TOLEDO, Ohio — Concern over cyber security continues to grow as our lives are linked more and more online.
Terra State Community College is teaching the next generation of cyber security professionals.
"Government, different organizations have been putting a lot of money into cyber security," professor Michael Daigneault said.
Preventing cyber attacks has become a multi-billion dollar industry, according to Daigneault. He teaches a NSA-approved curriculum at Terra.
"We teach pretty much everything to take someone from not knowing anything about computers to being prepared in the cybersecurity world," he added.
A cyber attack made headlines last week when hackers shut down the Colonial Pipeline. The ransomware attack had a devastating effect on the U.S. economy.
Daigneault says many companies still have the philosophy of "wait until it happens to me."
And he says that's dangerous.
"The number one thing for protection is educating your employees," he said, "because employees are one of the easiest ways for hackers to get into companies."
Ryan Crocker is enrolled in the program at Terra. He says he's known he's wanted to get into computers since he was 5. He believes cybersecurity workers help people, and a lot of the time, without getting recognition.
"They're unseen heroes for sure," he said. "A lot of the times, the companies like to sweep getting hacked under the rug because they don't want it to be public information."
His team competed in a NSA code-breaking challenge and placed higher than big name schools like Harvard, The Ohio State University and University of Michigan.
"You learn a lot more how things actually work in the real world," he said, "and how hard it really is to be a cybersecurity professional but how rewarding it is."
He says he's learning how to work on a team and think like a hacker to do good and protect companies and people.
Daigneault says companies need to invest more in educating employees on cyber security threats, like how to recognize dangerous emails or links, and what to do if it happens to you.