Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at Seton Hill University
NCAE-CD Point of Contact (PoC) | Cyber Range Builder | Digital Forensics, Network Security & Workforce Education

I am an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at Seton Hill University, where my work centers on applied cybersecurity education, authentic infrastructure, and workforce-aligned student learning. I teach and build around the idea that students need more than terminology: they need structured practice with systems, evidence, troubleshooting, documentation, and defensible technical decisions.

A major focus of my current work is the SHU Cyber Range, a developing instructional environment that uses real and repurposed infrastructure to support hands-on learning in networking, virtualization, secure configuration, incident response, digital forensics, and operational security. The goal is to give students realistic spaces to practice cybersecurity as an evidence-producing profession.

As Seton Hill University's NCAE-CD Point of Contact (PoC), I support program alignment, curriculum development, and academic work that connects cybersecurity education with national expectations, regional workforce needs, and responsible professional practice.

• Building applied cyber range capabilities for cybersecurity coursework and student practice.
• Designing evidence-based labs where students preserve command output, logs, screenshots, configuration decisions, and reflections.
• Connecting course outcomes to workforce frameworks, professional habits, and realistic operating constraints.
• Teaching and developing coursework in networking, digital forensics, cyber intelligence, secure systems, and defensive operations.
• Supporting NCAE-CD alignment and cybersecurity program development at Seton Hill University.

My research and scholarly work connects cybersecurity education, digital forensics, nonprofit compliance, cryptographic software, and cyber-physical vulnerabilities. Recent and selected work includes cybersecurity classroom-to-workplace alignment, AI-supported learning technologies, encryption tool use, connected vehicle vulnerabilities, cloud security education, and nonprofit governance.

• Choi, J.O., Guttman, R., Kisow, M., Rose, C., Nichols, W., Winyard, J., Li, B., Branstetter, L., & Herckis, L. (2025). Bridging the community college cybersecurity classroom and workplace with the CyberSim Lab. DOI
• McLaren, B.M., Herckis, L., Teffera, L., Branstetter, L., Rose, C.P., Sakr, M., Kisow, M., Reis, R., Rinsem, M., Alenius, M., & Miller, L. (2024). Community College Information Technology Education: Curriculum Mapping, a Learning Science Framework, and AI Learning Technologies.
• Tomeo, M., Mutale, W., Kisow, M., Scarpino, J., & Chergarova, V. (2023). A quantitative study on usage of a cryptographic software tool for data and communications encryption.
• Seed, K., & Kisow, M. (2023). Vulnerabilities in modern connected vehicles: A call to action.

• Pittsburgh Technology Council
• InfraGard
• International Association for Computer Information Systems

• DoctorKisow - GitHub profile configuration and public profile materials.
• makecert - Certificate conversion and deployment scripting.
• vsftpd-2.3.4 - Teaching-oriented security demonstration repository.
• Document-Library - Course and technical document resources.

Most of my current cyber range development work is tied to instructional infrastructure, student learning environments, and institutional course delivery. Where appropriate, public repositories support reusable teaching artifacts, lab tooling, and supporting documentation.

• D.Sc., Information Systems and Communications, Robert Morris University
• M.Sc., Internet Information Systems, Robert Morris University
• B.Sc., Management Information Systems, Robert Morris University