On the global knowledge components in an information security curriculum–a multidisciplinary perspective

Abstract

Because of the borderless feature of the Internet, information security threats could come from anywhere around the globe. In this research, we propose adding global knowledge components in the information security curriculum using a multi-disciplinary approach. We argue that a global perspective has been lacking in the current information security curriculum. We then propose several knowledge components to be added in the curriculum to enhance the global perspective. We also examine how to incorporate knowledge from various related disciplines, including political science, criminal justice, and business administration. Through our empirical study on faculty from various disciplines and the industry practitioners with first-hand information security knowledge, we confirm that the proposed knowledge components are relevant to the information security education and practice. Analyzing the similarities and differences among responses from various disciplines, we also found that albeit different disciplines have slightly different emphases on the curriculum components, they all tend to agree on the importance of adding the global perspectives in information security education. Our research could be of value to the educators in the information security field when considering incorporating a global perspective into the curriculum. It could also shed some lights when examining the relevance of global information security to various disciplines.

Global Information Security Factors

“…To determine what the knowledge factors are, a survey instrument from a prior study (Long & White, 2010) was used to determine the relevancy of ten international security topics in the corporate world. The participants are requested to rate each of the issues on a fivepoint Likert Scale.…”

“…To validate the issues as related to information security, a prior study (Long & White, 2010) administered the survey to 116 faculty and graduate students from Finance, Management, Accounting, Economics, Computer Information Systems, Criminal Justice, Political Science, and Computer Science departments at a central Texas university. They were asked to indicate the how relevant the international issues are to information security.…”

“…This paper looks at what corporate practitioners think they need to know in order to better understand the issues of global information security. The theoretical model and topics used were developed from a previous research paper, Long & White (2010).…”

Security Knowledge Classification Framework for Future Intelligent Environment

“…Accordingly, this paper will design an information security curriculum taxonomy to deliver a balanced treatment of information security subjects in order to train skilled security management talent who can deal with the enhanced information threats that now exist [10,11]. The paper will research existing information security curriculum and information security job taxonomy in order to develop this approach, and will distribute technical and practical information security topics on the basis of a literature review and expert committee meeting, to foster the development of more effective information security professionals, with a focus on the South Korean context [4,6].…”

Teaching Information Security in Business Schools: Current Practices and a Proposed Direction for the Future

“…From cryptography to malware and access control to steganography, non-business disciplines such as computer science and engineering have often taught such courses. However, these technically oriented security courses have expanded in recent years to consider the broader issues of the people, processes, and technology involved with information security (Hutchinson & Warren, 2002;Long & White, 2010;Whitman & Mattord, 2004). This transition reflects the increasing business focus of security education; indeed, a growing number of organizations now demand that employees understand security fundamentals related to business processes, regulatory compliance, and customer data (White, Hewitt, & Kruck, 2013).…”