and Computer Systems Administrator, Help Desk Support, IT Support Specialist, Network Technician, Network Administrator, Information Security Administrator, Network Operation Technician, Network Support, Computer Support Specialist, Desktop Support, Web Developer, or other similar jobs.

Location(s) Program Offered: Memphis, Nashville

Learning Methodology: Blended

Credential Awarded: Associate of Applied Science

Length of Program: 111 Quarter Credit Hours (7 x 10.5-week quarters) 1,450 Clock Hours

Lecture/Lab Hours: 77/34 (measured in quarter credit hours)

Maximum Student/Teacher Ratio: 25:1

Withdrawal Fee: $100.00

Prerequisites: Either 1 year relevant work experience, 1 year postsecondary education at an accredited institution in a related field, or 1 industry certification in a related field

Tuition for Program: $37,050.00

Course Materials Fee (nonrefundable): $6,775.00

Tuition and Fees Breakdown by Course:

Included in Course Materials Fee (nonrefundable)