Master of Science in Cyber Security

This programme is specifically designed to provide:

• Opportunity for professional development at an advanced level within the area of Cyber Security.
• Enhancement of skills and knowledge in Cyber Security for practising IT professionals.
• Ability to further develop specialisation gained in taught modules through an extensive research-based and/or technical-based dissertation, to prepare the student to be a subject matter expert in the field.
• Furthermore, APU is also poised to become a frontrunner in cyber security research through the establishment of the Forensics and Cyber Security (FSEC) Research Centre, through which research activities will be undertaken to challenge boundaries in the application of cyber security.

Admission Requirements:

ENGLISH REQUIREMENTS
(Only Applicable to International Students)

Please note that under Ministry of Higher Education regulations, only students who have achieved the minimum requirement in the English Language proficiency assessment as indicated above will be allowed to continue their studies in the main study programme. Students who do not have the required English Language achievement may apply for a student visa on conditional basis and are allowed to enrol in an English Language Certification programme at APU upon arrival in Malaysia and, subsequently, appear for the IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/MUET assessment. Students who are unable to obtain the required level of English Competency during the maximum 12 months’ period, will not be allowed to pursue their studies in the main programme and will have to return to their home country.

Students from English speaking countries and those with qualifications taught in English (previous Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree taught in English) are exempted from English requirements. Applications for exemption must be accompanied by supporting documents.

Note: The above entry requirements may differ for specific programmes based on the latest programme standards published by Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

DEMAND GROWING FOR CYBER SECURITY JOBS

"Pikom’s ICT Job Market Outlook in Malaysia 2018 report highlighted that cybersecurity positions are among the top-paying jobs in each of five position levels from fresh graduate to senior manager."

Source: https://www.nst.com.my/education/2018/07/391959/what-it-takes-become-cybersecurity-specialist

Global Cybersecurity Skill Shortage + Increased Budgets = CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Source: https://www.isaca.org/training-and-events/cybersecurity



Source: https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/global-study-reveals-businesses-countries-vulnerable-due-shortage-cybersecurity-talent/#gs.qc3z9r

Source:
https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/595182/ worldwide-security-as-a-service-market-size/

DEMAND INCREASING FOR SKILLED PROFESSIONALS

"Both the government and the private sector are scrambling for talent. Thousands of information-security jobs are going unfilled as the industry in the U.S. struggles with a shortage of properly trained professionals. By one estimate, there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021."

Source: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/90182-the-cybersecurity-talent-gap-an-industry-crisis

Source:
https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/global-study-reveals-businesses-countries-vulnerable-due-shortage-cybersecurity-talent/#gs.qc3z9r

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190304005307/en/ISACA%E2%80%99s-StateCybersecurity-2019-Survey-Retaining-Qualified 

https://blogvaronis2.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cybersecurity-statistics-2019.jpg

“As digital transformation agendas continue to dominate, a bigger cybersecurity budget is
necessary. Almost all companies are looking at technologies such as robotics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain and so on. All of that change will come with additional cyber risks and necessary investments.”
- Mike Maddison, EY EMEIA Cybersecurity Leader

“Malaysia is one of the top three ASEAN countries that are expected to contribute 75 per cent of cybersecurity services market share by 2025.”
- Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Communications and Multimedia

Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/10/418130/malaysia-expected-contribute-75-cent-cybersecurity-services-market-2025

“Malaysia need 10,500 cybersecurity personnel by 2020.”
- Frost & Sullivan Digital Talent Report

“Organizations were facing difficulties in hiring talents with 32% of these take 6 months or more to fill cybersecurity jobs.”
- Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) 2019

The Benefits of the Programme:

On successful completion of this programme, you will be able to :

• The curriculum covers a wide range of industry relevant subject areas in Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Incident Response, Security Auditing and Assessment, Advanced Ethical Hacking, E-Investigation, Data Analytics in Cyber Security etc.
• External reviews conducted by Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM), KPMG and F-Secure during the development of the programme curriculum.
• Programme Support by an Industry Advisory Panel involving cyber security experts from Cyber Intelligence, Cyber Test Systems, Akati Consulting Group and Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM).
• A fully-functional Security Operations Centre (SOC) that allows students to have hands-on cybersecurity operations platform to monitor live data which allows them to perform real-time cyber security monitoring to fortify network defense with global threat intelligence and launching faster response on cyber security incidents.
• A full-fledged Cyber Threats Simulation and Response Centre – Cyber Range is also included within the Cyber Security Talent Zone in APU. Cyber Range incorporates latest technologies and a military grade cyber-defence system, enabling students to understand and formulate defence strategies, and practice the entire chain of cyber defence, while preparing them to deal with real cyber threat attack when it happens.
• A technical project related to Cyber Security as dissertation in the final semester.
• Research opportunities for students via APU’s Forensic and Cyber Security Research Centre - FSEC.

Who Should Attend:

This programme is geared towards practicing IT/Computing professionals within industry who seek further formal qualifications in Cyber Security. In addition, professionals and managers who wish to enhance themselves with Cyber Security knowledge and skills to postgraduate level will find this programme attractive. Fresh undergraduate students from Cyber Security / Digital Forensics background will also find this programme worthwhile as a path to further enhance their academic qualifications.

Modules & Project:

The programme comprises 3 pre-requisite modules (for non-Computing students), 10 modules including 3 elective modules.

*Elective modules may be pre-selected for students at the beginning of the semester. If students wish to change these pre-selected elective modules, they can choose from the available modules offered in the semester OR among the intensive delivery modules – however such changes may prolong the study duration.

Project:

As part of this course, you are expected to complete an extensive project paper in relation to Cyber Security for both academic and industry purposes. This project paper will be supervised by a member of academic staff as the main supervisor. It may involve working with an external organization (probably directly relevant to your work or organization or any of our industry partners). You are given considerable flexibility in choosing any Cyber Security related topics to base your project paper. As for the deliverables, you are required to come up with a prototype / simulation / framework etc. (the list is just an example and not limited to only these) and to produce one project paper and a publishable conference / journal paper consists of summary of the work.

Career Options:

Course Fees:

Fees stated above do not include Enrolment Fees, Registration Fees and other Miscellaneous Fees.