Cybersecurity and Information Protection is a fundamental, strategically vital engineering, technical, and analytical field that ensures the security of the digital space, critical infrastructure, government resources, businesses, and private data against cyber threats, unauthorized access, data leaks, cyberattacks, and digital espionage.

In an era of hybrid threats, digitalization of public services, and rapid growth in AI/Cloud technologies, a cybersecurity specialist acts as an architect of secure systems, a Threat Intelligence analyst, an ethical hacker (Pentester), a cyber defense engineer, and a digital forensics investigator (Digital Forensics).

The training of cybersecurity specialists is structured around studying the following key objects:

- information and communication systems and infrastructure: automated, telecommunication, cloud, and corporate systems, networks, and critical infrastructure facilities (energy, transport, finance, public administration);

- information resources and data: state information resources, personal data, commercial and classified information, as well as systems for data creation, processing, storage, transmission, and destruction;

- cyber defense technologies, tools, and hardware-software systems: cryptographic tools (encryption, digital signature / QES), firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), SIEM/SOAR systems, DLP, and IAM/PAM;

- security management processes and systems: information security management systems (ISMS in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001), risk management, vulnerability assessment, and incident response & digital forensics;

- legislative, regulatory, and technical frameworks: national standards (CPSI / KSZI), international frameworks (NIST, CIS, ISO), cyberspace legal regulation, and data protection regulations (GDPR).

Learning objectives by higher education level:

First (Bachelor's) level — training specialists capable of applying, implementing, and administering modern technologies, methods, and tools of information and/or cyber security to protect IT assets.

Main focuses of Bachelor's degree training:

- mastering network technology fundamentals (TCP/IP, routing, switching), operating systems (Linux, Windows, Unix), and system programming;

- acquiring core skills in cryptography, authentication methods, access control, and secure coding practices;

- gaining hands-on experience in administering protection tools (Firewall, Antivirus, IDS/IPS) and performing initial vulnerability assessments;

- understanding legal and regulatory cybersecurity frameworks, national standards (CPSI / KSZI), and social engineering fundamentals.

Second (Master's) level — training specialists capable of solving complex research and/or innovation problems in information and/or cyber security under conditions of uncertain requirements and challenges.

Main focuses of Master's degree training:

- designing comprehensive cyber defense architectures for complex, distributed environments (including Cloud and IoT/OT security);

- conducting penetration testing (Penetration Testing / Red Teaming) and assessing system resilience against advanced persistent threats (APT);

- investigating cybercrimes (Digital Forensics) and performing reverse engineering of malicious software (Malware Analysis);

- establishing and managing Security Operations Centers (SOC), formulating incident response procedures, and building ISMS based on ISO 27001.

Third (Doctoral / Educational-Scientific) level — training highly qualified scientific and academic staff capable of conducting fundamental and applied research, developing new models, mathematical methods, cryptographic algorithms, and innovative cyber defense technologies.

Main focuses of PhD training:

- conducting scientific research in post-quantum cryptography, application of AI/ML for real-time anomaly detection and cyberattack prevention;

- developing novel mathematical models for cybersecurity risk evaluation and cyber resilience in critical infrastructure;

- publishing findings in leading scientometric journals (Scopus / Web of Science) and participating in international scientific cybersecurity projects;

- engaging in higher education teaching activities, leading R&D projects, and contributing to cybersecurity standard developments.

Key graduate competencies:

- Vulnerability Analysis & Pentesting — conducting security audits, penetration testing (Web, Network, Mobile), leveraging OWASP Top 10, Burp Suite, Metasploit, Nmap;

- Cryptographic Protection — applying symmetric/asymmetric encryption, hash functions, TLS/SSL protocols, PKI, and post-quantum algorithms;

- Monitoring & Response (SOC) — monitoring security events via SIEM (Splunk, ELK, QRadar), crafting detection rules (YARA, Sigma), tracking threats via MITRE ATT&CK;

- Digital Forensics & Malware Analysis — collecting and analyzing digital evidence (Autopsy, FTK), static and dynamic analysis of viruses and worms (IDA Pro, Ghidra);

- Governance, Risk, & Compliance (GRC) — developing security policies, conducting risk assessments, auditing compliance with ISO 27001, NIST, PCI-DSS, GDPR, ISMS.

Major F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection is among the most sought-after and high-demand fields in both local and international job markets:

- practical cyber defense and auditing: Information Security Engineer, Penetration Tester (Ethical Hacker), Vulnerability Assessment Analyst, Security Architect;

- analytics and incident response: SOC Analyst (L1-L3), Incident Response Specialist, Threat Intelligence Analyst, Malware Analyst;

- management and compliance: Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Information Security Auditor, GRC Specialist, Risk Analyst;

- cloud and development security: DevSecOps Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, Application Security (AppSec) Engineer;

- public and defense sectors: cyber defense specialist in Cyberpolice, Security Service, State Special Communications, Armed Forces (Cyber Forces), situation centers, and critical infrastructure facilities;

- research and academia (for PhD and Master's graduates): scientific researcher at research institutes, developer in vendor R&D labs (Cisco, Fortinet, ESET, etc.), university lecturer/professor.

Training is provided by:

- Department of Cybersecurity and Intelligent Information Technologies (503);

- Department of Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies

Education is provided under the following educational programs:

Educational Program	Degree	Mode of Study	Duration of Study
Security of Information and Communication Systems	Bachelor based on complete general secondary education	Full-time	3 years and 10 months
Security of Information and Communication Systems	Master, professional educational program	Full-time	1 year and 4 months
Cybersecurity	Doctor of Philosophy	Full-time and Part-time	4 years