iSec Continuing Education

The Institute for Information Security (iSec) holds an extensive portfolio of educational offerings intended to: (i) promote and raise awareness on issues of information assurance, (ii) train professionals on vital skills and methods for protecting information systems, and (iii) educate a growing workforce of users, technologists, and stakeholders about the role of information assurance in achieving the mission of an enterprise’s information operations. While this portfolio describes a list of current offerings, specialized courses and seminars may be tailored to meet organizational needs.

iSec Professional Educational Portfolio (PEP)

The iSec PEP includes brown bag seminars, workshops, short courses, and a for-credit certificate program in information security. Brown bag seminars are short (1-2 hours) dialogues designed for large audiences (20-500) to create awareness and appreciation for information security challenges. Workshops typically run 2-3 days, and offer training on information security technologies, processes, and methodologies that a professional can apply in their work environment. Short courses can cover up to two weeks, and may extend workshops with in depth technology training and study. Depending on the nature of workshop and short courses exercises, these offerings may accommodate between 5 and 20 students.

The Certificate in Information Security is a 15 credit hour program of evening courses that provides students with a solid foundation in the field of information security. The Certificate is built on the knowledge that students will be sufficiently prepared to enter the program. This includes 60 hours of college level credit that includes a mathematics component. Graduates of this program also earn the CNSSI 4011 and 4012 certifications for Information Security Professional and Senior System Manager, respectively.

Professional Education Portfolio Roadmap

The range of professional education offerings supported by iSec creates an array of opportunities for building skill sets and educational advancement in information security. The different vehicles – brown bag seminars, workshops, short courses, and certificate programs – meet distinct educational targets for specific audiences.

Educational Targets

• Awareness – A focus of attention on and appreciation for security issues
• Literacy – Proficiency with a core set of terms and concepts
• Training – Mastery of relevant and needed security skills and competencies
• Education – Integrates skills and competencies within a common body of knowledge that incorporates multidisciplinary study

Audience

• Users – Operators of information systems and applications
• IT Mgmt – System and network administrators
• Dev/Engrs – System developers, engineers, and project managers
• Owners – System/information owners, stakeholders, and decision makers

The chart below illustrates, with a few sample iSec offerings, how each topical educational vehicle is designed to satisfy particular educational targets for a given audience. It is important to note that a single offering will, most commonly, be applicable to multiple audience types, e.g., a brown bag seminar on information privacy may be valuable for system owners and users alike. In the course descriptions that follow, a brief synopsis of each offering is presented, along with its typical length and the anticipated audience composition.