Education | Center for Cybersecurity, Assurance and Privacy

Dual Degree Program

M.S. in Business Analytics and Information Management + M.S. in Cybersecurity Dual Degree Program

Become a cybersecurity and IT expert.

This program combines two successful programs within the University of Delaware, the Lerner College’s M.S. in business analytics and information management (BAIM) program and the College of Engineering’s M.S. in cybersecurity.

As a student in this dual degree program, you will build skills that are critical to the successful implementation and management of both cybersecurity and IT in government and business.

Program Requirements

The dual degree program requires 48 credits.

BAIM Core Courses (15 credits)

MISY 604 – Database Design and Implementation
MISY 606 – Object-oriented Systems Analysis, Design and Implementation
MISY 610 – Telecommunications and Networking
MISY 650 – Security and Control
MISY 605 – Current Issues in MIS

Cybersecurity Core Courses (15 credits) Choose 5 from:

CPEG 665 – Introduction to Cybersecurity
CPEG 697 – Advanced Cybersecurity
CPEG 694 – System Hardening and Protection
CPEG 695 – Digital Forensics
CPEG 676 – Secure Software Design
CPEG 671 – Pen Test and Reverse Engineering
CPEG 672 – Applied Cryptography

Advanced Electives (18 credits)

BAIM course; choose 1:
MISY 673 – Information Technology and Organizational Effectiveness
MISY 640 – Project Management and Costing
MISY 630 – Business Intelligence and AnalyticsChoose 3 cybersecurity courses from one of the areas of concentration below, plus 2 additional courses from any of the areas:Secure Software:

CPEG 670 – Web Applications Security
CISC 621 – Algorithm Design and Analysis
CISC 663 – Operating Systems
CISC 672 – Compiler Construction or CPEG621 Compiler Design
CISC 675 – Software Engineering Principles and Practices
CISC/CPEG 611 – Software Process Management
CISC/CPEG 612 – Software Design
CISC/CPEG 613 – Software Requirements Engineering
CISC/CPEG 614 – Formal Methods in Software Engineering
CISC/CPEG 615 – Software Testing and Maintenance
CPEG 676 – Secure Software Design

Secure Systems:

ELEG 635 – Digital Communication
ELEG 658 – Advanced Mobile Services
ELEG 617 – The Smart Grid
CPEG 696 – Topics in Cybersecurity
ELEG 812 – Wireless Digital Communications
CPEG 675 – Embedded Computer Systems
CISC/CPEG 651 – Data Compression in Multimedia
CISC 853 – Network Management
CPEG 673 – Cloud Computing and Security
CISC 866 – Special Problem
CPEG 674 – SCADA Systems and Security
CPEG 853 – Computer System Reliability

Security Analytics:

ELEG/FSAN 815 – Analytics I: Statistical Learning
ELEG/FSAN 817 – Large Scale Machine Learning
CISC 683 – Introduction to Data Mining
CISC 637 – Database Systems
CPEG 657 – Search and Data Mining
CISC 681 – Artificial Intelligence
CISC 684 – Introduction to Machine Learning
CISC 689 – Topics: Artificial Intelligence
ELEG 630 – Information Theory

Virtual Camp Teaches Kids Cyber Skills

Article by Julie Stewart Badge illustration by Alex Arnell, composite illustration by Joy Smoker July 10, 2020

UD students help middle schoolers learn computer engineering

About 60 local middle schoolers are putting their socially distant time to good use, thanks to a virtual coding and cybersecurity summer camp hosted by computer engineering experts at the University of Delaware.

The Summer of Cyber is a free cyber-themed summer camp for middle school students with or without previous coding experience. The first session ran from June 15 through July 9, and the second session runs from July 20 to Aug. 13.

About 15 UD students are building the content under guidance from Andy Novocin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UD, and Mel Jurist, academic program manager for UD’s K-12 Engineering Outreach Program. This effort is a collaboration of UD’s K-12 Engineering Outreach Program, Cybersecurity Scholars, Vertically Integrated Projects, CS+ Social Good registered student organization, and the student startup CyberSecLabs.

The program runs four days per week for two four-week sessions. In week one, students make their own websites and a series of games while learning to code. In week two, they learn cybersecurity principles including password security, steganography (hiding a secret message within another message), how to run a computer from the terminal, web app security, remote code execution, social engineering and the importance and opportunities of cybersecurity careers.

In week three, kids learn cryptography — writing and solving codes for secure communication. In week 4, they study networks and use Minecraft to learn how the internet is built. Along the way, campers earn fun badges such as “password cracker” and “cyber expert.”

“We’ve had a principle of providing real and meaningful outcomes that empower the students to create and be useful even from the start, as opposed to drilling basics for a long time before beginning to approach how things are done in reality,” said Novocin.

Off the success of the camp, the UD students involved are exploring opportunities to train K-12 teachers and have set up ways to get the content into classrooms via virtual field trips, self-guided study, and workshops.

After all, when more kids learn important cybersecurity skills, we all benefit.

“The need for cybersecurity specialists is great but if kids don’t know about a field, how can they aspire to it?” said Jurist.

In mid-July, Jurist will offer Solar Academy, a free three-week virtual camp that teaches kids about solar energy with hands-on projects, and a one-day session on Ocean Currents and Pollution. The deadline to sign up is July 15, and all materials will be sent to participants. Contact mjurist@udel.edu for more information. First come, first served.

A Second Act in Cybersecurity

Alumnus is a rising star in her second career

Patricia Lehman, a resident of Wilmington, Delaware, spent decades as a freelance writer. She wrote award-winning books and magazine articles about Boston terriers, miniature pinschers and other tiny domestic dogs.

Today, she spends a little less time thinking about human’s best friend — instead focusing on how to protect our infrastructure from malicious enemies. Lehman earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity from the University of Delaware in 2019 and continues to hone her skills.

In the 2019 U.S. Cyber FastTrack competition, which tests the skills of high-aptitude students nationwide, Lehman was selected for a full scholarship ($22,000 value) to the Undergraduate Certificate program in Applied CyberSecurity accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and operated by the SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu). Lehman was one of 100 students representing 63 different schools across 28 states to be selected out of more than 13,000 candidates. The courses began in December 2019.

It takes a lot of guts to switch careers, but if you’re looking for an upgrade, cybersecurity is a smart choice. The cybersecurity workforce needs to grow by 62 percent to meet the demands of businesses in the United States, according to a report by one of the world’s leading cybersecurity professional organizations.

As a longtime writer, Lehman closely follows the news, and she started to grow concerned about data breaches and other news related to hacking and security. She decided to study cybersecurity because she wanted to make a difference.

While the transition from author to cybersecurity expert might seem like a 180-degree turn, Lehman has found that the combination of creativity and logic needed for success in writing also helps her outsmart adversaries.

“There’s been a lot of writing in the coursework, and I think being able to write well has helped a lot,” said Lehman. “I got interested in computers because I was using them in my writing, and I wanted to find out more about how they worked.”

Lehman started years ago with a few computing courses through UD’s Professional and Continuing Studies program. Later, she enrolled in the computer network engineering technology program at Delaware Technical Community College, where she earned an associate’s degree in 2007. In 2015, she received a bachelor’s degree in computer and network security from Wilmington University. Then in 2017, she enrolled in UD’s master’s degree in cybersecurity program, which can be completed on campus or online. She took courses in networking, cryptography, programming and more. Lehman earned a 4.0 GPA in all three degrees, and at UD, she was accepted into the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

“Each course built on the previous ones and made me more and more interested in the field,” she said. “And the more I learned, the more I realized how much I didn’t know. It’s a field where you never stop learning.”

Andy Novocin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, met Lehman when she took his crash course in coding. Novocin was impressed by her potential and her persistence. No matter how challenging the project, Lehman kept at it. Then, Lehman took Novocin’s crypto class.

“Again, she was very dedicated and her persistence would get her better results than some of the younger students who had less self-mastery,” said Novocin. “That experience got her into our Capture-the-Flag cybersecurity competition team where she was the team’s ‘secret weapon’ working quietly in the background every competition. I suspect that she logged 2400-plus hours in that calendar year, and that’s when she won the cyber scholarship.”

Lehman also took some electrical engineering courses on smart grids, microgrids, and vehicle-to-grid technology, all of which piqued her interest enough that she plans to pursue a second master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at UD.

“I think protecting the infrastructure of the power companies is going to be critical, so I’m trying to merge those together — cybersecurity and the power supply,” she said.

Lehman plans to pursue a career in cybersecurity in government or the private sector.

Article by Julie Stewart | Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

Social Robots Teach Cyber Safety

UD-developed teaching tools help children become safe digital citizens

Fifth graders from The College School on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus recently learned important lessons about safeguarding information online from an unusual teacher — Zenbo, the social robot.

Standing more than two feet tall, the cute classroom companion was preprogrammed with familiar children’s stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, that a team of UD researchers creatively adapted for the digital age.

The idea: to help children learn cybersecurity and good digital citizenship using tools that engage and sustain young attention spans. Digital citizenship focuses on online safety and the ethical and responsible use of the internet.

As Zenbo began reading the story, Little Red Riding Hood was departing to visit her sick grandmother. Her mother reminded Red to safeguard the password required to enter her grandmother’s home. When she encountered the Big Bad Wolf in the woods, Red had to choose whether or not to share private information with a stranger.

Zenbo paused and solicited input from the class of fifth graders about what to do next. On this particular Tuesday, student opinion was split on whether it is okay to share information that could help the wolf figure out the grandmother’s home security password. Half of the students thought it would be okay to share personal information, while their peers considered it a risky move.

“These checkpoints reinforce positive behaviors and create teachable moments for when children make mistakes,” said Chrystalla Mouza, Distinguished Professor in Teacher Education in UD’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). “It’s important that this training is provided in school because we cannot rely on it being provided elsewhere.”

3 UD professors doing research on using robots to teach cyber safety to children

University of Delaware researchers are leveraging an emerging technology known as social robots to test news ways to deliver cybersecurity training in the classroom. The NSF-funded project is a collaborative effort by Chrystalla Mouza, Distinguished Professor in Teacher Education, and Tia Barnes, assistant professor of human development, in UD’s College of Education and Human Development; and Chien-Chung Shen, professor of computer and information sciences in the College of Engineering.

Mouza is collaborating with Chien-Chung Shen, professor of computer and information sciences in the College of Engineering, and Tia Barnes, CEHD assistant professor of human development, on the National Science Foundation-funded project that aims to test news ways to deliver cybersecurity training in the classroom.

The work grew out of Shen’s previous efforts to help establish an academic minor and a master’s program in cybersecurity at UD. Shen realized that children in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) were an overlooked audience for cybersecurity instruction. As internet users across the globe celebrate Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, Feb. 11, it also is an important reminder that cybersecurity education is necessary for more than just adults.

Cyber challenges for children

Children ages eight to 12 years old spend approximately six hours per day online, according to a Common Sense Media report. This number jumps to roughly nine hours daily after factoring in the time students spend using technology in the classroom.

Even if they don’t have cell phones, students this age typically have other devices, such as iPads and laptops with internet access. Many children play video games online and, although they have grown up with interactive technology, such as Siri, Google and Alexa, this doesn’t guarantee that children understand how to be safe online.

Mouza and Barnes took K-12 education standards for computing, which include digital citizenship and aspects of online safety, security and privacy, into account when developing the interactive stories. Shen and Yan-Ming Chiou, a computer science doctoral student with an interest in collaborative learning with interactive digital media, then programmed the UD-developed stories, questions and responses into the social robot.

“Children can be easily duped into giving strangers their personal information and passwords because they want to be helpful,” said Chiou.

Fifth graders at The College School, located on UD’s Newark Campus, watch Zenbo the social robot, while doctoral student Yan-Ming Chiou guides the conversation and Prof. Tia Barnes looks on.

While the adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood focuses on the topic of phishing, Barnes also penned an original story, called Captain Cyber, that introduces friends James and Louisa who are inadvertently whisked into cyberspace while playing an online mobile game. There they meet Captain Cyber, a cyber safety superhero who teaches them about identifying phishing sites and password safety.

Using an off-the-shelf social robot to read the stories to the children is a leap forward over traditional methods, such as having the children watch a video or animation. Previous work in the field has shown that students tend to learn more vocabulary when interacting with a social robot versus watching videos or using other mobile devices because they view it as a learning companion.

“We envision this social robot being one part of the teacher’s strategy and lesson plan, perhaps as a station that students visit or an activity that they complete during class to generate discussion,” said Mouza, an expert in using technology in the classroom.

The children’s responses will provide rich data that the research team can use to measure student knowledge about cybersecurity, and to evaluate the social robot’s ability to help students learn complex concepts. Also, the NSF-funded initiative complements existing nationwide efforts Mouza and others on campus are involved with, such as CSforALL, a program that aims to engage students from kindergarten through high school in learning computer science and encourage them to pursue careers in it and related fields.

According to Mouza, research shows that children typically decide around fourth or fifth grade whether they belong in careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“So, reaching them early with cybersecurity training is actually very important,” she said.

Interactivity, student engagement

In Taiwan, Zenbo the social robot is being used to monitor the elderly, take attendance in kindergarten and act as a receptionist.

The social robot has a cute face, moves and can even be programmed to smile. Built-in sensors enable Zenbo to understand its environment. As Zenbo prepared to read the story, the robot recognized that it was on top of a table and said, “Help, I’m about to fall, someone please move me to a safe location,” eliciting giggles from everyone in the room.

Barnes said she hopes Zenbo can be leveraged to augment social emotional classroom instruction for children with disabilities. For example, a teacher might employ Zenbo to help children with autism or emotional learning difficulties practice social skills and explicitly experience social situations that they might encounter in real life.

“Having a robot work one-on-one with a child can deliver important support outside of what a teacher or paraprofessional can provide in the classroom,” said Barnes, who also is a senior researcher with the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy. “This can help children learn and practice appropriate behaviors and responses.”

The research team plans to pilot Zenbo and the UD-developed stories, which they tested with teachers, in classrooms in spring 2020. Future iterations of the UD project could expand beyond social robots to include virtual reality (VR) that would enable children to not only learn from the stories, but to become characters within the virtual environment and role play the story using VR goggles, possibly even helping to teach their peers.

“Technology is advancing, so the framework, methodology and philosophy needs to adapt to keep children interested,” Shen said.

This work is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF award #1821794).

Article by Karen B. Roberts Photos by Evan Krape | Video by Ally Quinn February 10, 2020

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