Every day seems to bring another headline about a major computer security breach, whether at a corporation, government agency, or communications system. From online banking to electronic commerce to transportation operations, our world increasingly depends on a cyber infrastructure. The specialization encompasses courses that focus on technical issues related to safe software, languages, and architectures, as well as broader societal issues of privacy and legal ramifications. Through an eight-course program, students will be trained in topics ranging from cryptographic methods, data and information security, fault-tolerant computing, network security, privacy and anonymity, software safety, and system security.<\/span><\/p>\n Eight CS courses (32 credits) approved for graduate study are required. Of the eight courses required, five courses must fulfill the core program <\/span>breadth requirements<\/span><\/a>, with at least one in each of the following areas:<\/span><\/p>\n The remaining courses can be fulfilled by any graduate-level CS course relating to cybersecurity.<\/span><\/p>\n Students are expected to achieve a grade of B- or better in all graduate level courses that count towards the 32 degree credit requirement. In addition, <\/span>among the grades received for the five breadth courses<\/b>, the number of grades of B\u2013 must not be greater than the number of grades of B+ or higher. No grade lower than B\u2013 may be used for graduate credit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of the eight required courses for the MS CS degree, students must take five (breadth requirement) courses, three of which satisfy the CS core and two of which satisfy the Specialization requirements of the student\u2019s CS program track.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>MS in CS Core Breadth Requirements<\/b> must be satisfied by all students pursuing an MS in CS, inclusive of specialization. This core requirement covers the three areas of <\/span>software<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>systems,<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>theory<\/span><\/i>. Students can satisfy each area of the core with any graduate level CS course that is applicable. However, it is recommended that the CS core be satisfied with the courses that have been explicitly designed to form the core CS foundation for Master\u2019s students, specifically:<\/span><\/p>\n Students wishing to satisfy a core area with a different course, other than the course recommended, have the option to do so with the approval of their CS advisor.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to the three course CS Core requirement, students must complete at least <\/span>two <\/span><\/i>additional courses specific to their specialization.<\/span><\/p>\n Cybersecurity Track<\/b><\/p>\n Students who are in the Cybersecurity specialization track, should take at least two additional specialization core requirements offered in their area of specialization. The <\/span>cyber security core specialization courses<\/b> are:<\/span><\/p>\n The remaining three courses are fulfilled by any <\/span>cyber security-related electives<\/b> in the following departments:<\/span><\/p>\n Thesis<\/b><\/p>\n While not required for (non-PhD) students accepted into the Master’s Program. MS students have the option of augmenting their degree with a research-based thesis. A Master\u2019s thesis is carried out with the approval of, and under the supervision of, a computing faculty or affiliated faculty member. Upon successful defense, Master\u2019s theses are published with the BU libraries. Students pursuing a specialization are expected to pick a thesis topic that aligns with their specialization.<\/span><\/p>\n Please view our <\/span>Admissions page<\/span><\/a> on how to apply.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n Cyber security students have the opportunity to work closely with Boston University\u2019s <\/span>Center for Reliable Information Systems & Cyber Security (RISCS)<\/span><\/a>, which promotes and coordinates research and education in system reliability and information security. The center has earned the University the distinction of being named a <\/span>National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and Research<\/span><\/a> by the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n Even before creating a dedicated Cyber Security master\u2019s program, Boston University\u2019s Department of Computer Science achieved an impressive record for preparing computer scientists in cyber security by giving them the skills and training needed to address the unique challenges of this highly specialized field.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Before finishing her BU degree in computer science, Lily Wong was already working as a software systems engineer at the MITRE Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts. Since joining MITRE, Wong has supported the National Security Engineering Center with a number of key projects related to mobile computing, applied cognitive neuroscience, and 3D reconstruction.<\/span><\/p>\n In the summer before her senior year, Wong was an intern at MITRE, working with web services for mission planning. As an undergraduate, Wong also worked as a summer intern at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center, where she served as assistant to the chief technology officer in researching new technologies. While there, she was a member of a team that assessed social media use at the center.<\/span><\/p>\n As a computer science student, Wong studied artificial intelligence, social network algorithms, networks, cryptography, and network security. Outside of class, she was a production assistant at BU’s Tsai Performance Center.<\/span><\/p>\n Most users of Microsoft products have encountered security updates or \u201cpatches\u201d the software company pushes out each month. As a senior security program manager for Microsoft\u2019s Security Response Center (MSRC), David Seidman ensures those security updates reach end-users in a timely manner to fix high-priority security incidents, such as active attacks using software vulnerabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n Seidman\u2019s interest in computer science and cyber security began as an undergraduate computer science major at Boston University. Since joining Microsoft, Seidman has worked on solving security problems for a wide range of programs and applications. Prior to his role as a senior program manager for the MSRC, Seidman managed the development of Microsoft Office security updates and service packs. He has also been involved in projects to counter a number of high-visibility cyber security threats, including Stuxnet, the first publicly known military-grade computer virus allegedly produced by the United States and Israel to damage Iran\u2019s nuclear refining capability; Flame, an alleged government spying virus; and multiple alleged targeted attacks by foreign governments against United States defense contractors. When Stuxnet was first analyzed by Microsoft, Seidman was attending a conference in Las Vegas, where he recalls learning about the virus\u2019 capabilities in the conference room of a hotel suite. \u201cI\u2019ve never felt more like James Bond,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThat is, if James Bond knew what a buffer overrun with heap spray and ROP chain was.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to a bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science, Seidman has a master\u2019s degree in cognitive & neural systems, also from Boston University. When not putting out fires on the Internet and elsewhere for Microsoft, Seidman relaxes by training for triathlons, climbing mountains, practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and brewing his own beer.<\/span><\/p>\n Kyle Brogle was well on his way to becoming a cyber security expert even as an undergraduate in computer science at BU. Working with Associate Professor Leonid Reyzin and Assistant Professor Sharon Goldberg, and collaborating with specialists at NIST and IETF, Brogle had the opportunity do pioneering work on BGPsec, a secure version of the BGP routing protocol that is in the process of becoming the standard for the Internet. (BGP, or Border Gateway Protocol, is the protocol used to make core routing decisions on the Internet. Most Internet service providers must use BGP to establish routing between one another.)<\/span><\/p>\n Brogle\u2019s BGPsec research has included building BGPsec routing simulations in perl\/python to observe the effect different BGPsec implementation parameters will have on router memory usage and CPU utilization. He also constructed a method to pack multiple routing prefixes into one BGPsec announcement in a way that allows for redaction of prefixes by routers along the path. Results of this work have been presented and discussed at BGPsec working group meetings around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n While at BU, Brogle was a leader developing the ACM BUILDS (BU Information Lab and Design Space) Workshop, a university-supported, on-campus collaborative \u201chackerspace\u201d that gives computer science and engineering undergraduates the tools and resources they need to conduct advanced student-run technology projects. He also led BU\u2019s BUILDS team to the finals in the CSAW cyber security \u201cCapture the Flag\u201d competition.<\/span><\/p>\n As an computer science undergraduate, Brogle co-authored a number of academic papers with computer science faculty members. He currently is pursuing an advanced degree in computer science with a focus on network and systems security\/cryptography at Stanford University.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking about applying? Request more information by clicking on the button below.<\/b><\/p>\n Request Info<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Relevant Links<\/b><\/p>\n The Science of Protection and Prevention Every day seems to bring another headline about a major computer security breach, whether at a corporation, government agency, or communications system. From online banking to electronic commerce to transportation operations, our world increasingly depends on a cyber infrastructure. The specialization encompasses courses that focus on technical issues related […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1393,"featured_media":0,"parent":8768,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4920"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22127,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4920\/revisions\/22127"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Requirements<\/h4>
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How to Apply <\/h4>
Why Cyber Security at BU?<\/h4>
Cyber Security Alumni Profiles<\/h4>
Lily Wong<\/b><\/h4>\n
David Seidman<\/b><\/h4>\n
Kyle Christopher Brogle<\/b><\/h4>\n
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