Cyber Defense
Welcome to the Red Rocks Community College (51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ) Cyber Defense Center (CDC). The mission of the CDC is to educate all members of our community on what each one of us can do, and to ensure all 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ students & staff, along with the community we serve, have the resources needed to implement safe cybersecurity practices to stay secure online. Please use the navigation menu on this page to explore the different content on this CDC website.
"It is the policy of the United States to enhance the security and resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and to maintain a cyber environment that encourages efficiency, innovation, and economic prosperity while promoting safety, security, business confidentiality, privacy, and civil liberties"
-Executive Order 13636 on February 12,2013
Did you know that October is National Cyber security Awareness Month? Although only 1 month is recognized as such, good cyber security practices should be incorporated all year round. For more information on how to do that visit our and:
"Cyber security has an effect on all of us. Historically, only businesses and larger organizations heavily leveraged information technology in their everyday business processes. That is no longer the case. We all heavily use information technology in our daily lives whether we are shopping and paying bills online, working remotely, or remotely adjusting the temperature in the house while on vacation. Due to many aspects of our lives being constantly connected to the Internet, we need to ensure we are implementing safe cyber security practices. " - Joe Murdock, former faculty of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ
Red Rocks Cyber students in Washington D.C. for the 2017 Community College Innovation Challenge. They took 2nd place!
The Red Rocks Community College Cyber program is built using the Cybersecurity Framework from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). To find out more about this framework, visit
. The program interview portion starts at 15:15.
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ has many Computer Information Systems (CIS) 2-year and degrees, a BAS degree, as well as certificates for students to pursue. Students can earn a to prove that they have the foundational knowledge and entry level skills required for one of the hottest growing careers today. If a career in a cyber security related field interests you, visit: to learn more.
For cyber students looking to pursue a 4-year degree after completing 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ, you have local and online options:
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fairbanks, AK) - Website or view transfer agreement
- Colorado Christian University (Lakewood, CO) - Website or view transfer agreement
- Colorado State University Global (online) - Website or view transfer agreement
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ and Online) - Website of view transfer agreement
- Regis University (Denver, CO) - Website or view transfer agreement
The mission of the Red Rocks Community College Cyber Team is to advance our learning with hands-on cyber security competitions. These competitions allow us to test our skills in real world scenarios and against other students from various schools. To date we have competed with and against students from Regis University, the University of New Mexico, BYU, CSU, and cadets from the United States Air Force Academy
The 'Cybersecurity Club' is made up of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ students interested in furthering their knowledge in the technical realm of information, networking and security. Club members have access to a cyber lab learning environment which consists of a server rack equipped with enterprise level components. The environment is isolated from the school network which allows students to create, explore and learn from a hands on approach. The club competes in the RMCCDC (Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition) which takes place once a year and is a good demonstration of our club's knowledge and ability to defend a network. Every student is welcome especially those interested in cyber security, computer technology, network technology, programming and website development.
In addition to coursework, industry certifications are another way you can prove your basic understanding of cyber security related concepts. Many of the courses in the Cyber program at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÆØÁÏ are aligned with industry certifications. This means that after students successfully complete the course, they are better prepared to take these certification exams. As with any exam, it is a good idea to go back over all the necessary material before taking the exam to ensure you are fully prepared. Below are cyber security related courses that align with various industry certification exams:
- CNG 1021 & 1022: Computer Technician
- CNG 1001: Networking Fundamentals
- CNG 1031: Principles of Information Assurance
- and
- CNG 1032: Network Security Fundamentals
- CNG 2011: Windows Configuration
- CNG 2058: Digital Forensics
- and most of
- CNG 2059: Enterprise Security
- and
- CNG 2060, 2061, 2062
*some higher level exams require past or future work experience to be eligible for certification.