Program Description
Information Security is the protection of confidentiality, integrity and availability of both physical and electronic data through the implementation of controls. This Master of Science in Information Security program is aimed at preparing learners to become professionals in the assessment, design, implementation, and management of security systems within the domains of information security. Learners begin with an overview of information security and its fundamental principles, and progress to the application of security design principles of critical IT infrastructure, and proceed in assessing the security posture of IT infrastructure, and how to respond to and analyze security breaches, how to performs security risk assessments, apply relevant controls in accordance with information security program, policies and laws. Students in this program are required to take the following 11 course for a total of 36 credit hours:
Course Outline
Course No. Course Title Credit Hours
Common Core
MSIS 500 Introduction to Information Security and Privacy - 3
MSIS 507 Fundamentals of Information Security - 3
MSIS 509 Information and Network Security Policy - 3
MSIS 521 Governance and Controls for Information Security - 3
Total 12
Concentration
MSIS 525 Strategic Communication for Information Security - 3
MSIS 581 Information Security Risk Management - 3
MSIS 601 Cyber and Physical Access to Information - 3
MSIS 620 Information Management and Storage - 3
MSIS 630 Legal Aspects of Information Security and Privacy - 3
MSIS 635 Applied Cryptography 3
Total 18
Thesis or Exam Choose One
MSIS 698 Non-Thesis: Information Security Comprehensive Exam - 6
MSIS 699 Thesis: Information Security Master Thesis - 6
Total 6
PROBRAM TOTAL 36
MSIS 500: Introduction to Information Security and Privacy
This course covers the three basic security concepts that are important for information in print or on the internet, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The course explores these concepts, presents and discusses them in relation to the people who use information, and the authentication, authorization, and non-disclaimer of such information.
MSIS 507: Fundamentals of Information Security
The foundational concepts of information security and privacy are explored in this course. The course also covers information value, classifications and threats. It discusses how to identify identity and access controls, trust frameworks, encryption, digital signatures and network, web, software and cloud security, and it reviews privacy laws, regulations and public policy.
MSIS 509: anthropological study of information
This course examines how information is socially and culturally variable and fluid, and has changed throughout history, and differs from place to place. Topics include the anthropological study of information; societal norms, individual, device, communal, and organizational information strategies.
MSIS 521: Governance and Controls for Information
This course is an overview of how information and public policy relate to each other. The course examines key information policy areas including privacy, surveillance, theft, health information, business-to-business relationships, and the co-evolution of personal data and information technologies. The course covers governance and controls from an information security organizational perspective and the management of information. The course also examines business practices and governance mechanisms for minimizing risks and how to maximize the return on information.
Security MSIS 525: Strategic Communication for Information
This is a course on how to frame messages and understand its impact on people, organizations, risks and privacy. The course also teaches effective crisis management communications, communication and business continuity planning, time management, sense making processes in organizational crisis; and reputation management, all within the context of information security.
Security MSIS 581: Information Security Risk Management
In this course, learners will examine risk management and its application to information security. The course will expose students to the process of identifying information security risks, evaluating those risks, and making decisions within organizational resources and constraints. Students will learn the foundational concepts in risk management, risk management standards and approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. The course provides an understanding of risk management and enables the learners to leverage those principles to make organizations more resilient.
MISI 601: Cyber Access to Information
This course discusses cyber and physical access as a key component of digital citizenship. The course focuses on how people actually have access to technology and resources within technology with the opportunities to communicate and interact quickly. The concept of Digital Access is to completely participate in a digital society and have access to tool such as IoT technologies to connect all premises. Enrollment and authentication for cyber and physical access and transactions, cryptography, biometrics, device identity security, and security culture are covered in this course.
MSIS 620: Information Management and Storage
Information management and storage are critical to information security. Knowledge and data management, storage, and mining are examined in this course, including potential data breaches and information representation and algorithms. The course also covers information management applications in several market sectors for storage, enrollment, authentication, operational use, fraud detection, and fraud prevention.
MSIS 630: Legal Aspects of Information Security and Privacy
Laws and other policy instruments related to information security and privacy are covered in this course, including different classes of protected personal information and multiple genres of legal information and legal writings. The course exposes students to some of the laws that affect information security professionals. The focus of the course is to provide guidance on security regulations and frameworks. The course also covers information security regulations and policies specific to industry sectors including financial, healthcare and small business sectors, Healthcare and Insurance.
MSIS 635: Applied Cryptography
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to Modern Cryptography and its challenges, formalisms, solutions. Students will be exposed to the main areas of Modern Cryptography, including the problem statements and approaches used to formalize them. The course introduces students to how various cryptographic algorithms and protocols work, pointing out some of the techniques used, including basic properties such as correctness of decryption, digital signatures, authentication tags, and key agreement. The functionality, security and performance properties of cryptography methods are discussed in the course.
MSIS 698/699: Information Security Comprehensive Exam or Thesis
Learners are required to enroll in this course in preparation for meeting final academic requirements of the program. Candidates will choose to take a comprehensive exam (MSIS 698) in lieu of thesis or conduct research (MSIS 699) on information security focusing on the study of a discipline-specific problem, phenomenon or professional issue in an institutional setting.