A New Concentration in Cyber Security

Nov 8, 2018

From computers to cell phones, credit cards, the voting booth and more, data security is on everyone’s mind. McAfee, one of the world’s leading independent cybersecurity companies, estimates the global cost of cybercrime has now reached $600 billion. The increase has been described as relentless and pandemic. 

To meet that growing demand, Xavier has added a concentration in cybersecurity. So we asked Liz Johnson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science, for a quick question-and-answer session:

How did the concentration get started? 

The need for experts in this area is clear just from talking to people in business and reading the news. From our research starting the concentration, we developed an interdisciplinary program offering with courses in computer science as well as business analytics, information systems and statistics. The concentration is housed in computer science so that it can be well-grounded in computer science theory and practice.

Are there career advantages that Xavier brings to the training?

We designed the program to meet requirements to obtain certification of Xavier by NSA/DHS (National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security) as a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CDE). This will provide opportunities for partnerships with government agencies and grants for our students.

What do you think the “Xavier difference,” i.e. Jesuit values, brings to this program?

In our department, we are already working to embed computing for the social good throughout our program. The software application class that was focused on the opioid epidemic from last spring was part of this. (The story was featured in last April's edition of the College of Arts and Science e-newsletter). The cybersecurity concentration will also incorporate community-based learning. For example, there will be opportunities to help small businesses and non-profits use tools to assess their level of security. This will provide a much-needed service to the community as well as give our students real-world experience.

Are there additional plans?

To support the new courses, we plan to modify current courses to include some topics related to cybersecurity. Through a Wheeler grant received in the spring, faculty will be doing short courses to add to our knowledge in the area as well. We're also conducting a search to hire a teaching professor in cybersecurity for next year. 

The first courses in this concentration will be offered in spring 2019, and we already have several students who came to Xavier to pursue a degree with this concentration. We're quite excited that our graduates will be involved in the important work of keeping the computer systems and software that are pervasive in society more secure.

Learn more about XAVIER'S Computer Science major
and Cybersecurity CONCENTRATION.