WIREDGOV

Guide brings together knowledge from the world’s leading cyber experts to provide a foundation for cyber security education, training and professional practice.

For the first time, a Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK) has been launched, bringing together knowledge from world leading experts on the fundamentals of cyber security.  Providing insight on how organisations can better protect themselves in the cyber space, the CyBOK covers the foundations of cyber security, ranging from the human element through to issues in computer hardware security.

Political and economic concerns surrounding cyber attacks have grown in recent years, with Lloyds bank estimating a damage in excess of $400bn to global economies. However, despite this, the cyber skills gap continues to persist and is compounded by ‘fragmented and incoherent foundational knowledge’. The CyBOK will help remedy this issue, helping to map established knowledge in Cyber Security in 19 key knowledge areas, including, but not limited to: Cryptography; Network Security; Adversarial Behaviours; and Cyber Physical Systems. A full list of the knowledge streams can be found here.

Following the official release of the CyBOK at London’s Science Museum, the project enters Phase III, where it will aim to support universities across the UK in mapping their cyber security degree programmes onto the updated degree certification programme from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). 

Speaking today, Talal Rajab, Head of techUK’s Cyber Security Programme said: “In today’s online world, the adoption of strong cyber security practices is increasingly important across all levels of society. However, prior to the release of CyBOK, the foundational knowledge within cyber was disjointed and difficult to access, especially when compared to more mature scientific areas such as mathematics and physics. The introduction of CyBOK helps remedy this by providing a framework and a guide to inform those working or interacting with a cyber environment.

Moreover, CyBOK is comprehensive and impressive in scope, with a number of crosscutting themes across the report, including Security Economics, Verification and Formal Methods, and Security Architecture and Lifecycle. These themes help create a more holistic understanding of foundational knowledge, both in Human, Organisational and Regulatory Aspects alongside Attacks and Defences.

techUK welcomes this vital step in helping the cyber security market reach maturity and looks forward to engaging with CyBOK as the project develops.”

The full report can be found here.  CyBOK are keen to understand how the resource is being used and its uptake. Consequently, they ask that organisations using CyBOK for the purpose of education, training, course development or professional development email them at contact@cybok.org.