Department website: https://uwex.wisconsin.edu/cybersecurity/
Dr. Afzal Upal, Academic Director
Master of Science in Cybersecurity
Address: University of Wisconsin-Platteville
1 University Plaza
Platteville, WI 53818-3099
Phone: 608.342.1557
Email: upala@uwplatt.edu
Statement of Purpose
The demand for skilled professionals who can secure our nation's cyber assets against a variety of threats continues to outpace the supply. This program has been designed to provide working professionals skills they need to pursue careers in this rapidly growing field. Students will learn ethical hacking skills and how to effectively develop, implement, and maintain a security strategy within diverse organizations and industry sectors.
Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates will:
- Analyze and resolve security issues in networks and computer systems to secure an IT infrastructure
- Design, develop, test, and evaluate secure software
- Develop policies and procedures to manage enterprise security risks
- Evaluate and communicate the human role in security systems with an emphasis on ethics, social engineering vulnerabilities, and training
- Interpret and forensically investigate security incidents
Introduction
This program 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. The program will equip students with the skills needed to effectively develop, implement, and maintain a security strategy within diverse organizations and industry sectors. Core courses provide students with a solid foundation in data and network security, compliance, strategic planning, program design and management, legal and ethical issues in cybersecurity, cryptography, risk management, and technical communications. In addition, the program offers four unique tracks to assist students in tailoring their coursework to meet their career goals: digital forensics, cyber response, governance and leadership, and security architecture. The Master of Science in Cybersecurity represents a fully online, asynchronous curriculum comprised of 34 credits to include a culminating, project-based capstone experience. Graduates of the program will gain the core competencies required to assume a variety of roles across a wide range of industries to include cybersecurity analyst, security consultant, cybersecurity manager, computer system analyst, security application analyst, and information technology specialist.
Admission Requirements for Master of Science in Cybersecurity
Admission to the Master of Science in Cybersecurity requires:
- Prerequisite coursework in Introduction to Computer Science (with a programming emphasis) and Calculus or Statistics
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
- Employment résumé
- Two letters of recommendation
- A personal statement of not more than 1000 words
- Admission exams, such as the GRE or the GMAT, are not required.
To be eligible for admission in full standing, a student must have an overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.5. Students who do not qualify for admission in full standing may be admitted on a trial enrollment justified by the admitting department and approved by the College Dean. Students are allowed seven years from the date of admission into the program to complete degree requirements; extensions may be granted for extenuating circumstances. See Time Limitation policy for details.
Program entrance requirements and degree completion requirements are consistent with those of the other collaborative degree-granting institutions offering this program. Applicants should follow the instructions found in the Admission Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.
Special Students
Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation may register as a Special Student. Students will receive academic credit for courses taken while on this status. Students can be considered for admission into a degree program if they maintain a 3.00 grade point average in all graduate-level work and all other admission requirements are met. With the program area advisor’s approval, students may transfer up to 12 credits earned at UW-Platteville into a degree program. All graduate-level work will be included in computing a student’s GPA.
Curriculum
The Cybersecurity degree program has a 34-credit curriculum, wherein students will complete a 25 core credits (including a 3-credit Capstone course) and 9 credits of electives from one of four emphasis to satisfy degree requirements. Graduate credits in which a grade lower than a "C" has been earned will not be counted toward the degree; however, these lower grades will be reflected in the student's grade point average.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core courses | ||
| CYB 7000 | Fundamentals of Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CYB 7030 | Network Security | 3 |
| CYB 7050 | Sociological Aspects of Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CYB 7070 | Cybersecurity Program Planning and Implementation | 3 |
| CYB 7100 | Introduction to Cryptography | 3 |
| CYB 7150 | Managing Security Risk | 3 |
| CYB 7200 | Communication in Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CYB 7890 | Cybersecurity Pre-Capstone | 1 |
| CYB 7900 | Cybersecurity Capstone | 3 |
| Emphasis | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 34 | |
Cyber Response Emphasis
The Cyber Response emphasis area consists of the following three courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CYB 7400 | Incident Response and Remediation | 3 |
| CYB 7450 | Secure Operating Systems | 3 |
| CYB 7500 | Offensive Security & Threat Management | 3 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Digital Forensics Emphasis
The Digital Forensics emphasis area consists of the following three courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CYB 7250 | Computer Forensics and Investigations | 3 |
| CYB 7300 | Computer Criminology | 3 |
| CYB 7350 | Network Forensics | 3 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Governance and Leadership Emphasis
The Governance and Leadership area consists of the following three courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CYB 7550 | Security Administration | 3 |
| CYB 7600 | Cybersecurity Leadership and Team Dynamics | 3 |
| CYB 7650 | Cybersecurity Management | 3 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Security Architecture Emphasis
The Security Architecture emphasis area consists of the three of the following four courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CYB 7700 | Security Architecture | 3 |
| CYB 7800 | Software Security | 3 |
| CYB 7850 | Cyber-Physical System Security | 3 |
| or CYB 7750 | Applied Cryptography | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
CYB 7000 Fundamentals of Cybersecurity 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7030 Network Security 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7050 Sociological Aspects of Cybersecurity 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7070 Cybersecurity Program Planning and Implementation 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7100 Introduction to Cryptography 3 Credits
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. Imple-mentation of cryptographic systems in an approved programming language. Survey of relevant mathematical concepts, including elementary number theory.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7150 Managing Security Risk 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7200 Communication in Cybersecurity 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7250 Computer Forensics and Investigations 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000 CYB 7030
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7300 Computer Criminology 3 Credits
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.
Components: Discussion, Laboratory, Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7350 Network Forensics 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7030
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7400 Incident Response and Remediation 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000, CYB 7030, CYB 7050, CYB 707, CYB 7150 CYB 7200
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7450 Secure Operating Systems 3 Credits
Covers operating systems security infrastructure. Topics include, for a given operating system (Windows/Linux), 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.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7500 Offensive Security & Threat Management 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000 CYB 7030
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7550 Security Administration 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000, CYB 7030, CYB 7050, CYB 7070, CYB 7150 CYB 7200
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7600 Cybersecurity Leadership and Team Dynamics 3 Credits
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, problem solving, and crisis management in cybersecurity issues. Course will include case studies of modern security incidents.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7650 Cybersecurity Management 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000, CYB 7030, CYB 7050, CYB 7070, CYB 7150 CYB 7200
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7700 Security Architecture 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7030
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7750 Applied Cryptography 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7100
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7800 Software Security 3 Credits
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 transmisson, threat modeling, security requirements, code analysis, and penetration testing.
Components: Class
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7850 Cyber-Physical System Security 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7750
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7890 Cybersecurity Pre-Capstone 1 Credit
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 pre-requisite for the capstone course.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7000, CYB 7030, CYB 7050, CYB 7070, CYB 7100, CYB 7150 CYB 7200
Typically Offered: DEMAND
CYB 7900 Cybersecurity Capstone 3 Credits
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.
Components: Class
Prereqs/Coreqs: P: CYB 7890
Typically Offered: DEMAND