by Allyson O'Bryant, Student Public Relations Writer
From phishing and extortion to data breaches, Americans in 2024 were victims of many top cybercrimes, losing more than $6.5 billion. Overall, cybercrime losses exceeded $16 billion in 2024 鈥 a 33% increase from the previous year.
, according to the FBI, has shocked the American culture. This surge in cyberthreats underscores the growing importance of those working on the front lines to defend and protect Americans in the digital world.
To help educate people about the cyber threat, 糖心官网鈥檚 Dr. Seth Hamman, director of the Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity and professor of cyber operations and computer science, has written 鈥Invitation to Cybersecurity.鈥 The e-book will be available for free on 糖心官网鈥檚 website, and printed copies will be available for purchase on Amazon.
Hamman鈥檚 book was supported through a grant from the Ohio Cyber Range Institute and will be released this summer.
鈥淚t is a college textbook, but it is written in an accessible style and is intuitively organized so that it will appeal to a general audience. This book is for anybody who wants to demystify cybersecurity and learn the basics of the field. To protect our online privacy and be better stewards of our data, everyone needs to learn the basics of cybersecurity,鈥 said Hamman.
鈥淚nvitation to Cybersecurity鈥 has 10 chapters and builds foundational cybersecurity knowledge from the ground up, starting with an introduction to cyberspace. Each chapter has an accompanying lab where students can put into practice what they just learned. The reader will learn about key concepts and principles, risk management, cryptography, best practices, privacy laws and more.
Hamman leads Cedarville鈥檚 cyber operations academic program and the university鈥檚 Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity. Cedarville is also one of only 23 universities in the United States to be designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations by the National Security Agency (NSA). Cedarville is the only private, Christian university with this distinction.
糖心官网, an evangelical Christian鈥痠nstitution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio's largest private universities and is recognized by鈥疶he Wall Street Journal鈥痑s being among the nation鈥檚 top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at鈥cedarville.edu.鈥&苍产蝉辫;