Cyber Ready Clinic Internship
Launch Your Cyber Career with Real-World Experience!
Application is open for Fall 2026. Apply by August 28, 2026.
The Cyber Ready Clinic’s (CRC) 10-week internship program provides students with hands-on experience in cybersecurity risk assessment and digital resilience planning. Interns work directly with a real nonprofit organization, conducting CRC’s Discover5 and Ready5 assessments under the mentorship of seasoned cybersecurity experts.
This program equips aspiring cybersecurity professionals with the practical skills, real-world experience, and industry connections to jumpstart their careers.
Internship Commitment
- Current cohort dates: September 14–November 18, 2026
- Students must be able to attend all five (5) in-person meetings (2 hours each), including the Internship Launch on September 14 from 3–5 p.m. at Carroll Community College and the Internship Reception and Capstone Presentation on November 16, 17, or 18 from 3–5 p.m. (actual reception date to be determined).
- Students must attend eight (8) virtual weekly Monday meetings from 3–5 p.m.
- Duration: 10 weeks/4 hours per week (40 hours total)
- Stipend: $500 upon successful completion of the internship.
What You’ll Gain:
- Hands-on experience in cybersecurity practices
- Mentorship from industry professionals
- Practical training in cyber threat analysis & prevention
- Résumé-building skills & networking opportunities
- Applications for the current cohort are open until August 28, 2026.
- Students will be notified of acceptance via email by September 11, 2026.
- Selected interns must be prepared to begin internship cohort on September 14, 2026.
- Interns must be 18 years of age or older by the program start date.
- Must be eligible to work in the United States.
- Must have earned a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Applicants must be current or former Howard Community College, Frederick Community College, or Carroll Community College students who have completed and passed IT or Cybersecurity courses as a college student.
- Must complete an initial program screening and employment interview.
- Students are encouraged to carve out 4 hours each week to meet with the internship cohort.
- Students will be required to write a weekly reflection, complete a capstone project, and complete a final exam.
- All students will have access to assessment materials, training, reflection forms, and other internship materials via LMS.
- Students must be able to attend all five (5) in-person meetings (2 hours each), including the Internship Launch on September 14, 2026 from 3–5 p.m. and Internship Reception on November 16, 17, or 18, from 3–5 p.m.
- Interns will schedule a 30-minute meeting with their mentor to discuss their projects during weeks 6-7.
- Interns must complete a final exam with 70% or higher passing grade and a capstone activity to earn the Cyber Ready Assessor badge.
- Students who miss meetings may be subject to removal from the internship or extra work assignments. 24-hour notice is required for an excused absence from any meetings.
- In order to reflect professional workplace expectations, students are expected to keep their cameras on during all virtual meetings.
During the 10-week internship, students can expect the following:
- Ten (10) weekly two-hour sessions where the first and last sessions are in person, and the eight (8) weekly sessions in between are all virtual Zoom meetings. These sessions will be with Cyber Ready Clinic’s Executive Director of Central Maryland, Roy Luongo (former CISO, U.S. Secret Service) and CEO John Bruns (former CISO, Anomoli, Maryland, Howard County).
- Live training on conducting a Discover5 Assessment, which focuses on the business impact of an organization’s people, operations, finances, IT, and risks.
- Live training on conducting a Ready5 Assessment, which focuses on cyber capabilities around identity, endpoints, email, edge/network, and response.
- One (1) Collaborative Capstone Activity, where intern identifies a real solution to fix a capability gap and presents their recommendations to their cyber mentor.
- A Digital Badge certifying proficiency as a “Cyber Ready Assessor*” that can be displayed on the intern’s LinkedIn profile.
*Note: Cyber Ready Assessors must complete a short multiple-choice exam that evaluates an understanding of the Discover5 and Ready5 assessments. Additionally, in order to qualify for the Digital Badge, the intern must have attended all three one-hour sessions with a real-world customer alongside a cyber expert.
The Cyber Ready Clinic (CRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2024 by Ron and Cyndi Gula, co-founders of Tenable. Based in Maryland, CRC provides low/no-cost cybersecurity consulting to local nonprofits, enhancing their cyber readiness while offering hands-on training to interns and volunteers. The 10-week internship program gives students real-world experience conducting security assessments under the guidance of cybersecurity experts, including one-on-one mentorship. Through this initiative, CRC helps protect nonprofits from cyber threats while preparing for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
CRC program goals for participants:
- Exposure to a seasoned cybersecurity practitioner who can explain how cybersecurity is applied in real-world settings.
- Skills assessing business risk and cyber capabilities that can be used in any organization or job setting in the future to help prevent business email compromise and ransomware.
- An understanding of the technologies required to provide defense capabilities across identities, endpoints, email, edge connections, and response processes.
- A passion for practicing digital wellness and protecting data in personal and professional environments.
- An eagerness to explore the hundreds of cyber workforce opportunities and professional training certifications in both the public and private sector post internship.
