If there was any question about the importance of cybersecurity, just read about what happened to Target in 2013. That year, the retail giant’s digital defenses were hacked when a third-party HVAC vendor fell victim to an email phishing scam. As Target’s HVAC units allowed remote access through the internet, hackers were able to access the company’s payment system by using the vendor’s credentials. The hack compromised the data of 40 million credit and debit card shoppers; Target ended up paying an $18.5 million settlement to affected customers.
Today, some schools are offering cybersecurity courses, including cyber warfare and offensive cybersecurity, to deal with these and other threats. Others are offering courses that show how to investigate cyber crimes and deal with cybersecurity threats from an organizational standpoint.
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Here are a few of the more interesting cybersecurity courses that are currently being offered:
Cyber Warfare
The University of Arizona’s undergraduate Cyber Warfare class gives students an introduction to the tools, techniques, and procedures used. Students take part in hands-on labs to practice attacks. This course meets the National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations program’s academic requirements for Offensive Cyber Operations.
“Students get to learn about Cyber Kill Chain and other methodologies/frameworks, which addresses attackers methodology … with a goal of distrusting the attack process as early as possible,” says Dalal Alharthi, an assistant professor of cybersecurity at the University of Arizona’s College of Applied Science & Technology. “This is significant to prepare them to be able to evaluate security posture in organizations and to build some recommendations based on the findings.”
- Cost: $1,500, but cost may vary by campus
- Duration: Seven weeks
- Curriculum: This course helps students understand offensive cyber operations, the legal ethical and policy issues associated with these operations, and how to attack and defend against cyber warfare. Students will learn about network scanning methodology, vulnerability scanning, Metasploit framework, victim machine, password strength, reflected and stored XSS attacks, and common injection attacks.
Enterprise Cybersecurity Management
Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Cybersecurity Management course is intended for students who wish to design and lead cybersecurity organizations working closely with security teams. The course is part of Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity.
“We definitely see students that want to get a view into a corporate environment, and what is it like,” explains Jerry Perullo, a professor of the practice in Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. “Organizational behavior, interpersonal skills, how to deal with other departments, what to expect at a large enterprise are the priorities, that sort of thing.”
- Cost: $930
- Duration: Three credit hours
- Curriculum: Starting with strategy and guiding principles, this course explores the organizational structure, duties, and roles needed to address the cybersecurity concerns of different organizations. Cyber risk management, oversight, and risk governance are also addressed in this course.
Investigating Online Crimes
The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s online Investigating Online Crimes course offers students an introduction to cyber investigative techniques. This course is offered through UAB’s J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice. It is a split-level course, meaning that both undergraduate and graduate students may enroll.
- Cost: $1,104 to $2,973, depending on type of student
- Duration: 15 weeks, offered via Canvas
- Curriculum: In this introduction to cyber investigative techniques, students will learn the focused analysis of email and websites, how to examine legal processes and prepare evidence for cybercrime cases, and rules concerning the introduction of digital evidence.
Modeling, Simulation, and Military Gaming
Part of Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, Modeling, Simulation, and Military Gaming is a course where students learn how to model international warfare events. In this project-based course, computing and international affairs students work in teams to explore questions involving international events by utilizing computer-based modeling and simulation tools.
- Cost: $540
- Duration: Three credit hours
- Curriculum: In this course, students will be able to formulate study questions involving international events and hypotheses that can be tested through computer simulation tools. They will understand the capabilities and limitations of modern modeling and simulation techniques, as well as the models, abstractions, and software used in modern wargame simulations. Students will also learn to incorporate data from historical records for use in wargame simulation tools.
Offensive Cyber Security
Regis University’s master’s level Offensive Cyber Security course teaches students about hands-on tactics like malware deployment, hijacking, malware deployment, reconnaissance, and vulnerability exploitation that are used by cyber defense professionals.
- Cost: $3,198 ($2,928 with a general fee of $210 and a technology fee of $60)
- Duration: Eight weeks
- Curriculum: The course curriculum covers reconnaissance, scanning, cracking, spoofing, hijacking, trojan horses, and denial of service attacks. It also includes Linux and web application vulnerabilities, incident handling, buffer overflows, and programming exploits.
The takeaway
As cyber threats evolve, the need for cybersecurity professionals will only grow. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, a researcher and publisher that covers the international cyber economy, there are currently 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs.
Still, while both the cybersecurity workforce and the gap between needed and available workers has grown, the field of cybersecurity has not been immune to the cutbacks that have rocked the tech industry. The International Information System Security Certification Consortium’s 2023 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study reports that “47% of cybersecurity professionals have dealt with cutbacks to their teams in the form of layoffs, budget cuts and hiring or promotion freezes. 22% have experienced layoffs, and 31% expect additional cutbacks in the next year.”
Revenue in the cybersecurity field is expected to grow to $181.1 billion this year. While the immediate future of the industry looks rocky, professionals who have the right skills to meet the cybersecurity threats of the day should find themselves in an in-demand and well-paying field.
