The field of cyber security engineering is concerned with the development of cyber-resilient systems that include the protection of physical as well as computer and network systems. It requires a holistic and proactive approach in engineering the design of systems, with cybersecurity incorporated from the beginning of system development all the way throughout the system’s life cycle.

The purpose of the MS in Cyber Security Engineering is to provide students with the currently rare combination of highly technical knowledge and skills, cyber security expertise, and a comprehensive systems engineering perspective. The program provides theory and practice on the design, planning, and management of systems and procedures for protecting critical physical and cyber infrastructure from external threats, including terrorism. Students will be equipped with deep technical foundations of cyber security in the form of software, hardware, networking, and cryptography, as well as systems engineering tools and methods to design and secure complex cyber physical systems. Topics in the program include homeland security policies, critical infrastructure policies, information assurance cybersecurity quantification, matrix vulnerability assessment, threat assessment, physical security, personnel security, operational security, contingency planning, case analyses of specific industries and systems, redundancy planning, emergency and disaster planning, security systems, and intelligence operations.

Graduates are prepared to design and implement secure complex and cyber-physical systems consisting of software, hardware, and networking components; respond to, investigate, and remediate incidents involving these systems; and develop offensive and defensive tools and techniques to attack and secure these systems.

https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/engineering-computing/engineering/cyber-security-engineering/cyber-security-engineering-ms/