Colin Malott, a fourth-year student at the University of Cincinnati, has found his niche in the stars, or rather, in cybersecurity for the stars. Malott is soaring high with a co-op at the NASA Office of Inspector General in Washington, D.C., an opportunity he landed back in January 2023. His day-to-day involves delving into the digital trenches, working within the realm of cybercrime for NASA's Office of Data Analytics, specifically with the Law Enforcement Analytics team.
The journey to NASA commenced when Malott, pursuing a master’s degree with a double major in cybersecurity and game development at UC’s School of Information Technology, was awarded a Scholarship for Service. This prized scholarship is funded by the National Science Foundation and covers not only tuition but also provides a cost of living stipend. Malott remarked on the impact of the scholarship, "I knew this scholarship would be life-changing, but I never thought I’d receive it," according to a University of Cincinnati article.
Malott's co-op at NASA serves as more than just a stepping stone in his academic journey; it fulfills the internship requirement for his master's program. His unique position at NASA allows him to directly apply the concepts and skills from his cybersecurity studies to real-world cases of space-level importance. It is here, in this high-level internship, that the theories of classroom and textbooks become the practical tools to safeguard the data and infrastructure of an organization that touches the sky.
The Scholarship for Service program aims to cultivate cybersecurity professionals who can safeguard our nation's critical information infrastructure. It ties in with a greater national concern for cybersecurity as the digital age progresses.
