Category: Spring 2013

Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems is excited to announce a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) led by Dean Amar Gupta for the spring semester.

While the University has been making great strides into online education through services like iMentor this will be its first ever MOOC and is a bold step for both the University and the Seidenberg school. MOOCs have been pioneered by companies like Coursera and EdX and this will be Pace’s first contribution to the arena. The course is part of Pace’s efforts to use the most advanced technologies to bring their students the best educational experience possible.

The course will be made up of a four part lecture series covering the topics of “Knowledge Economy”, “International Management of Services”, “Entrepreneurship Innovation” and the “24-hour Knowledge Factory”. All of these topics are ones on which Dean Gupta has a range of insights and are sure to provide valuable information for all that participate.

The lectures begin March 6^th in 163 William Street at 6 pm. They will be recorded and put on Udemy.com for everyone to access. Those interested in the course should contact kbrazaitis@pace.edu. Pace students may have the option of receiving credits for the course. Everyone interested in the 21^st century global economy should tune into the lectures as they are sure to have a wealth of information that will be useful across all disciplines.

 

Prof. Gabberty, a professor of information systems at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, has a busy month speaking to several news outlets about cyber security and ways to prevent cyber-attacks.

He wrote an entry for the Congress blog, entitled The Hill, entitled “US must do better in preparing professionals to help fight cyber attacks” in which he warned about the rise of attacks against US business by foreign agents. He addressed the critical shortage of IT experts qualified to address the security issues and reminded readers that so much of the US military and business assets are dependent on keeping crucial streams of data safe. He also gave some practical tips on avoiding being the victim of a malware attack – such as not picking up suspicious USBs which are often strewn in company parking lots for unsuspecting employees.

He was then quoted in the Money section of the US News talking about the importance of strong passwords for online accounts. His advice was that “… the passwords to get into your PC, your laptop, and your tablet should be different. He also recommends changing passwords about every 90 days. ‘The reason is simple,’ Gabberty says. ‘Once inside your machine, key loggers—which may be lurking inside your computers right now—read every keystroke, reporting back to some ‘mother ship’ or central server information about you, your passwords, the sites you visit, and so on.”

He was also quoted in the CIO Journal blog of the Wall Street Journal about the current state of the nation and it’s vulnerabilities to outside cyber-attacks saying ‘More than 25% of Chinese exports go to the U.S. each year, so it’s unlikely that China would perpetrate an attack that would take down pieces of critical infrastructure”

Finally Prof. Gabberty was quoted in an article about President Obama’s Cyber Defense Plan in the TribLive saying “They [foreign hackers] know we’re doing a lot of chest pounding and that we’re frustrated at the lack of willingness by our own corporations to lock themselves down,” adding “It’s pretty embarrassing that the technology these guys are using is not sophisticated. It’s not rocket science.”

Prof. Gabberty is a phenomenal example of a Pace professor that actively pursues his interests outside of the classroom and is able to provide real life examples for our students. We look forward to hearing more of his insights in the field in future articles.

David McKinnis, current CTO of Suretech.com, stop by the Seidenberg School last Wednesday, 2/13, to talk to students about cyber security and how they can better prepare their programs for real world applications.  McKinnis attended Yale University and, after graduation, went to work Microsoft. In his thirteen years at Microsoft he had the opportunity to work on a variety of software projects in the Office Development Group. David held a variety of positions at Microsoft including Development Team Lead and Development Manager. After he left Microsoft, he started David McKinnis Consulting to help non-profits and small businesses use technology more effectively. McKinnis’s talk focused on the notion that developers can’t trust their users. The user may input data into the form of application that will cause problems with the software or website. Or even worse they may try to deliberately exploit a system for nefarious purposes after all a piece of code can’t tell an actual user from a hacker. McKinnis reminded students to sanitize their input data to avoid problematic interactions with their software. And then making a comparison to a bank he reminded them to somehow check the data – a bank wouldn’t trust a sack with a dollar sign on it and so a program shouldn’t blindly trust user data. He also reminded students to be safe using their own machines. You may not have sensitive data stored on your computer but hackers would still love to turn it into a bot for nefarious purpose. Overall it was a great session that left a lot of students more informed about the principles of cyber security they should be aware of. Be sure to stop by next Wednesday for another great speaker as part of the Seidenberg School Speaker Series.

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and you haven’t made plans. Sound familiar? No worries, this year Seidenberg College has you covered with a concert. Creative Musical Sessions along with the Individuals and Staff of AHRC New York City Adult Day Services and the musicians of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall will be stopping by Pace on February 14^th to perform from 11:00 am to noon in the Multipurpose Room on the B-Level of One Pace Plaza. The performance will benefit the AHRC, which is dedicated to serving those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The performers will include the professional musicians, AHRC staff who are musicians part-time and individuals served by the AHRC who were paired with musicians.

The concert comes out of a collaboration in the CIS102W class. Since 2007, CIS 102W students have organized productions in the Schimmel Theater that highlight the many social contributions of individuals with developmental disabilities. At this concert students will serve as escorts, guides and hosts to guests from the local community. They will also serve as advocates for the disability rights movement. The CIS102W course has been awarded the National Jefferson Award for Community Service, a prestigious national award.

The event is sponsored by the Community Outreach Programs and Services and the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. For more information contact lawlerj@aol.com

 

The Seidenberg School is excited to be able to extend 5 free tickets to the New York Tech Meetup to all current students and alumni.

Founded in 2004 by meetup.com founder Scott Heiferman, NYTM centers around monthly meet ups where emerging companies demo new ideas and technological experts give talks on leading-edge thinking in the field. The organization has over 29,000 representing all parts of the New York technology community and fostering a strong network of support for innovative ideas.

The meetups are always an inspiring blend of different ideas that is sure to leave attendees inspired and awed. You can read about last month’s meetup on our Tumblr and if you’d like to attend please e-mail nnebeluk9977@gmail.com

Upcoming NYTM Dates:

February 5^th, 2013

March 19^th, 2013

April 9^th, 2013