Letterkenny Institute of Technology
BSc Computing with Computer Security and Digital Forensics

Donegal, Ireland
Donegal, Ireland

DEGREE TYPE

BSc

DURATION

LANGUAGES

PACE

Full time, Part time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

* Can apply throughout the year. Allow time for visa application in needed.

Key Summary

About : The BSc Computing with Computer Security and Digital Forensics is designed to provide students with core computing knowledge while focusing on the crucial areas of security and forensics. The course covers a variety of essential topics, ensuring students develop a comprehensive understanding of computer systems and the ability to protect and analyze them.

Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue careers in fields such as cybersecurity analyst, forensic investigator, and IT security consultant. The demand for professionals skilled in digital forensics and security continues to grow, leading to numerous opportunities in both private and public sectors.

Bachelor of Science in Computing with Computer Security and Digital Forensics

CAO Code: LY737

LYIT internal code: LY_KCSDF_D

Standard Code Places: 36

National Framework Level: 7

Award Type: Major

Awarding Body: LYIT, under Delegated Authority from HETAC

Is this Programme for Me?

Did you know that if your PC has a broadband connection it is being probed by unauthorized users many times a day? Did you that your computer is quite possibly a "zombie" machine awaiting activation for some nefarious purpose? Or that deleting files and history logs on your machine is a very poor way to hide your tracks, and that a trained forensics professional can easily recover this data? Or that identity theft is no longer just in the realms of science fiction?

Computer Security is about securing computer systems against all types of unauthorized access. However, no matter how secure a computer system is it will still have vulnerabilities. Digital Forensics is about detecting intruders, analyzing what they have done to your computer system, tracking and identifying the intruder and creating a portfolio of evidence about the intruder's activities to assist with a successful prosecution. This course teaches the student the skills, methods, and techniques used in Computer Security and Digital Forensics. Our purpose is to provide the Irish computer industry with high-quality experts in this rapidly growing field of computing.
Our aim is to provide the Irish computer industry with high-quality experts in this rapidly growing field of computing.

For a description of a degree in computer security and digital forensics see the following YouTube video: BSc Computer Forensics & Security - University of Derby This video describes a BSc course at the University of Derby, but (except for the reference to the placement year) it gives a pretty good overview of our computer security and digital forensics BSc. Also see Scams, spam, spies and me for an insight into the job of a person working in the computer security industry.

Are there follow-up Programmes Available?

Progression to a one-year programme leading to a Level 8 Honours BSc in Computer Security and Digital Forensics is available internally at LYIT.

On completion of this programme graduates may go on to study for their MSc/ Ph.D. at other ITs and Universities in Ireland and abroad. Progression internationally to the second cycle (i.e. 'Bologna Masters') degree programmes.

Career Opportunities

Current forecasts about the future of the computing industry in Ireland are excellent. It is projected that students who enter third-level colleges this year are likely to find there are more professional computing jobs available when they graduate than there are computing graduates to fill them.

During the past decade, Ireland has gained increasing recognition as Europe’s premier location for software development. Since the 1980s, most leading US software vendors, including Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Facebook, and Symantec, have based their European operations centers in Ireland. The country has also become the number one site for software development in Europe. All the big players such as Microsoft, Google, eBay, Symantec, and Amazon are now based in Ireland.

Alongside the big international players, Ireland also has a thriving software development industry that has been created in Ireland by Irish computer graduates. It comprises of over 600 companies, about 250 of which have significant levels of overseas sales. Ireland has now overtaken the USA as the biggest exporter of software in the world. 60% of all software sold in Europe originates in Ireland.

In addition to the national demand for computing graduates, there are several large computing companies in the Northwest such as Pramerica which is based in Letterkenny, Northbrook which has operations in Derry and Strabane and SITA which is owned by the air transport industry and has recently announced a major jobs expansion.

Worldwide there are about 1.5 million people working as computer security professionals and employment in this area is growing at approximately 9% per year, industry projections are that this rate of growth will continue or improve in the future.

Typical employers in the computer security field include:

Companies running enterprise computer networks;
The payment card industry;
Companies involved in e-commerce;
Financial services companies;
Academic institutions;
Government departments;
Internet service providers.

Each of these service providers has distinct security needs which require different solutions to meet their needs.

Thus, graduates in this field require not only a technical background in general computing but also specialist knowledge of the differing security needs of different types of businesses, the primary technical solutions available to meet these needs, the primary methods of attack on computer systems, how to plan for such attacks both in terms of defense and damage control, how to detect intruders and how to gather evidence to identify the intruders, track their actions and present evidence detailing their activities.

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