Hilbert College Logo
  • Info For
  • Search
  • Office Directory
Info For
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Current Students
  • COVID-19
  • Online
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
  • About
    • Hilbert 2025 | Strategic Plan
    • Mission & Vision
    • Office of the President
    • Conferences & Events
    • News
    • Fast Facts
    • History & Traditions
    • Visiting Hilbert
    • Virtual Tour
    • Employment & Benefits
    • Consumer Disclosure
    • Notice of Non-Discrimination
    • Institutional Research & Assessment
    • Directory
    • Ten Things About Hilbert
    • State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
    • Accreditation
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Pre-Professional Programs
    • Master's Programs
    • Online Opportunities
    • Dual Enrollment Program
    • Advising
    • Summer Sessions
    • Student Services
    • Research
    • Library
    • Commencement
    • Value of Hilbert Education
    • Academic Catalog
    • Honors Program
    • Hilbert Blueprint
    • Academic Calendar
    • Academic Policies & Procedures
    • Liberal Learning Outcomes
    • Class Cancellations
    • Liberty Partnership Program
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • International Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Accepted Students
    • Schedule a Visit
    • Apply to Hilbert
    • Summer Sessions
  • Costs & Aid
    • Undergrad Financial Aid & Costs
    • Graduate Financial Aid & Costs
    • Making a Payment
    • Apply for a Student Loan
    • Financial Literacy Resources
    • Refund Policies
    • Financial Aid FAQs
    • Consumer Information
  • Student Life
    • Health & Wellness Center
    • Student Activities
    • Residence Life
    • Campus Safety
    • Campus Dining
    • Events Calendar
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Campus Ministry
    • Counseling Center
    • Veterans
    • Student Services
    • Bookstore
    • Service Learning
    • New Student Orientation
    • Student Handbook
    • International Education
    • Army ROTC
  • Athletics
  • Alumni
    • Ways to Give
    • News & Updates
    • Events
  • Visits
Give Now
  • Home/
  • About/
  • News/
  • Hilbert Spotlights/
  • Steven MacMartin
Dr. Steven MacMartin, Program Director of Cybersecurity

Dr. Steven MacMartin
Program Director of Cybersecurity

Dedicated Program:
Cybersecurity

Program Director Profile: Dr. Steven MacMartin

Since the early days of the internet, Dr. Steven MacMartin has been fighting computer crime. Over a 31-year career with U.S. Customs and the Department of Homeland Security, he examined over 1,000 computers and drives and was an expert witness at hundreds of trials. 

“In 1985, when I was starting to do computer crime investigations, you might see one computer a year,” MacMartin recalled. “It was in the early 2000s that we started to see computer seizures become fairly routine.”

Today, MacMartin fights cybercrime in a different way. He shapes the next generation of cybersecurity professionals as program director for the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity degree program at Hilbert College.

He’s preparing them to face a much wider array of challenges than he did. “Today, cybersecurity is about everything,” he said. 

“It’s about protecting personal information. It’s about intellectual property rights. It’s about company secrets. It’s about government infrastructure and the power grid. Everything’s much more connected, and so are the threats.”

From Coach to Computer Examiner

Computer crime was not on MacMartin’s mind as he grew up in Ogdensburg, New York, on the St. Lawrence River at the Canadian border. His first college degree was in physical education and coaching.

In his small town, though, there were no job openings for his degree. At a friend’s suggestion, he took an employment exam with the U.S. government and received offers from several agencies. In 1980, he chose Customs, then part of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Starting as a customs inspector at a Canadian border crossing, MacMartin quickly moved up to a more interesting job. As a customs investigator, with the title of Special Agent, he probed the smuggling of guns, narcotics, human beings and more.

In one case, he helped repatriate 100 pieces of pre-Columbian gold and jade artifacts to Ecuador and Costa Rica. In another, he received round-the-clock protection after foiling a terrorist plot to bomb synagogues and mosques in Toronto.

More and more, though, he found himself assigned to examine computers: partly because he was a hobbyist who built them in his spare time. 

“A computer seizure needs to be forensically examined, just like you'd examine a body or a crime scene or a blood splatter,” he said. “You need to be specifically trained and have specific equipment. Pretty soon, I was so busy that all I was doing were computer exams.”

The Evolution of Cybersecurity

When he first worked with computers, MacMartin recalls, a major customs issue was child pornography smuggled into the U.S. through internet chat groups. From his office in Buffalo, he pieced together the digital trails of perpetrators. His work resulted in 50 convictions in countries like Canada, Germany, Japan, England and Switzerland.

But exposure to horrific material took a psychological toll, he said. After two years, he asked to be assigned to other operations.

In 1996, he earned certification as a computer forensic examiner, allowing him to testify as an expert witness. He also helped set up western New York’s first Regional Computer Forensics Lab, sharing federal resources with local law enforcement, before turning it over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In that decade, many of his cases revolved around stolen technology. “There were a lot of embargoes on transferring high technology from the United States, and everybody wanted to get technologies like our guidance systems for F-16s,” he recalled.

Today, the nature and goals of cybercriminals have changed, he said. They’re either seeking profit through black market sales or ransomware, or they’re nations seeking intelligence or disruption.

“We are at war,” MacMartin said. “We've been under attack for years. When I say ‘we,’ I mean, government organizations, private organizations and personal data. This is a sustained, coordinated, targeted effort by certain state actors, such as Russia, North Korea and Iran.”

Teaching Cybersecurity

As far back as 1999, Buffalo-area colleges had asked him to speak and teach part-time. As he approached age 57—the mandatory retirement age for a Special Agent—one school asked him to set up a degree program in Homeland Security. In 2011, he retired two years early and started teaching full time.

A decade later, after retiring again, he got a call from Hilbert and an opportunity to return to his first love: cybersecurity. In 2022, he took the reins of its bachelor’s program. 

MacMartin sees his career connections as one of the program’s strengths, enabling students to learn from experts in a wide variety of fields. 

“Students are taught by professionals,” he said. “We have people from all sorts of jurisdictions: health care, banking, private industry, local government, federal law enforcement and state law enforcement.”

He’s also designing a master’s program set to launch in the fall of 2023. The program will focus on the administration of cybersecurity programs as well as their technical aspects. Employers are demanding graduates who can step in and run their cybersecurity operations without additional training, he said.

An additional focus is updating the curriculum to focus on the latest risks in cybercrime. New courses will focus on topics such as digital currencies, financial crimes and securing data kept in the cloud. 

“Every year, the problems seem to get exponentially bigger,” he said. “We’re in a cyberwar, and we want to equip students with the latest weapons for fighting it.”

Explore a Career in Cybersecurity

With the proliferation of online threats, the demand for cybersecurity experts has never been greater. A program like Hilbert’s Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and professionals like Dr. Steven MacMartin can equip students with both technical and managerial skills for protecting personal data, business secrets and national security. Learn more about how Hilbert College can help you start your path to a rewarding and in-demand career in cybersecurity.

Recommended Readings

  • Cybersecurity vs. Computer Science: What Is the Difference?
  • NOC Engineer Job Description and Salary
  • Why Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Cybersecurity?
 

 

  • Hilbert Spotlights
  • Jenelle Lukasik
  • Colleen Kumiega
  • Steven MacMartin
  • Andrew Hill
  • Carraugh Reilly Nowak
  • Jessica Hoffman
  • Faculty Appointments Fall 2023
  • Student Profile: Adyn Migliore

Dr. Steven MacMartin, Program Director of Cybersecurity

Questions & Answer Session
With Dr. Steven MacMartin
Program Director of Cybersecurity

View Dr. MacMartin's Spotlight

Why should students choose to enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program at Hilbert College?

Why should students choose to enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program at Hilbert College?

The strength of this program is the practical experience that the instructors have. Our adjuncts are bringing in 100 years of experience in local and federal law enforcement, as well as from private enterprise, the banking industry and the health care industry.

What are some of the trending areas of focus in the cybersecurity program?

What are some of the trending areas of focus in the cybersecurity program?

We have a special course on digital currency and money laundering with digital currency. We've also got an entire course on cloud technology. Because cloud technology is where all companies are going, the hackers aren't going for your physical offices anymore. They're going for your information stored in the cloud.

What are the most important skills employers are looking for?

What are the most important skills employers are looking for?

They tell me they want people experienced in the administration of cybersecurity programs. They don’t need people coding computers. And they want someone with a master’s degree, even though they’ve got to pay more. With those ten additional courses, you can step in and get to work immediately, rather than having to be trained for what the company wants you to do.

What advice would you give to someone studying cybersecurity?

What advice would you give to someone studying cybersecurity?

If you’re a senior and your personal situation can handle it, don’t take your foot off the gas. Consider staying for your fifth year and getting your master’s degree. If you want to stand out above the crowd in this field, if you want to swim around with the top fish, you've got to have a master’s degree.
  • Apply Now

    Application forms, procedures and additional information

  • Schedule A Visit

    There are many ways to experience
    Hilbert for yourself

  • Request Info

    Learn more about the programs that interest you

Hilbert College Logo
  • Conference & Event Center
  • Campus Ministry
  • Title IX
  • Veterans
  • Careers
  • Diversity
  • Request a Transcript

For accessibility help, contact Debra McLoughlin at dmcloughlin@hilbert.edu or call (716) 926-8826.
For media inquiries, contact media@hilbert.edu.

Hilbert Wordmark Tagline and Footer 
5200 South Park Avenue
Hamburg, New York 14075
(716) 649-7900 | info@hilbert.edu | Privacy Policy

Monday - Thursday from 8:30am - 5:00pm
Friday from 8:30am - 4:30pm

 

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
Students Faculty/Staff Blackboard Login