Information Assurance

A formal certificate program in Information Assurance is under development. Until this program is in place, undergraduate and graduate students in any major may complete an informal track in IA by completing any four approved core courses in IA. Upon completion of these four courses and the usual degree requirements, the Dean of Engineering will write a letter of recognition that the student has completed the requirements of a track of study in information assurance at UMBC.

Approved core IA courses include the following

CMSC-442	Information and Coding Theory
CMSC-443	Cryptology (spring 2004)
CMSC-482	Computer Systems Security
CMSC-491-N	Network Security
CMSC-491-IA	Information Assurance (spring 2004)
CMSC-491-U	Unix Security Administration and Policy (spring 2004)
CMSC-652	Cryptology
CMSC-791-IA	Information Assurance (spring 2004)
IFSM-430	Information Systems Security

and certain other topical courses devoted to security that may be offered in the future.

If you intent to pursue this informal track in IA, please send me the following information by this Friday (Dec 7). Include CISA in the subject header.

Name:
Email address:
Major:
Degree program:
Expected date of graduation:
Number of core IA courses completed to date:
  

Dr. Alan T. Sherman
sherman@umbc.edu
Director, UMBC Center for Information Security and Assurance (CISA)
http://www.cisa.umbc.edu

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Information Assurance (IA) encompasses the scientific, technical, and management disciplines required to ensure computer and network security. Information assurance deals with operations that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation, including operations for the restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities. Importantly, information assurance includes and emphasizes availability, detection, and reaction, and not just confidentiality and authentication. Information assurance includes system and network administration and operations, systems security engineering, information assurance systems and product acquisition, cryptography, threat and vulnerability assessment, risk management, web security, operation of emergency response teams, information assurance training, education, and management, computer forensics, and defensive information operations.