Allen Parrish

CC2020: A Vision on Computing Curricula

This panel discusses the development of a global, futuristic computing overview curricular report called Computing Curricular 2020, also known as CC2020. This new document, which is an initiative of the ACM Education Council, published by ACM, will be a revision of one of the most cited curricula documents called Computing Curricula 2005, also known as CC2005 [1]. CC2020 will build on the attributes of the existing predecessor. It will encompass broad global inclusion by welcoming active participation from computing societies around the world such as the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ). CC2020 will also be futuristic in its development. While the new document will include an update to reflect existing curricula reports for computer engineering, computer science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering, it will also describe ways in which new and emerging curricular areas would be included within the framework of the report. The working group of CC2020 will include approximately two dozen professionals from academia and industry who will engage in crafting the new document. Additionally, a subset of about ten people of the working group forms the executive or core operational unit of the CC2020 project. The panelists for this representation are members of this executive group. Their global origins and affiliations represent the diversity of interaction that is one of the hallmarks of this undertaking. The panelists will present their views on the future aspects of the CC2020 report from the perspective of their experiences and affiliations, as well as their countries. The panelists will also provide contrasting points of view on topics relevant to the project. Audience interaction and participation will consume approximately fifty percent of the time allocated to the presentation.

Information Technology as a Cyber Science

Emerging technologies are proliferating and the computing profession continues to evolve to embrace the many opportunities and solve the many challenges this brings. Among the challenges is identifying and describing the competencies, responsibilities, and curriculum content needed for cybersecurity. As part of addressing these issues, there are efforts taking place that both improve integration of cybersecurity into the established computing disciplines while other efforts are developing and articulating cybersecurity as a new meta-discipline. The various individual computing disciplines, such as Computer Science, Information Technology, and Information Systems, have increased and improved the amount of cybersecurity in their model curricula. In parallel, organizations such as the Cyber Education Project, an ACM/IEEE Joint Task Force, and the accrediting body ABET are producing such artifacts as a multi-disciplinary Body of Knowledge and accreditation program criteria for cybersecurity writ large. This paper explores these various cybersecurity initiatives from the perspective of the Information Technology discipline, and it addresses the degree to which cybersecurity and Information Technology are both similar and different.

Understanding the New ABET Computer Science Criteria

The Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET accredits over 300 Computer Science programs worldwide under the Computer Science program criteria. In the past few years, the Commission has engaged the computing community to modify and update these criteria, and has now signed off on an updated set of program criteria that take into account factors such as the CS2013 curricular guidelines, impact on currently accredited programs, structural changes to clarify the criteria, and the reduction of the assessment burden. These recent changes to the Computer Science program criteria primarily impact student outcomes (what program graduates are expected to know and be able to do by graduation) and curriculum. Those changes will impact computer science programs in a variety of ways and degrees---some programs will be impacted significantly while others will be affected in a relatively minor way. This paper examines the changes that will take effect starting in the 2019-20 accreditation cycle, covering the rationale for those changes and exploring the likely impact on computer science programs that are currently accredited or seeking accreditation in the near future.

Special Session: Joint Task Force on Cybersecurity Education

In this special session, members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Cybersecurity Education will provide an overview of the CSEC2017 curricular guidelines (finalized in December 2017) and engage session participants in a discussion of the curricular framework and body of knowledge. The session will conclude with an interactive panel discussion on implementing the curricular guidance.

Bringing Up Cybersecurity Degree Programs: (Abstract Only)

Due to the ongoing demand for cybersecurity professionals, universities have begun to step up to the challenge of providing degrees in cybersecurity or related disciplines. However, growth in academic programs has been unfocused, in part because there is no standard definition of what a cybersecurity undergraduate program should contain and no cohesive community of practice with which those programs are aligned. This session is intended to establish dialog intended to lead to a community of practice for undergraduate cybersecurity education. The presenters will briefly review prior efforts in defining cybersecurity at the collegiate level, including the Centers for Academic Excellence (CAE), National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), Cyber Education Project, CSEC2017 curricular guidelines and ABET cybersecurity accreditation. Session participants will examine current efforts, explore the development of a cybersecurity community of practice, and get clarity about where their own efforts fit into overall computing education.

Toward Standards in Undergraduate Cybersecurity Education in 2018

There’s no consensus on what constitutes a solid undergraduate cybersecurity education. With the upcoming release of CSEC2017 curricular guidelines from the Joint Task Force of the ACM, IEEE Computer Society, AIS, and IFIP, along with the proposed undergraduate cybersecurity accreditation criteria from ABET, now’s the perfect time to reexamine the future landscape in this space.

Implementing secure e-mail on the open internet with MailTrust

E-mail is generally regarded as an insecure method of electronic communication for numerous reasons. Most notably, the default does not guarantee the authentic identity of either the intended sender or receiver of a message, nor does it guarantee the confidentiality and integrity of the message. While these problems can partially be addressed with commonly utilized technologies involving certificates and e-mail client plugins, current practice is insufficient for high-security applications, such as classified communications among clients of different e-mail systems. The research presented here leverages “Trustmarks” (which were developed primarily to support efficient single sign on in a federated environment) to support secure e-mails between multiple systems where there are particularly stringent confidentiality and integrity requirements. Such a system could increase the ability of users at disparate organizations to communicate without fear that sensitive information might intentionally or accidentally be disclosed. Although there are many barriers to adoption, such a system might also eventually reduce the reliance on separate communication networks and systems for classified communications.

Rebooting Information Technology Programs: Panel

The continuing worldwide demand for a diverse, competent, computing workforce has had a major impact on undergraduate information technology (IT) education. New degree programs in IT have been created and existing IT programs have been recreated. The enormity of the demand for IT graduates, as well as societal pressures, require such rebooted IT programs to attract a diverse student body. The panelists will describe their experiences and present different perspectives toward rebooting IT education to handle technological changes, to ensure competent graduates via program accreditation, and to address issues of diversity and inclusion.

Cybersecurity Curricular Guidelines

The goal of the Joint Task Force on Cybersecurity Education is to develop comprehensive undergraduate curricular guidance in cybersecurity that will support future program development and associated educational efforts. This effort is a collaboration among the ACM, the IEEE Computer Society, the AIS Special Interest Group on Security and Privacy (SIGSEC), the IFIP WG 11.8, and the Cyber Education Project. In January 2017, the Joint Task Force released a draft of those guidelines. This paper describes the framework underlying the guidelines, examines one set of topics, and then places this work in the context of an exemplary curriculum on cybersecurity education.

Developing ABET criteria for undergraduate cybersecurity programs

This special session will introduce current work on program criteria currently being developed for use by ABET in accrediting undergraduate cybersecurity programs. It will provide a status report on current efforts in this area, along with expectations for future development and deployment of these criteria.