Building the Next Generation of Cyber Security Professionals

Abstract

Cyber security is an area of strategic and policy interest to governments and enterprises globally, which results in an increase in the demand for cyber security professionals. However, there is a lack of education based on sound theories, standards and practices. In this paper, we adapted the Situational Crime Prevention Theory and the NICE National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework in the design and delivery of our courses, particularly in the Cyber Security Exercise (CSE) which forms an integral part of the courses. The CSE is an attack/defence environment where students are grouped and given a virtual machine with which to host a number of services (e.g. HTTP(S), FTP and SSH) for access by other groups. The CSE is designed to mirror real-world environments where the students’ skills will be applied. An overview of the CSE architecture was also provided for readers interested in replicating the exercise in their institutions. Based on student assessment and feedback, we found that our approach was useful in transferring theoretical knowledge to practical skills suitable for the cyber security workforce.

Keywords: Cyber Security Skills, Cyber Security Exercise, National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, Situational Crime Prevention Theory

JEL Classification: C88, C89, K42, K49