University to offer cybersecurity degree

• Tweet

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A Scottish university says it has created a graduate program in Advanced Security and Cybercrime, aimed at defending against the threat of online crime.

The part-time, 18-month course at Edinburgh Napier University is aimed at working professionals involved in the computing security industry, to help them learn to protect their companies and organizations against computer crime, ZDNet reported Friday.

Students will learn to improve skills "including network security, operating system security, cloud security, security auditing, security standards, digital forensics, network forensics and the application of skills to real-world problems and environments, a course summary said.

"Computer hacking and other IT security breaches cost the United Kingdom economy millions of pounds every year," Bill Buchannan, director of the university's Center for Distributed Computing and Security, said.

"There is a major skills shortage among IT professionals to deal with the rapidly evolving threat. There's an unprecedented opportunity for those already working in IT or with a background in telecoms to retrain to become 'cyber professionals.'"

Phishing scams, financial and identify theft, viruses and network breaches will be covered in the course, the university said.