The University of the South Pacific’s School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics (STEMP) has introduced a new Postgraduate Diploma in Cybersecurity this year.
The proposed courses will lead to a well-regarded Postgraduate Diploma in Cybersecurity.
Students who have already taken CS401 and CS403 in Semester 1 can take CS402 and CS404 in Semester 2 2021.
Cybersecurity has broad coverage in terms of subject matter and application domains. To provide adequate protection, it is necessary to know what you are protecting and the impacts (risks) of data breaches and other undesirable outcomes.
Dr Anurag Sharma, Senior Lecturer, STEMP, said that the cybersecurity area is growing very fast.
“Traditional crimes are now being committed through cyberspace. Large companies and government institutions demand defense against cyber-attacks and security breaches. It is a need to know the cybersecurity threats in this modern era and the defensive controls required to mitigate those threats,” he said.
He said that computer hackers are stealing data and information using different techniques in this era of the space age to conduct their malicious business.
“There is a need for cybersecurity specialists to know the best information practices and techniques,” added Dr Sharma.
He emphasised that the new Postgraduate in Cybersecurity at USP prepares the students to:
– Identify and mitigate cyber threats in computer networks to prevent cybercrimes.
– Propose and implement security policies for an organisation.
– Demonstrate an understanding of professional codes of conduct and ethical standards.
This degree will lead directly to many information security jobs or supplement other computing positions, including Chief Information Officer (CIO); Cybersecurity Consultant; Operations and Security Manager; Incident and Threat Manager; Systems Architect; Computer Forensic Analyst, and; Security Risk Assessor.
The student to successfully enrol in this programme should possess a degree in Computer Science and/Information Systems.
The programme is offered only in face-to-face (F2F) mode. But due to COVID-19, the University will offer these courses remotely from Laucala Campus in the following semester.
Students from the region can join; however, they will have to come to Laucala Campus when the University opens F2F class.
