Design and Development of Cybersecurity Concentration Courses and Laboratory Experiences for Undergraduate Students
Nikunja K. Swain, Biswajit Biswal · 2020
Abstract Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become increasingly important for US citizens, who are becoming dependent on the use of information networks and services in their daily lives. Yet, while uptake of new technology among citizens is high, a large portion of the population remains unaware of their exposure to risks from security breaches and “cyber-abuse” in the form of network disruptions, malicious code, criminality and hackings, as well as hardware and software failures. There is an urgent need for the development and implementation of awareness-raising campaigns targeted at the safe and responsible use of ICT. The demand for cybersecurity experts in both the public and private sectors is far outpacing the development of the talent pool, making for a hyper-competitive labor market. Against ever evolving cyber-threats the need to graduate students skilled in the concepts and technologies of cybersecurity is becoming a critical responsibility of academic institutions in order to help preserve the sovereignty of the US and her allies. Roughly two-thirds of security practitioners indicate that their organization does not invest enough in security awareness training. Professionals in the field consider it imperative for academic institutions to increase course development in computer security to make students both knowledgeable and technologically prepared for future challenges in this field. Knowledge about ongoing and planned activities will help the institutions to design and develop effective programs individually and in collaboration with others. Universities are only beginning to catch up. The objective of this paper is to describe our experiences in the design and development of cybersecurity courses and laboratory exercises for a cybersecurity concentration for our computer science majors. The findings presented in this paper may be used by interested parties in cybersecurity curriculum and course development.