PROGRAMME OUTLINE

This programme is specifically designed to provide:

• Opportunity for professional development at an advanced level within the area of Cyber Security.
• Enhancement of skills and knowledge in Cyber Security for practising IT professionals.
• Ability to further develop specialisation gained in taught modules through an extensive research-based and/or technical-based dissertation, to prepare the student to be a subject matter expert in the field.
• Furthermore, APU is also poised to become a frontrunner in cyber security research through the establishment of the Forensics and Cyber Security (FSEC) Research Centre, through which research activities will be undertaken to challenge boundaries in the application of cyber security.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

° Applicants without a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Cyber Security or Forensic Computing must pass the perquisite modules in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics to continue with the Master’s degree.

* Applicants without a Computing-related Bachelor’s degree must pass the pre-requisite modules to continue with the Master’s Degree.

Note: The above entry requirements may differ for specific programmes based on the latest programme standards published by Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

Students from English speaking countries and those with qualifications taught in English (previous Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree taught in English) are exempted from English requirements. Applications for exemption must be accompanied by supporting documents.

• The curriculum covers a wide range of industry relevant subject areas in Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Incident Response, Security Auditing and Assessment, Advanced Ethical Hacking, E-Investigation, Data Analytics in Cyber Security etc.
• External reviews conducted by Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM), KPMG and F-Secure during the development of the programme curriculum.
• Programme Support by an Industry Advisory Panel involving cyber security experts from Cyber Intelligence, Cyber Test Systems, Akati Consulting Group and Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM).
• A fully-functional Security Operations Centre (SOC) that allows students to have handson cybersecurity operations platform to monitor live data which allows them to perform real-time cyber security monitoring to fortify network defense with global threat intelligence and launching faster response on cyber security incidents.
• A full-fledged Cyber Threats Simulation and Response Centre – Cyber Range is also included within the Cyber Security Talent Zone in APU. Cyber Range incorporates the latest technologies and a military grade cyber-defence system, enabling students to understand and formulate defence strategies, and practice the entire chain of cyber defence, while preparing them to deal with real cyber threat attacks when it happens.
• A technical project related to Cyber Security as dissertation in the final semester.
• Research opportunities for students via APU’s Forensic and Cyber Security Research Centre – FSEC.

This programme is geared towards practicing IT/Computing professionals within industry who seek further formal qualifications in Cyber Security. In addition, professionals and managers who wish to enhance themselves with Cyber Security knowledge and skills to postgraduate level will find this programme attractive. Fresh undergraduate students from Cyber Security / Digital Forensics background will also find this programme worthwhile as a path to further enhance their academic qualifications.

The programme comprises 3 pre-requisite modules (for non-Computing students), 10 modules including 3 elective modules and a Project.

* Elective modules may be pre-selected for students at the beginning of the semester. If students wish to change these pre-selected elective modules, they can choose from the available modules offered in the semester OR among the intensive delivery modules – however such changes may prolong the study duration.

As part of this course, you are expected to complete an extensive project paper in relation to Cyber Security for both academic and industry purposes. This project paper will be supervised by a member of academic staff as the main supervisor. It may involve working with an external organization (probably directly relevant to your work or organization or any of our industry partners). You are given considerable flexibility in choosing any Cyber Security related topics to base your project paper. As for the deliverables, you are required to come up with a prototype / simulation / framework etc. (the list is just an example and not limited to only these) and to produce one project paper and a publishable conference / journal paper consists of summary of the work.

The Rocheston Certified Penetration Tester (RCPT) program stresses research, live labs and interactive sessions on emerging security findings, offering the scope for defining the information security requirements while finding options to enhance existing methodology assets. The RCPT certification is designed and embedded as part of their Advanced Ethical Hacking module in the MSc in Cybersecurity programme, to allow the students to have an industry-standard exposure towards penetration testing as well as an opportunity to upskill themselves in real-life scenarios and simulations through the offered CyberLabs. As such, every student in the programme is given equal opportunity in getting their hands on the certification as part of the syllabus learn in the module without the need of taking up additional training resources. The certification received by the student is valid for 2 years and subject to a renewal process to ensure all Penetration Testers are updated with the current scope of Penetration Testing.

CAREER OPTIONS