MIT Professional Education will offer its first online course on Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Course Addressing Advanced Cybercrime and Security Threats Begins September 15, 2015.

MIT Professional Education will offer its first online course on Cybersecurity to a global audience of professionals from Sept. 15 - Oct. 27, 2015. This course, featuring 14 faculty from the world-renowned MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), is offered in support of a campus-wide MIT initiative to counter the real and damaging threat of cybersecurity attacks facing organizations around the globe. Additional sessions of the course will also be offered from Nov. 10 – Dec. 22, 2015 and Jan. 12 – Feb. 23, 2016.

“As we witness an increasing amount of corporations, businesses and governments becoming targets of cybersecurity crime each day, it is apparent that understanding the cybersecurity field is vital to the continued protection and success of industries and government organizations not only in the U.S., but around the world”

The six-week online course, designed for engineers, technical managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a bachelor’s level expertise in computer science, will survey state-of-the-art topics in cybersecurity. The course explores systems and policy issues, and a range of relevant case studies to illustrate the impact and necessity of emerging technologies and applications in the field. By examining security challenges in hardware, software and cryptography, the course will immerse professionals in the latest research that can move their organizations from a “patch and pray” defense to security “by default,” according to faculty experts.

“As we witness an increasing amount of corporations, businesses and governments becoming targets of cybersecurity crime each day, it is apparent that understanding the cybersecurity field is vital to the continued protection and success of industries and government organizations not only in the U.S., but around the world,” said Bhaskar Pant, Executive Director of MIT Professional Education. Pant further notes that, “unlike other courses in cybersecurity, this digital offering is designed to provide global professionals a broad holistic approach that will arm their organizations with the latest developments and technologies to address today’s cybersecurity challenges.”

“At stake is not only the privacy of personal data, but also the ability of our critical infrastructures to function,” said Howard Shrobe, Director of CyberSecurity, MIT CSAIL. “Through our new course, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the causes of the cybersecurity problem and the most recent research developments that may ultimately solve the problem.”

“At CSAIL, our focus is the future of computing and all its associated technologies, including what is relevant for cybersecurity. This gives us the opportunity to provide a one-of-a-kind learning experience for participants looking to learn about the tools and skills they need to understand the technical and policy issues associated with cybersecurity,” said Daniela Rus, Professor, Electrical Engineering Computer Science, Director, MIT CSAIL.

This online course, presented as part of MIT Professional Education’s Digital Programs, is delivered globally using the MIT and Harvard-founded open-sourced online education platform, edX. Digital Programs provide companies and organizations the ability to offer training and education to their employees on highly advanced topics facing a wide range of industries. Upon completing the course, participants will receive an MIT Professional Education Certificate of Completion, course materials from all presentations, 90-day personal access to the archived course (includes videos, discussion boards, content, and Wiki) as well as access to MIT Professional Education’s expansive professional alumni network. The course launching on Sept. 15 is being offered at an introductory price of $545.

Immediate registration is available at the Cybersecurity course website. Individuals across all industries or by large groups of employees from the same organization can register for the course. For general questions, please emailmitprofessionalx@mit.edu.