Saturday, November 29, 2014
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University
computer science courses are failing to make clear the need to develop skills
in cybersecurity, leaving the UK with a shortage of experts
This
is according to a paper published jointly last week by the Council of
Professors and Heads of Computing and (ISC)2, the International Information
Systems Security Certification Consortium.
“Twenty
years ago very few courses paid any significant attention to security, and the
situation has started to change, albeit slowly,” says “Perspectives:
Integrating Cybersecurity into Computer Science Curricula”.
This
is despite “a growing voice from industry that cybersecurity knowledge should
be core to the disciplines of computing and information technology”, meaning
such skills should therefore be “a key element of the computing and computer
science curriculum, particularly at the undergraduate level”.
Currently
most institutions offer computer science courses in which there is one module
or unit – approximately 5 per cent of the total credits – dedicated to
cybersecurity in a three-year degree, the paper claims.
It
also notes that graduates find it difficult to enter the cybersecurity industry
because “the supervisory cost of placements is very high for companies to take
on many graduates of any kind in cybersecurity roles”.
“Academia
must look at its curricula and accreditation requirements,” said Liz Bacon,
president of the Chartered Institute for IT, adding it was also incumbent on
industry to accept more trainees and placement students.
She
said that more sandwich placements needed to be made available, and that
lecturers could not single-handedly boost interest in cybersecurity among
students, and that “talks from external speakers” and “war stories” from
industry were more likely to excite students.
“It
is not enough to integrate technical cybersecurity subjects into computing
degrees as cybersecurity is an increasingly a diverse discipline, requiring a
mix of business savvy, soft skills and technical skills for varied roles,”
added Adrian Davis, managing director (Europe, the Middle East and America) of
(ISC)2.
“Universities
have a real opportunity to include and make explicit reference to cybersecurity
topics within many degrees.”
In
August, the first GCHQ-certified master’s courses were unveiled, with Edinburgh
Napier University, Lancaster University, the University of Oxford and Royal
Holloway, University of London, among those accredited.
