The Joint Task Force (JTF) defines cybersecurity as a “computing-based discipline involving technology, people, information, and processes to enable assured operations.  It involves the creation, operation, analysis, and testing of secure computer systems. It is an interdisciplinary course of study, including aspects of law, policy, human factors, ethics, and risk management in the context of adversaries.”

Source: https://cybered.hosting.acm.org/wp/

By all accounts, the world faces a current and growing workforce shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals and practitioners. In fact, both government and nongovernment sources project nearly 1.8 million cybersecurity-related positions going unfilled by 2021. The workforce demand is acute, immediate, and growing. In order to develop the required talent, academic departments across the spectrum of computing disciplines are launching initiatives to establish new cybersecurity programs or courses of study within existing programs. Whether developing full new programs, defining new concentrations within existing programs, or augmenting existing course content, these institutions need curricular guidance based on a comprehensive view of the cybersecurity field, the specific demands of the base discipline, and the relationship between the curriculum and cybersecurity workforce frameworks.

Source: Chapter 1: Introduction to Cybersecurity Education, pg. 9., in Cybersecurity 2017 Version 1.0 Report CSEC2017 31 December 2017.