Look at this SOC! A Brand New SOC opens in Missouri to help people gain Experience in Cyber Security. The best kept secret finally comes to life. The Missouri Cyber Security Center of Excellence (MCCoE) had their ribbon cutting last week and is giving people real hands on experience.
This center is almost in my back yard and they are doing things that I haven't seen done before. They are providing a solution to the common gap of having an education and certifications, but not being able to land their first job. Their mission is to train people using real-world data, operations, and decisions.
This is a live SOC (Security Operations Center). Currently they have over 15 interns that they are training up. After talking with several of the interns, they realize this is a one of a kind opportunity.
At the helm is Wes Hester and Shannon McMurtrey who co-founded the non-profit organization as well as Heather Noggle who is serving as the Director.
I've had a chance to get to know Wes, Shannon, and Heather extremely well. Each one of them have been extremely successful in their careers, but the MCCoE they founded is one of the most selfless things I've seen in years. They simply want to help protect the business and organizations in Missouri while allowing people to get real hands on experience.
I've been lucky enough to be involved with the MCCoE. I'm even more lucky that they have also chosen Appalachia Technologies as one of their partners.
The interns they have are absolutely great people and watching them in action has been a blessing. They are smart, outgoing, and already gaining some great hands on experience.
I will be writing a full article on the MCCoE next week, but this was just too good to hold in any longer. Everyone, if you have a moment, give them a big congrats for what they are doing for our community.
If you are in the area, any of them would be more than happy to give a tour to this brand new, cutting edge, beautiful SOC.
Congrats Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. Job well done.
