2026-2027 Graduate Catalog

CYB 700. Fundamentals of Cybersecurity. 3 Credits.

This course introduces fundamental concepts and design principles in cybersecurity. Students will understand what needs protection and why it is essential. Topics include CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability), threats, attacks, defense, secure design principles, access control and password management, security policies, critical controls, incident-handling and contingency planning, risk assessment and management.

CYB 701. IT and Operating Systems Security. 3 Credits.

This course introduces students to fundamental concepts of modern computing environments and their security implications. Students will explore information technology components including computer hardware, networks, and operating systems while developing practical knowledge of endpoint protection, vulnerability management, and security controls. Emphasis is placed on both technical understanding and security awareness.

CYB 703. Network Security. 3 Credits.

This course offers the basic knowledge of architectures, cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and defensive techniques for securing networks. The course addresses firewall functionalities, configurations, and managements. Different Architectures of VPNs for securing communication assets are presented with various implementation considerations. Students learn essentials of network analysis tools, monitoring, and policy development.

CYB 705. Cyber Crime. 3 Credits.

This course explores the landscape of cyberspace, focusing on cyber threats, actors, and attacks. Students will examine privacy issues, legal frameworks, and protective measures at individual, organizational, and governmental levels. Topics include cyber crime, cyber-stalking, and the effectiveness of cybersecurity strategies in preventing digital abuse and criminal activity.

CYB 707. Cybersecurity Program Planning. 3 Credits.

Instruction on the process used to develop and maintain appropriate security levels for an organization with a focus on implementing a comprehensive security program, a documented set of security policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards. Topics include security planning, strategies, controls, and metrics for measuring the effectiveness.
P: CYB 700.

CYB 710. Introduction to Cryptography. 3 Credits.

This course introduces the fundamentals of applied cryptography, including a survey of relevant mathematical concepts and elementary number theory, encryption and decryption, symmetric and asymmetric systems, block ciphers, hash functions, common attacks, digital signatures, key exchange, message authentication, public key cryptography, and implementation of cryptographic systems.

CYB 715. IT Security Risk Management. 3 Credits.

Master risk management processes by focusing on risk assessment methodologies to perform comprehensive security risk analyses. Categorize and evaluate technological, individual, and enterprise risks, effectively communicate these risks, and recommend appropriate responses. Understand how risk relates to system security policies to develop system-specific security programs by choosing optimal methodologies.

CYB 720. Cybersecurity Ethics & Communication. 3 Credits.

This course is a study of the ways that communication, ethics, and cybersecurity intersect in relation to employment. In addition to ethical frameworks, students will learn to present technical information to audiences with varying goals and technical needs. Presentations and projects will emulate professional scenarios in cybersecurity.

CYB 725. Digital Forensics. 3 Credits.

This course provides instruction on the investigative and forensics processes of digital evidence with a focus on identifying indicators of compromise, the use of common forensics tools, and the preservation of forensics tools. Topics include forensics iconology, and the analysis of disk, memory, chip-off, mobile device, and OS artifacts.
P: CYB 701.

CYB 730. Computer Criminology. 3 Credits.

A primer on modern criminology with specific attention to the aspects of technology that facilitate criminal behaviors. Topics include computer crime laws, criminological theories of computer crime, court room and evidentiary procedure, idiographic and nomothetic digital profiling, computer crime victimology, habit/authorship attribution, stylometry, and case linkage analysis.

CYB 735. Network Forensics. 3 Credits.

Covers protocol analysis, identification of malicious behavior in systems, and forensic investigations through event log aggregation, correlation and analysis. Students will analyze clips of wired and wireless network protocol analysis to discern methods of attacks and malicious activities.
P: CYB 703.

CYB 740. Incident Response and Remediation. 3 Credits.

Students will learn about the phases of an incident response system, and the use of IDS and forensics, dealing with false alarms and the remediation process to minimize business impact, plan business continuity, and work with law enforcement, auditors, insurance, and compliance in how to prevent future incidents.
P: CYB 700, CYB 703, CYB 705, CYB 707, CYB 715, and CYB 720.

CYB 745. Secure Operating Systems. 3 Credits.

Covers operating systems security infrastructure. Topics include, for a given operating system (Windows/Linux), updates and patches, access controls and account management, configuration management, hardening and securing services, and the use of scripting languages to automate security management. Additional topics may include auditing and forensics, virtualization and cloud computing.

CYB 750. Offensive Security & Threat Management. 3 Credits.

Covers active defenses such as penetration testing, log management, hacking, threat management and system posturing. Students completing this course will have an understanding of, and the ability to preemptively secure computer and network resources by utilizing information about threats, actors and attack vectors and the ethics behind using this data.
P: CYB 700 and CYB 703.

CYB 755. Security Administration. 3 Credits.

Covers the policy and governance aspects of security. Topics include application of security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines to administration of IT and communications, assessment of compliance including contractual, legal, industry standard, privacy and regulatory requirements, and implementation of security audits and assessment of security performance and security policy efficacy.
P: CYB 700, CYB 703, CYB 705, CYB 707, CYB 715, and CYB 720.

CYB 760. Cybersecurity Leadership and Team Dynamics. 3 Credits.

Focuses on leadership best practices and the interpersonal processes and structural characteristics that influence the effectiveness of teams. Emphasis will be placed on leadership models, principles of team building, group dynamics, problem solving, and crisis management in cybersecurity issues. Course will include case studies of modern security incidents.

CYB 765. Security Program Management. 3 Credits.

This course is an introduction to cybersecurity program management and compliance. Students will explore the development, implementation, and evaluation of security programs taking relevant legal and regulatory requirements into account. Topics include security policies, incident response, federal regulations, and emerging security challenges in today's digital landscape.
P: CYB 700.

CYB 770. Security Architecture. 3 Credits.

Focuses on security architectures for the protection of information systems and data. Master identifying potential vulnerabilities in system architectures and design robust, secure architectures tailored to specific applications. Topics include common enterprise and security architectures, secure cloud computing, virtualization platforms, and the application of industry standards like the Zero Trust model.
P: CYB 703.

CYB 775. Advanced Cryptography. 3 Credits.

An in-depth study of modern cryptography. Topics include public key and private key cryptography, identity-base cryptography, types of attacks, key management, perfect secrecy, hashing, digital signatures, virtual private networks, and quantum key cryptography. Topics from number theory and discrete probability and statistics necessary for understanding current cryptosystems and their security will be covered.
P: CYB 710.

CYB 780. Software Security. 3 Credits.

This course emphasizes on both proactive and reactive measures and systematic evaluation techniques for identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities and potential flaws in software systems that could be exploited by malicious actors. The unit focuses on the examination of software structure and behavior, either by directly reviewing code or observing its execution in controlled environments such that vulnerabilities are caught early in the development lifecycle or during regular security assessments. The objective is to integrate security into the entire software development process, minimizing risks and enhancing the overall resilience of software systems against cyber threats.

CYB 785. Cyber Physical System Security. 3 Credits.

Covers the fundamentals and techniques to design and implement cyber-physical systems. Topics include the architecture of cyber-physical systems, exploiting software vulnerabilities, secure coding, microservices security, cloud services security, reverse engineering, security assessment of cyber-physical systems, and data analytics for security.
P: CYB 775.

CYB 789. Cybersecurity Pre Capstone. 1 Credit.

Prepares students for the capstone experience. Drawing on skills learned, students will submit a written project proposal - with organization, timeline, learning objectives, and specific deliverables identified – for faculty approval. This course is a pre-requisite for the capstone course.
P: CYB 700, CYB 701, CYB 703, CYB 705, CYB 720.

CYB 790. Cybersecurity Capstone. 3 Credits.

Students present the project identified in the Cybersecurity Pre-Capstone course and submit a written report plus an oral presentation to both faculty and the host organization. Students will be assessed on the clarity and content of the written report and presentation. Host evaluation will account for a significant percentage of students’ final grades.
P: CYB 789.