Cyber Analytics degree will position you for a fast-growing field

When a new career path opens up, it’s nice to get there before the crowd.

Right now, companies and organizations face a critical need for professionals who can use cyber analytics skills to stop breaches before they occur – thus protecting sensitive data and avoiding the business losses and lowered customer confidence associated with a cybersecurity incident.

They are looking for individuals who not only understand cybersecurity, but are fully at home in the world of data. That means fusing two sets of skills that traditionally have belonged to different domains within education – cyber and business analytics.

“The demand for this combination is unbelievable,” says Dr. Helen G. Barker, vice president for academic affairs at Capitol Technology University. “Because of the lack of degree programs and other avenues for training, companies have had to train their own teams to do this internally. There hasn’t been anything out there that combines cybersecurity and analytics.”

Until now. Starting in Fall 2018, Capitol will be offering a new master’s degree program in cyber analytics, designed specifically to equip students to meet this rising industry need. Like all graduate programs at Capitol, the new master’s degree program in cyber analytics will be offered entirely online.

Protecting company data and assets has traditionally been the job of cybersecurity specialists, who rigorously test networks to locate vulnerabilities and deploy recovery procedures in case a breach happens. With the volume and sophistication of attacks on the rise, however, interest is growing in a new approach – one which uses analytical tools to identify patterns that could be indicative of a coming breach.

Cyber analysts combine cybersecurity skills with the analytics knowledge needed to identify such patterns. This powerful combination offers the hope of stopping cybercriminals and adversaries before they can act.

Students in Capitol’s Cyber Analytics program “will learn to think like the hacker and beat them at their own game” said Professor Soren Ashmall, who is associate director of master’s programs at Capitol and part of the planning team for the new degree.

Capitol will be working with key players in the cyber and analytics industry, including software giant SAS, to shape the curriculum and resources. SAS was on the Capitol campus Friday (November 3) to discuss with students the rising demand for analytical talent in technology and business.

SAS is interested in working with schools like Capitol that are educating a corps of professionals with both technical and analytical expertise. “We have the technology and the tools” said SAS analytics consultant Andre’ de Waal, “So we’d like to make our tools and technology available to universities so that you can be exposed to the tools and analytics, so that when [students] get to the workforce they are ready to succeed without the companies having to go for further training.”

Classes in the cyber analytics program will begin in September 2018, but the program is open for enrollment now. For more information, contact the Graduate Admissions office at Capitol: gradadmit@captechu.edu.