28 January 2010
New MSc in Information Security Starts
The first group of ten students taking the new coursework MSc programme, specialising
in Information Security, began their studies today. The group represents a very wide range
of backgrounds and companies, and all the students have considerable experience
in the ICT industry. The
course was designed and is being led by Barry Irwin, a highly-experienced information security
researcher.
In welcoming the students at the start of the course, the Head of the Department of Computer Science, George Wells noted that this is an important area in the ICT industry, and is very topical. Notably, in the past week, information security concerns had featured in Carte Blanche, the Mail and Guardian Online, and the latest Communications of the ACM journal. The ACM article had specifically addressed the need for large numbers of information security professionals in the USA and the training programmes required for this, but the points it raised were just as relevant to the South African ICT sector.
The new part-time degree programme has been designed specifically for Information Security practitioners working in the ICT industry. The two year degree combines coursework in the first year, followed by a research project in the second year. The coursework is being presented by University academics, and also by leading information security practitioners from within the South African Information Security Industry. In order to fit in with the demands of the students' jobs, the coursework modules are presented over four intensive weekend sessions, spread out through the year.
Topics to be covered include:
- Penetration testing
- Information security management
- Application security (including web applications)
- Security metrics
- Security within the enterprise
- Threat modelling
- Incident response
In preparation for the research project in the second year of the degree, part of each weekend module will also be dedicated to covering essential research skills.
For further information, please contact the course co-ordinator Barry Irwin (B.Irwin@ru.ac.za).