Master of Science in Cybersecurity
Reports of cybersecurity breaches have become a fixed presence in news headlines. The theft of customer account data from large retailers such as Target (2013), Staples (2014), Michaels (2014), The Home Depot (2014), and of information about government employees and contractors from the computer systems of federal offices (2015), continues to inconvenience millions of people every year. Internet pandemics such as those caused by the Code Red (2001), Sobig.F (2003), MyDoom (2004) and Conficker (2008) worms have cost several billion dollars to the global economy in recent years. Conservative estimates by security experts are that millions of residential computers are “zombies” (or “bots”) taken over by attackers unbeknownst to their owners, organized into “bot-nets,” and used routinely for spamming everyone that uses the Internet. Denial of service attacks have been staged against major corporations that rely on network access, such as eBay (2000) and PayPal (2010), as well as against the root servers for the internet Domain Naming System (DNS), using bot-nets whose “services” can be purchased on the black market for just a few hundred dollars. Criminal gangs are hiring expert programmers to break into law enforcement databases to learn the names of informants. Consumers are becoming more and more reliant on computer systems, even for sensitive activities like home banking, while companies and governments are exposing themselves to potential attacks due to the need to establish and maintain a “Web presence.” On the legislative level, increasing privacy concerns are giving rise to legislation of which companies must be aware and to which they must be able to adapt.
In response to these trends, Stevens has developed a graduate program in cybersecurity that provides deep and rigorous training in cybersecurity to IT professionals who already have a background in computer science, computer engineering, or other closely related discipline in the information sciences. The program aims to provide a nationally recognized credential for cybersecurity professionals. Academically inclined graduates of this program will also be well poised to pursue Ph.D. study in cybersecurity, should they so choose. The program provides a rigorous education in the foundations of security and privacy, including cryptography and secure systems.
Completion of at least thirty credit-hours of study at the graduate level (500-level and above), with a minimum grade of C and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00. The seven core courses listed below must be completed.
Beyond the core courses listed below, students may choose from a list of approved electives posted on the department web site.
Cybersecurity Requirements
Core Courses
| CS 520 | Introduction to Operating Systems | 3 |
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| CS 503 | Discrete Mathematics for Cryptography | 3 |
| | Or | |
| MA 503 | Discrete Mathematics for Cryptography | 3 |
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| CS 573 | Fundamentals of CyberSecurity | 3 |
| CS 578 | Privacy in a Networked World | 3 |
| CS 579 | Foundations of Cryptography | 3 |
| CS 600 | Advanced Algorithm Design and Implementation | 3 |
| | | |
| CS 675 | | |
| | Or | |
| CS 665 | Forensic Analysis | 3 |
Note: CS 520 and CS 600 may be replaced by electives if the student already has taken these courses as an undergraduate.