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Home » 2022-2024 Graduate Bulletin » Programs » Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

George Thomas, Program Coordinator
Office: Halsey S218
Telephone: (920) 424-2069
Website: https://uwex.wisconsin.edu/cybersecurity/
E-mail: thomasg@uwosh.edu

FACULTY

Miller, Penniston, Thomas
(Also see the complete list of Graduate Faculty/Instructional Academic Staff in this Bulletin.)

PURPOSE

The M.S. in Cybersecurity represents a comprehensive, multidisciplinary curriculum that prepares students to advance their careers and pursue their academic ambitions through leadership and management positions within the cybersecurity field.

DEGREES/CERTIFICATES

Completion of the program will lead to the degree: Master of Science (M.S.)

ADDITIONAL ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS INFORMATION

In addition to the requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies specified in the first section of this Bulletin, the program has established the following policies and procedures for admission:

A Bachelor’s degree and a 3.0 undergraduate GPA.

Program Prerequisites are required prior to formal admission into the program:

Introduction to Computer Science

Calculus or Statistics

 SUMMARY

  1. Structure
    The program is comprised of required courses, electives, and emphasis and is delivered 100% online through the UW system.
  2. Academic Plans of Study
    Cybersecurity
  3. Minimum Credit Requirements
    34 credits applicable to the graduate degree constitute the minimal requirement for all students seeking the MS.
  4. Admission to Candidacy
    Students must satisfy fully the Office of Graduate Studies requirements for advancement to candidacy as stated in the POLICIES section of this Bulletin. Students must confer with their program coordinator/advisor to plan and receive program approval for their admission to candidacy. Students should apply for Admission to Candidacy after completing 9 credits. The Office of Graduate Studies gives final approval to Admission to Candidacy.
  5. Graduation Requirements
    Candidates must satisfy all program and Office of Graduate Studies academic, culminating, and degree requirements to be eligible for graduation and degree conferral.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Core Courses:

700 3 Cybersecurity Fundamentals
703 3 Network Security
705 3 Society and Cybersecurity
707 3 Cybersecurity Planning
710 3 Introduction to Cryptography
715 3 Managing Security Risk
720 3 Technical Communications

Track 1 – Digital Forensics
725 3 Computer Forensics
730 3 Computer Criminology
735 3 Network Forensics

Track 2 – Cyber Response (Defense, Incident & Attack Response)
740 3 Incident Response
745 3 Secure Operating Systems
750 3 Offensive Security and Threat Management

Track 3 – Governance & Leadership (Communication, Management, Policy, Compliance)
755 3 Secure System Administration
760 3 Leadership and Teams
765 3 Cybersecurity Management

Track 4 – Security Architecture (Systems, Software, Data)
770 3 Security Architecture
775 3 Applied Cryptography
780 3 Software Security or 785 Cyber Physical System Security

Capstone
789 1 Cybersecurity Pre-capstone
790 3 Cybersecurity Capstone

COURSE OFFERING(S)

Cybersecurity    700 3 (crs.)
Fundamentals of Cybersecurity
Introduces fundamental concepts and design principles in cybersecurity. Students will understand what, why, and how to protect in the cyberworld. Topics include CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability), threats, attacks, defense, least privilege, access control and password management, security policies, critical controls, incident-handling and contingency planning, risk assessment and management.
 
 
Cybersecurity    703 3 (crs.)
Network Security
Examines network architectures, threats and attack surfaces exploited by these threats. Students will look at network traffic inspection, common attacks and defensive techniques like encryption, network segmentation, firewalls, application proxies, honeypots, DMZs, monitoring networks using: intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems, and network access control.
 
 
Cybersecurity    705 3 (crs.)
Sociological Aspects of Cybersecurity
Presents the principles of applied sociology that account for the human factors in security systems. Topics include an examination of the human role in cybersecurity, the role of security in the context of an organization, and a special focus on the development and implementation of cybersecurity policies.
 
 
Cybersecurity    707 3 (crs.)
Cybersecurity Program Planning and Implementation
Instruction on the process used to develop and maintain appropriate security levels for an organization with a focus on implementing a comprehensive security program, a documented set of security policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards. Topics include security planning, strategies, controls, and metrics for measuring the effectiveness. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity.
 
 
Cybersecurity    710 3 (crs.)
Introductory Cryptography
Fundamentals of applied cryptography, including encryption and decryption, symmetric and asymmetric systems, pseudorandom functions, block ciphers, hash functions, common attacks, digital signatures, key exchange, message authentication and public key cryptography. Implementation of cryptographic systems in an approved programming language. Survey of relevant mathematical concepts, including elementary number theory.
 
 
Cybersecurity    715 3 (crs.)
Managing Security Risk
Covers risk management processes and tools, risk assessment and analysis models, economic and control implications, risk measurement, and the ethics of risk. Students will communicate the technical and management-aspects of risk, based on research of their chosen industry, related regulation, recent industry reports, and risk implications to organizations, individuals and the nation.
 
 
Cybersecurity    720 3 (crs.)
Communication in Cybersecurity
Research, organize, and present technical information to audiences with varying goals and technical needs. Emphasis on ethics, critical thinking, listening skills, and feedback to develop effective messages utilizing verbal and nonverbal communication strategies and visual aids. Individual and group presentations and projects will emulate professional scenarios in cybersecurity.
 
 
Cybersecurity    725 3 (crs.)
Computer Forensics and Investigations
This course provides instruction on the investigative and forensics processes of digital evidence with a focus on identifying indicators of compromise, the use of common forensics tools, and the preservation of forensics tools. Topics include forensics iconology, and the analysis of disk, memory, chip-off, mobile device, and OS artifacts. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity, CYB 703: Network Security.
 
 
Cybersecurity    730 3 (crs.)
Computer Criminology
A primer on modern criminology with specific attention to the aspects of technology that facilitate criminal behaviors. Topics include computer crime laws, criminological theories of computer crime, court room and evidentiary procedure, idiographic and nomothetic digital profiling, computer crime victimology, habit/authorship attribution, stylometry, and case linkage analysis.
 
 
Cybersecurity    735 3 (crs.)
Network Forensics
Covers protocol analysis, identification of malicious behavior in systems, and forensic investigations through event log aggregation, correlation and analysis. Students will analyze clips of network protocol analysis to discern methods of attacks and malicious activities. Reviews wired and wireless protocols and cover their associated attacks, with case studies involving protocol analysis, log analysis, and other tools. Prerequisite: CYB 703: Network Security.
 
 
Cybersecurity    740 3 (crs.)
Incident Response and Remediation
Addresses how to set up an incident response system in an organization and the phases of an IR: Preparation, Identification, Notification, Containment, and Eradication of the threat actors, and Recovery and Reporting to prevent future incidents. Students will learn about the use of IDS and forensics, dealing with false alarms and the remediation process to minimize business impact, plan business continuity, and work with law enforcement, auditors, insurance, and compliance. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Cybersecurity Fundamentals, CYB 703: Network Security, CYB 705: Cybersecurity and Society, CYB 707: Cybersecurity Planning, CYB 715: Managing Security Risk, CYB 720: Technical Communication.
 
 
Cybersecurity    745 3 (crs.)
Secure Operating Systems
Covers operating systems security infrastructure. Topics include, for a given operating system (Windows/Linus), updates and patches, access controls and account management, configuration management, hardening and securing services, and the use of scripting languages to automate security management. Additional topics may include auditing and forensics, virtualization and cloud computing.
 
 
Cybersecurity    750 3 (crs.)
Offensive Security and Threat Management
This course includes active defenses such as penetration testing, log management, hacking, threat management and system posturing. Students completing this course will have an understanding of, and the ability to preemptively secure computer and network resources by utilizing information about threats, actors and attack vectors and the ethics behind using this data. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity, CYB 703: Network Security.
 
 
Cybersecurity    755 3 (crs.)
Security Administration
Covers the policy and governance aspects of security. Topics include application of security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines to administration of IT and communications, assessment of compliance including contractual, legal, industry standard, privacy and regulatory requirements, and implementation of security audits and assessment of security performance and security policy efficacy.  Prerequisites: CYB 700: Cybersecurity Fundamentals, CYB 703: Network Security, CYB 705: Cybersecurity and society, CYB 707: Cybersecurity Planning, CYB 715: Managing Security Risk, CYB 720: Technical Communication.
 
 
Cybersecurity    760 3 (crs.)
Cybersecurity Leadership and Team Dynamics
Focuses on leadership best practices and the interpersonal processes and structural characteristics that influence the effectiveness of teams. Emphasis will be placed on leadership models, principles of team building, group dynamics, problems solving, and crisis management in cybersecurity issues. Course will include case studies of modern security incidents.
 
 
Cybersecurity    765 3 (crs.)
Cybersecurity Management
Covers management of cybersecurity policies and strategies at the organizational, national, and transnational levels. Examines the implications of key domestic and international regulations and changes in information technology and communications on security operations. Includes development of organizational security preparation, processes, and responses, and developing a disaster recovery program. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Cybersecurity Fundamentals, CYB 703: Network Security, CYB 705: Cybersecurity and Society, CYB 707: Cybersecurity Planning, CYB 715: Managing Security Risk, CYB 720: Technical Communication.
 
 
Cybersecurity    770 3 (crs.)
Security Architecture
Focuses on security architectures for the protection of information systems and data. Students completing this course can identify potential vulnerabilities in system architectures and design secure architectures. Topics include common enterprise and security architectures and their key design elements, such as secure cloud computing and virtualization infrastructures. Prerequisites: CYB 703: Network Security.
 
 
Cybersecurity    775 3 (crs.)
Applied Cryptography
An in-depth study of modern cryptography. Topics include public key and private key cryptography, types of attacks, cryptanalysis, perfect secrecy, hashing digital signatures, virtual private networks, and quantum key cryptography. Topics from number theory and discrete probability necessary for understanding current cryptosystems and their security will be covered. Prerequisite: CYB 710: Introductory Cryptography.
 
 
Cybersecurity    780 3 (crs.)
Software Security
Covers the foundations of engineering secure applications, including techniques used to engineer secure software and assess the security of applications. Topics include exploiting web vulnerabilities, secure development processes, implementing security features such as secure data storage and transmission, threat modeling, security requirements, code analysis, and penetration testing.
 
 
Cybersecurity    785 3 (crs.)
Cyber Physical System Security
Covers the fundamentals and techniques to design and implement cyber-physical systems. Topics include the architecture of cyber-physical systems, exploiting software vulnerabilities, secure coding, microservices security, cloud services security, reverse engineering, security assessment of cyber-physical systems, and data analytics for security. Prerequisites: CYB 775: Applied Cryptography.
 
 
Cybersecurity    789 1 (crs.)
Cybersecurity Pre-capstone
Prepares student for capstone experience. Draws on skills learned, students will submit a written project proposal – with organization, timeline, learning objectives, and specific deliverables identified – for faculty approval. This course is a prerequisite for the capstone course. Prerequisites: CYB 700: Cybersecurity Fundamentals, CYB 703: Network Security, CYB 705: Cybersecurity and Society, CYB 707: Cybersecurity Planning, CYB 710: Introductory Cryptography, CYB 715: Managing Security Risk, CYB 720: Technical Communication.
 
 
Cybersecurity    790 3 (crs.)
Cybersecurity Capstone
Students present project identified in Capstone Preparation and submit a written report plus oral presentation to both faculty and host organization. Students will be assessed on clarity and content of written report and presentation. Prerequisite: CYB 789: Cybersecurity Pre-Capstone.