A doctorate in information assurance, often known as information security, is a degree in information and technology that focuses on safeguarding digital information from human mistakes, malfunction, and hostile assaults.
The availability, integrity, authenticity, secrecy, and non-repudiation of information and systems are the primary goals of information assurance.
These methods may include implementing protection, detection, and response capabilities to allow for the restoration of information systems.
This curriculum is available at computer science, engineering, and even Internet technology (IT) universities.
The general aims of information assurance are to assure digital information’s authenticity, integrity, availability, non-repudiation, and secrecy.
You’ll study cryptography, network security, computer forensics, data security, and software security, as well as other fundamentals of information security.
You’ll also discover how to repair compromised systems via the use of response, protection, and detection capabilities.
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Is it Possible to Get This Degree Online?
Yes, this degree may be obtained online; however, distance learners may be needed to acquire essential information assurance software and computer hardware upgrades.
During the course of a program, you may also be required to attend a residential week or weekend.
This degree may take 3-5 years to complete, either online or on-campus and often culminates in a dissertation containing a large piece of original research approved by a faculty supervisor or program advisory committee.
The Institute of Information Assurance (IIA) is dedicated to ensuring the integrity and security of information as well as minimizing the susceptibility of hardware and software systems to assaults.
IIA is an interdisciplinary Center of Academic Excellence managed by the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, College of Engineering, and College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University.
Cyber-attacks are becoming a more serious danger to economic and national security.
The IIA, a multidisciplinary endeavor founded in 2005, is an important component of Northeastern University’s commitment to improving cyber security via research and teaching.
What are the Educational Requirements?
A master’s degree, ideally in an Internet technology discipline, GRE scores, a personal statement, and letters of reference are often required for admission to a Ph.D. program.
Some programs will also need you to complete an Internet technology skills assessment exam, which will measure your knowledge of numerous software packages as well as operating or network systems.
The IIA relies on talent and expertise from three Northeastern colleges:
College of Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering College of Social Sciences and Humanities Khoury College of Computer Sciences College of Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Faculty and students working in the IIA contribute to the nation’s cyberinfrastructure being strong, dependable, and secure.
Their research and teaching help Northeastern maintain its position as a National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research and Education, as well as its rising leadership in the field of cyber security.
The National Science Foundation financed IIA as part of the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service initiative.
What classes will I Take?
Coursework is delivered in both the classroom and the computer lab, which is often utilized to learn new software and execute simulations of information security crisis scenarios. Here are a few courses that may be included in the program’s curriculum:
- Computer administration
- Assembly language coding
- Programming language fundamentals
- Computer science theory
- Software development
The Relationship Between Information Assurance and Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a newer area, while information assurance is a longer established discipline with a wider emphasis that includes the protection of both digital and non-digital information assets, such as hard copy documents.
Information assurance is defined specifically as the trust that information systems will work as required when needed and will be available only to authorized users.
Many of the same courses are offered in information assurance degree programs as in cybersecurity degrees, but they may additionally cover cryptography, data analysis, and information assurance with a larger emphasis to incorporate electronic and digital information.
Job titles for information assurance professionals include information assurance manager, computer security expert, information assurance analyst, and information security consultant.
Professionals in cybersecurity and information assurance must have a solid awareness of security challenges and technology.
Although there is some overlap between the cybersecurity and information security fields, understanding the differences between these two related but distinct fields can assist individuals in determining the best career path for them and selecting the most appropriate educational options to meet their career goals.
Faculty and Tutors
The amazing Ph.D. program is practically run by faculty tutors, including:
1. Javed Aslam, Big Data and Geospatial Computation, Machine Learning, and others, essentially administer the excellent Ph.D. program.
2. Basagni, Stefano Wireless networks, ad hoc networks, underwater and terrestrial sensor networking, protocol development, and testing
3. Machine learning; data mining; statistical pattern recognition; computer vision and image processing; Jennifer Dy
4. Fei Yunsi; Hardware-oriented security, computer architecture, embedded systems, design automation, IoT, and cyber-physical systems are some of the topics covered.
5. Ioannis Stratis; Networking, distributed systems, machine learning, big data, and privacy
6. David Kaeli’s expertise includes computer architecture, GPUs, heterogeneous computing, performance analysis, security and information assurance, hardware dependability and recovery, Big Data analytics, and workload characterization.
7. Malware analysis and detection; online security; social network security; reverse engineering; intrusion detection; Engin Kirda
8. Mieczyslaw Kokar is a software engineer who specializes in cognitive radios, information integration, and fusion.
9. Wil Robertson, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Khoury College of Computer Sciences,
10. Guevara Noubir; Web security, statistical machine learning for anomaly detection, malware analysis utilizing adversarial program analysis, reverse engineering, and intrusion detection are all examples of trustworthy computing systems.
11. Error-correcting codes; information theory; digital communications; Masoud Salehi
12. Big Data and Geospatial Computation, Networks, Ravi Sundaram
13. Edmund Ye; caching, fog/edge computing, networked distributed learning; wireless network optimization, coding for low latency, network coding, polar codes; interdependent networks, cascading failure, information diffusion; network economics.
The Institute for Information Assurance (IIA) is a collaborative initiative between the College of Engineering and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences.
The Institute’s main purpose is to create innovative cross-disciplinary approaches for providing robust and dependable transmission of physically distant information.
To ensure data integrity and infrastructure security, we are striving to offer information security inside enterprises as well as advising services.
We also seek to generate workers who are properly educated in contemporary technologies in order to protect enterprises from hostile assaults. Undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, and industry are all invited to participate in the Institute.
Options for Post-Ph.D. Careers in Information Assurance
Many Ph.D. graduates in information assurance work as high-level supervisors, managers, or consultants for IT organizations or corporations. You might also work in academia, doing research on information security and teaching courses.
Information assurance (IA) is the activity of ensuring information and controlling risks associated with information usage, processing, storage, and transmission.
The integrity, availability, authenticity, non-repudiation, and confidentiality of user data are all aspects of information assurance.
Typically, information assurance work entails developing organization-wide standards that try to reduce the likelihood of a firm being injured by cyber-attacks.
It emphasizes the development of tools, methods, and other countermeasures that may be used to secure data, particularly from external attacks.
