Assessing the Practical Cybersecurity Skills Gained Through Criminal Justice Academic Programs to Benefit Security Operations Centers (SOCs)

Authors

Lucy Tsado, Lamar UniversityFollow
Jung Seob "Scott" Kim, Lamar UniversityFollow

Abstract

Private-sector and public-sector organizations have increasingly built specific business units for securing company assets, reputation, and lives, known as security operations centers (SOCs). Depending on the organization, these centers may also be referred to as global security operations centers, cybersecurity operations centers, fusion centers, and corporate command centers, among many other names. The concept of centralized function within an organization to improve an organization’s security posture has attracted both the government and the private sectors to either build their own SOCs or hire third-party SOC companies.

In this article, the need for a multidisciplinary approach to cybersecurity education at colleges and universities, including in liberal arts programs, with criminal justice as an example of a liberal arts program was discussed. There is a need for academic institutions to incorporate certain policies to ensure that students in liberal arts are included in the cybersecurity career mix. Cybersecurity is a field that encompasses many skill sets, both technical and nontechnical. The practical cybersecurity skills gained through liberal arts programs do not align with the high demand for these skills in the field to benefit SOCs. Additionally, the skills gap in the industry is increasing, meaning there is room for students with nontechnical majors to join the cybersecurity field.

Liberal arts programs, specifically criminal justice programs, must be evaluated to align with the demand for skills in the government sector and the private sector; these programs must also help students apply the knowledge learned through criminal justice courses in real-world cases to benefit SOCs. We examine academic institutions in Texas as the basis for our discussion.