Cybersecurity

This course is designed to prepare IT professionals for a managerial or technical career in cybersecurity. It will help companies, government and state institutions, defence forces and others to upskill their staff to fill new roles in cybersecurity so that they can protect their organisations, their customers and the public. It facilitates professional learners through flexible blended study options. Lectures are delivered online and complemented by occasional full-day workshops on campus, with a remote option for those who cannot attend in person. The combination of mainly distance but with some on-campus days allows flexible learning but with face-to-face interactions.



In developing the course we have collaborated with industry and law enforcement practitioners to ensure that the course meets the needs of professional learners.



This course will help companies, government and state institutions, defence forces and others to upskill their staff to fill new roles in cybersecurity so that they can protect their organisations, their customers and the public.



It is designed to facilitate professional learners through flexible blended study options. Lectures are pre-recorded and made available on the VLE Platform (Brightspace). Lectures are complemented by occasional full-day workshops on campus (as indicated in the timetable of each module). The combination of mainly distance but with some on-campus days allows flexible learning but with face-to-face interactions. Some module coordinators may deliver live online lectures (e.g., via Zoom) periodically (e.g., bi-weekly).



What Will I Learn?

1 - At the end of the programme students will be prepared to take up a managerial or a technical career in cybersecurity.

2 - Demonstrate deep knowledge of information security principles and protection mechanisms, approaches to assess and mitigate risks, security standards, data protection and cybersecurity regulations.

3 - Demonstrate deep knowledge of network security, secure software systems development, and cryptography.

4 - Understand strengths and limitations of important public key and symmetric/asymmetric cryptographic protocols.

5 - Demonstrate advanced knowledge of security trends and technologies.

6 - Perform risk assessment, management and mitigations of secure infrastructures and operations.

7 - Track strategic threats and maintain situation awareness.

8 - Identify cybersecurity laws that apply to complex organisations and apply protection measures to comply with these laws.

9 - Apply network security and secure software development concepts to the design, configuration and implementation of networked, software and distributed systems technologies.

10 - Perform vulnerability assessment and penetration testing.

11 - Develop patches to fix vulnerabilities in software projects

12 - Apply cryptographic techniques to secure software, systems and computer networks

13 - Apply incident response principles and methodologies to secure infrastructures and operations

14 - Apply advanced security knowledge to address industry and research problems

15 - Evaluate trade-offs involving security, regulations, business, economic and management principles

16 - Apply appropriate (quantitative/qualitative) risk assessment techniques to measure security risks

17 - Appraise intrusion detection system and security of modern internet protocols (e.g., IPv6)

18 - Identify effective penetration testing strategies

19 - Apply appropriate incident response principles and methodologies to secure infrastructures and operations

20 - Apply appropriate cryptographic protocols to secure networks, software and systems

21 - Assess strengths and limitations of modern security trends and technologies

22 - Communicate security risks and mitigation strategies to executives

23 - Work and engage in discussions in security teams, share work fairly to meet the obligations set by the group

24 - Explain advantages and disadvantages of cryptographic protocols

25 - Communicate security research challenges and methodologies adopted to tackle the problem and the results obtained

26 - Attract and assess security talent

27 - Lead security teams and influence organisational culture

28 - Be curious about the latest security vulnerabilities and technologies

29 - Actively promote security practices within the organisation

30 - Identify novel security research directions



Student Internships

When developing the programme we met with industry practitioners to understand which cybersecurity skills are most needed. We have recruited law enforcement and industry practitioners as Adjunct Faculty. To link the academic curriculum to professional practice, we are working with industry to formulate 30-credit Professional Cybersecurity Projects that students can tackle at the end of the programme. These projects will be co-supervised by a practitioner from industry and a member of the academic staff at the UCD School of Computer Science. Projects will be classified depending on application areas (e.g., management, secure software development, IT security operations, research, enterprise architecture). Depending on the student’s chosen career path, they can identify a project in their area of interest. Instead of the Professional Project, students can take additional taught modules and a Case Study. We also offer the option of an academic research project under the supervision of a UCD academic.

Stage 1 Options - A) Min 6 of:

Year 1 - Select all 6 Modules

COMP47900 Cyber Risk Assessment and Standards Autumn 5

COMP47920 Information Security Autumn 10

COMP47800 Leadership in Security Spring 5

LAW42160 Cybersecurity Law and Regulation Spring 10

COMP47890 Applied Cryptography Summer 5

COMP47910 Secure Software Engineering Summer 10



Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:

Year 2 students please select both modules

COMP47870 Incident Response Autumn 5

COMP47880 Network Security Autumn 10



Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of:

ONLY year 2 students - Choose 30 credits

COMP47820 Cybersec. Professional Project 2 Trimester duration (Spr-Sum) 30

COMP47830 Cybersecurity Research Project 2 Trimester duration (Spr-Sum) 30

COMP47810 Malware Analysis Spring 5

COMP47850 Trends in Cybersecurity Spring 5

COMP47860 Ethical Hacking Spring 5

COMP47840 Cybersecurity Case Study Summer 15

Minimum of a 2.1 honours bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline) or



2:2 honours bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline) and equivalent (> 5 years) industrial experience in software development or software/system security.



Each applicant will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Students are also required to fulfil UCD’s English Language Requirements.



This holistic and well-rounded programme prepares students for a career in cybersecurity. It will be of great interest to executives and professional / technical staff who:



- need to acquire knowledge and skills in cybersecurity;

- want to gain a promotion;

- want to open up new career opportunities for themselves in cyber security related roles;

- are interested in doing some research in this field, perhaps in relation to a current work problem;

- want to gain a qualification to add to their standing and credibility within their professional life.



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage. https://tinyurl.com/2ae2ffax

2 years part-time. Delivery: Blended.

Next Intake September 2025.

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

The course will prepare professionals for a rewarding career in cybersecurity; for example, to take a role as a security manager, security engineer, security analyst, or IT security specialist. Career development possibilities are excellent. Organisations of all sizes in all sectors, including both Irish and foreign owned companies, are looking for people with these skills. Many global companies have a base in Ireland, including security software and cyber security companies with a security operations centre (SOC). There is a growing cyber security market globally as cyber security is recognized as critical for national security and the smooth functioning of society.

This holistic and well-rounded course will be of interest to executives and professional/technical staff who:



- need to acquire knowledge and skills to equip themselves better for their current role.

- want to gain a promotion.

- want to open up new career opportunities for themselves in cyber security related roles.

- are interested in doing some research in this field, perhaps in relation to a current work problem.

- want to gain a qualification to add to their standing and credibility within their professional life.