2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog

Cyber Security Major

CIP Code

43.0403

The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program is designed to provide students the critical knowledge and skills required to keep the information and communication systems and their data safe, secure and resilient against modern-day attacks. Students aspiring to join the cyber workforce to protect our critical information, systems and infrastructure against cyber-attacks will find this cybersecurity program to be a rewarding and challenging experience. The program will focus on hands-on learning supported by traditional lecture-based teaching and, hence, will provide students with ample opportunities to develop proficiency in subfields of cybersecurity, such as cyber defense, operations, and forensics. 

The BS Cybersecurity curriculum provides a computing-based foundation and covers a broad spectrum of concepts applicable to a range of cybersecurity specializations. The core courses within the program provide the requisite body of knowledge regarding essential cybersecurity concepts and skills. Students begin with foundational mathematics and computer science programming coursework in their first year along with a special cybersecurity exploration course introducing the principles and concepts of cybersecurity. In the second and third years, students engage in core computer science and cybersecurity courses that emphasize hands-on laboratory experiences (e.g., web development, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, vulnerability assessment). These foundational cybersecurity courses prepare students for a capstone cybersecurity project, and upper-level electives or internships. Besides the technical rigor, the program throughout its curriculum strongly emphasizes the socio-ethical aspects associated with the field.

 

Facilities

Cybersecurity Lab

SHU’s 1300 sq. ft, Cybersecurity Lab is located on the West Campus and provides a collaborative and hands-on learning environment to simulate cyber threats, design responses and defense strategies. The newly built lab is used to support education, research, training and community outreach in cybersecurity and privacy. The lab environment is equipped with 40 workstations that leverage state-of-the-art technologies such as Virtualization (VirtualBox, VMware) and security software’s such as Forensic Toolkit (FTK), Fortigate-60D UTM and Splunk. The facility comprises of a dedicated server room supporting floor-to-ceiling technology rack including Network attached storage (NAS), Domain Servers, Network Switches, and Firewalls to run and operate the lab environment. The cybersecurity lab has a security operations center (SOC) analyst workspace to monitor for cyber threats, vulnerabilities and other technology risks that exist on the Internet, and possesses capabilities to isolate the entire lab space from the SHU network and the Internet for defensive and offensive exercises such as malware analysis and penetration testing.  

 

Computer Science Labs

There are three state-of-the-art classroom computer labs dedicated to computer science courses and a dedicated computer lab exclusively for CS/IT majors. There is also a Networking/UNIX lab equipped with 13 Linux machines and a variety of Cisco routers. This closed LAN laboratory is used for networking and UNIX shell programming courses. All workstations are equipped with state-of-the-art applications for programming and software development related assignments and projects. 

Program Requirements

The Cybersecurity major requires the completion of 80 credits.

Required Cybersecurity Courses

Must have a grade of "C" or better
CSE 125CSE Explorations

1

CY 125Cybersecurity Explorations

1

CY 211Computer Networks

3

CY 212Web Development in UNIX

3

CY 221Foundations of Cybersecurity

3

CY 312Introduction to Cryptography

3

CY 321Cybersecurity Standards, Laws, and Policies

3

CY 324Forensic Computing

3

CY 325Usable Security and Privacy

3

CY 367Network Security

3

CY 410Software and System Security

3

CY 413Internship in Cybersecurity

3

CY 420Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing

3

CY 417Cybersecurity Capstone Project I

2

CY 418Cybersecurity Capstone Project II

3

Total Credit Hours:40

Elective Cybersecurity Courses

Must have a grade of "C" or better

Take 9 cr. from the following Cybersecurity courses

CY 414Directed Research in Cybersecurity

3

CY 419Cooperative Studies in Cybersecurity

6

CY 421Cloud Computing: Architecture, Operations and Security

3

CY 422Web and Application Security

3

CY 423Wireless Network Security

3

CY 424Emerging Trends in Cybersecurity

3

Required Computer Science Courses

Must have a grade of "C" or better
CS 111Introduction to Structured Programming

3

CS 112Data Structures

3

CS 113Discrete Structures

3

CS 215Computer Systems Organization with Assembler

3

CS 241Advanced Programming Concepts Using "C"

3

CS 311Database Design

3

CS 349Operating Systems

3

Required Supporting Courses

Must have a grade of "C" or better
MA 151Calculus I

4

CS 319Computer Ethics

3