Cybersecurity Curricula Designer

Abstract

The paper aims at minimizing the skills gaps and skills shortages on the cybersecurity job market by empowering education and training institutions during the process of creation of new cybersecurity study programs. We provide a complex cybersecurity skills framework based on standardized definitions that helps with the identification of skills and knowledge necessary for cybersecurity work positions. Furthermore, we practically implement the framework in the form of an interactive web application for cybersecurity curricula design. The app, called Curricula Designer, is built upon the framework and allows intuitive design of higher-education curricula and their analysis with respect to requirements of work roles already defined in widely-accepted standards. Using the analytical functions, it is easy to identify missing content in the courses and precisely structure the study program so that the graduates are well-prepared to enter the job market. The Curricula Designer is described in details in this paper, including user interface and technical background, and a link for public free access is provided to serve all education and training institutions.