Cyber attacks make headlines across the globe, and demand for talented computing graduates is outstripping supply. With governments and organisations increasing their cyber protection budgets, there’s never been a better time to invest in your future career.

Fine-tune your network and data skills with us, take an optional placement year, and get ready to make your mark in the global cyber security industry.

As a student at ARU, you’ll start by understanding the fundamentals of computing including computer networks, Linux operating systems, client/server architectures and secure high-level software development. You'll come to understand and recognise the cybercrime threats that organisations, and their infrastructures, face.

We’ll go on to study the cryptographic principles underpinning digital security and their application, how organisations' infrastructures can be protected from attack and how digital forensics can be used to investigate cyber related crime and malware infections. In a Security Management module, we’ll investigate how organisations visualise security operations, undertake threat intelligence and investigate potential threats.

Our Cyber Security degree includes access to the CCNA Routing and Switching and EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) curriculums. This gives you the chance to progress your learning to full certification – you’ll just need to pay for your exam fees.

Our specialist labs are the perfect place you apply your knowledge and skills, carrying out penetration testing, digital forensic investigations and analysing how malware operates. They’re equipped with tools such as Kali Linux Penetration Testing Distribution, X-Ways Forensic, Autopsy, Cisco PacketTracer, OWASP ZAP and Burp Suite.

The university is active within both the Cyber Security and Digital Forensics industries working closely as Academic Supporters for OWASP Cambridge (Open Web Application Security Project), CIISec (Chartered Institute of Information Security), BCS Cybercrime Forensics Special Internet Group, CREST and ISACA London.

With our Cyber Security and Networking Research Group we host regular networking events with industry, hosting guest speakers, capture the flag events and open source project placements through Google Summer of Code (GSoC).

We work actively with both national and international law enforcement through our working relationships and research activities with Home Office, ECTEG (European Cybercrime Training and Education Group) and Cyber Resilience Centre in the East.

You have the option to take a placement year as part of your course, and gain valuable work experience.

It’s predicted that the global cyber security workforce shortage will reach over 4 million by 2020/21, as demand outstrips supply*.

As a result, graduates are in demand with cyber security roles starting on salaries from £25-30,000. Cyber security consultants can expect to earn anything between £40,000 and £120,000 per year and many provide services under their own Limited companies.

Your skills in application security, information security or digital forensics could see you working closely with lawyers, governments, commercial organisations, the education sector and investigation agencies, as well as the finance and e-commerce sectors and national security organisations.

Whichever path you follow, you can be sure you’re graduating with the knowledge, skills and abilities that industry needs. We work with employers, and they help us review what we teach and how we teach it – and they offer hands-on, practical opportunities to learn through work-based projects, internships or placements.