Cash for master's degree in cybercrime

Almost £200,000 has been secured to develop cybersecurity courses at Wolverhampton University.

Picture Caption: From left to right Professor Prashant Pillai, Professor of Cybersecurity at the University, Tony Proctor, Principal Lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University, Gregory Epiphaniou, Reader in Cybersecurity at the University, John McCann, Director at Satisnet, Professor Amar Aggoun, Head of School of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University and Detective Sergeant Gary Sirrell, Regional Cyber Protect and Prevent Officer at the West Midlands Cybercrime Unit.

The project aims to develop a master’s degree in cybercrime, combining technical and management skills as part of a weekend learning course.

The West Midlands Cybercrime Unit and Satisnet, who provide cloud-based training, will work with employers and others to provide the cyber skills needed in the future economy.

The £192,000 funding has been awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England from the £6 million Catalyst Fund programme to co-develop courses together with local and national employers.

The University of Wolverhampton has been working on cybersecurity initiatives for the past 10 years having established warning, advice and reporting points for various parts of the country. It has also invested £500,000 through its Research Investment Fund to set up the Wolverhampton Cyber Research Institute.

Professor Amar Aggoun, head of the university's School of Mathematics and Computer Science, said: “The growth of the UK’s digital economy depends on its ability to make sure it’s secure when it comes to cyber threats.

"There’s a lack of skills and knowledge across the public and private sector and a need to develop specialist skills and capabilities to allow us to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology in order to manage the risks.

"The new course will be designed to appeal to anyone with working experience in the area, from entrance-level up to established consultants and practitioners. It will be designed in conjunction with our partners using CyberKombat - a cybersecurity modelling, development training, testing and certification environment which mimics real-world security architectures and operations centres."

He added it was hoped that the course will eventually be rolled out across the country.

Detective Sergeant Gary Sirrell, of the Cybercrime Unit, said they wanted to further develop initiatives to assure the growth of the economy in the West Midlands region through better knowledge of cyber security risk.

The Cybercrime Unit will also help to develop tailored training programmes and provision of case study materials from ‘real events’ as well as creating materials to support activities.