Internet-based attacks are all too commonplace today; they accomplish varied objectives, such as disrupting computer information networks; gaining unauthorized access to systems; realizing economic incentives by accessing credit card information; and making political statements. These attacks are launched by individuals, organizations, and states.

Politically-motivated attacks (cyber warfare) are used to disrupt, access, or conduct espionage. Cyber threats, cyber-attacks, cyber terrorism, and cyber warfare can have an adverse effect on public confidence, stock markets, economic/service sectors, and other national critical infrastructures. For example, one of these attacks may have the capacity to cripple our electric grid causing large-scale economic losses and public pandemonium. Our ability to prevent, detect, and eliminate such threats is critical to our national security.

The first half of the program provides a foundational treatment of network security, information assurance, cybercrime, and digital forensics. The second half of this program focuses on the issues, policies, practices, and perspectives of various sectors, critical infrastructures, agencies and disciplines, such as, national security, intelligence, criminal justice, and emergency management. The capstone course is a multi-disciplinary group project where individual participants represent different sectors, agencies, and disciplines.

In addition to the institutional and general education level learning objectives, this program seeks the following specific learning outcomes for its graduates:

• Analyze the national cyber threat landscape and cybersecurity challenges from both external entities and domestic sources.
• Examine the legal, social, regulatory, ethical, and technical issues related to securing information systems and national critical infrastructures.
• Compare and contrast the interdisciplinary policies, practices, perspectives and products required to address the cyber threats to our information systems and critical infrastructures.
• Appraise the methodologies for performing vulnerability assessment, risk mitigation, auditing, and certification of information systems and critical infrastructures.
• Categorize the cybersecurity related roles, responsibilities, and policies for managers of critical infrastructures, national security, corporate security, criminal justice, and intelligence/counter intelligence.