Key determinants and strategies for cybersecurity education in Yemen

Abstract

The availability of an education system capable of developing skills, and thus a trained workforce with cyber-competence, is a prerequisite for avoiding cyber-attacks on a country’s critical infrastructure. Hiring foreign workers or outsourcing some operations is possible, but this is not a long-term solution and poses other problems. The available literature provides recommendations for creating a nationwide development, but little is known about the variables affecting the growth of cybersecurity education in developing countries like Yemen. Using data from 19 semi-structured meetings with academic officials from seven universities and academic entities, and then qualitative analysis these data, this article discusses the determinants of cybersecurity education, and approaches to improve cybersecurity education. To enhance current preparation, there is an urgent need for a national cybersecurity education strategy, which supports a number of initiatives and creates a multi-stakeholder space, where government, labor market, and academia can actively work together to meet national cybersecurity education requirements. Also, there is needed to complete the preparations to promote research and development skills and cybersecurity awareness while enhancing educator training and academic cybersecurity programse.