UNSW to offer first Australian course on cyber war and peace

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra has announced it is opening a Masters in Cyber Security, Strategy and Diplomacy – Australia’s first ever course devoted to cyber war and peace.

The Masters degree provides advanced interdisciplinary study into the political, military, diplomatic and higher level management aspects of issues where cyber security, strategy and diplomacy interact, the university said.

The one-year online course will be offered by the university’s Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS) and will commence in February 2016, with enrolments closing 20 January.

The degree is offered through online study to allow students from around the world to enrol in the program.

ACCS director, Professor Jill Slay, who will serve as one of the course teachers, has called on Australian and international corporations to continue their support for such education initiatives.

“We are working with industry, government and research leaders worldwide to build a national hub, a centre of excellence in cyber security education, research and professional development,” she said.

The new program will complement two existing UNSW Canberra Masters degrees – the Master of Cyber Security, which focuses on technical aspects of cyber security (for example, reverse engineering of malware) and the Master of Cyber Security Operations, which covers subjects such as cybercrime and cyber terrorism.

The university said the programs will be complemented by “red teaming” exercises led by adjunct staff with backgrounds in security and intelligence. UNSW Canberra is currently also home to Australia’s only university-based cyber weapons test range.

“It is widely accepted that the threats in cyber space are escalating, while responses to mitigate them are not able to keep up,” reads the course description.

“This program will provide students with the ability to understand the main policy, operational, ethical and informational challenges for security thrown up by the integration or penetration of advanced information technologies into all spheres of human activity.”