The role of cyber-security in information technology education

Recent reports indicate a shortage of approximately 20,000- 30,000 qualified cyber-security specialists in the US Public Sector alone despite being one of the best financially compensated technology-related domains. Against ever evolving cyber-threats the need to graduate students skilled in the concepts and technologies of cyber-security is becoming a critical responsibility of academic institutions in order to help preserve the sovereignty of the US and her allies. This paper discusses the role of cyber-security in an IT education context and explains why IT programs should champion this topic. The relationship between Information Assurance and Security as a currently recognized discipline within IT and advanced cyber-security topics are presented.