De Monfort University (DMU) has joined forces with business advisors Deloitte to launch a masters in science (MSc) for cyber security - what it says is the first of its kind in the UK.
DMU's Cyber Security Centre experts and Deloitte's industry specialists aim to train a new generation of individuals to guard against a growing cyber threat that the government sees as a 'Tier 1' threat to the UK.
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DMU said the course will take an in-depth look into the minds of cyber attackers, building psychological profiles of those who are most likely to launch an attack. Aside from the internet aspect of cyber security, the MSc will look at protecting systems that control building to the industrial control systems in place for power stations and water supplies.
Professor Tim Watson, director of the DMU Cyber Security Centre, said that the course would help to fulfil the UK's desperate need for "a new breed of flexible, highly-skilled and multi-disciplinary cyber security professionals".
"Working in close collaboration with Deloitte we have produced, and will continue to jointly develop, what we believe to be the best cyber security MSc course available anywhere," he said.
"We are passionate about protecting the human experience in the cyber domain and equally passionate about equipping our students to do the same," he added.
Mike Maddison, lead partner for Deloitte's Security and Resilience Service, said that the move to digital channels by businesses has given rise to a number of opportunities but has also created a complex set of security issues.
"Assets that were once physically protected are accessible online; customer channels are vulnerable to disruption; criminals have new opportunities for theft and fraud," he said.
"In this climate it is essential that the UK further develops its skills in the strategies and techniques to tackle the cyber threat, including awareness of the risks, preparation for cyber incidents, and the response to be taken when actually under attack.
"The degree will play an extremely important role in enabling the development of highly relevant, real-world skills and capabilities that are essential to tackling this fast evolving threat which is very high up on the agendas of boardrooms and government," he added.
Research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan had found that the number of security professionals worldwide stood at 2.25 million in 2010, with the requirement set to hit 4.25 million by 2015.
But many experts believe that the problem is not that individuals do not want to be involved in the cyber security profession, but that people do not know about cyber security learning opportunities and jobs. De Montfort University and Deloitte will be hoping to raise awareness of the course to existing students.
The course, which was launched at the House of Lords this evening, is the second high-profile technology course for DMU to launch in the last few years.
In October 2011, the university teamed up with HP to launch a new undergraduate degree aimed at enabling young people to become more employable within the IT profession. The four-year BSc Business Informatics degree focused on technical skills such as IT services management (ITSM), project management, networking, servers and storage, cloud computing and virtualisation.
