Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has introduced a new cybersecurity course to its curriculum, training students to think like white hat hackers. The program aims to neutralize threats to the security of information systems owned by businesses and universities.
The idea behind the program is referred to as “offensive computer security,” and it offers students the opportunity to combat the actions of hackers by finding the vulnerabilities of vulnerable systems before they are detected by malicious actors.
The decision to include this particular course in the curriculum was deemed necessary due to the increasing frequency of security incidents and data breaches affecting many colleges and universities.
However, training students to deal with malicious activities is not easy, as the threat landscape is constantly evolving and rapidly, while malicious actors manage to adapt to new conditions and defenses.
David Brumley, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, points out: “You need to be able to predict how attackers are going to strike.”.
"Thinking about how to defend yourself means that attackers are one step ahead, at all times.".
But an aggressive strategy, he says, changes the game and strengthens security, making it harder for attackers to identify security gaps and carry out breaches.
