A new education and research lab in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology is bringing together like-minded students and academics to further strengthen the University’s multidisciplinary approach to cyber security.

CyberCRIME (Cyber Research, Intelligence, Misinformation, and Extremism) will provide a research cluster to investigate topics including cyber crime, cyber terrorism, cyber extremism, cyber intelligence, cyber threat intelligence, cyber policing, and behavioural cyber security. 

The Department of Security Studies and Criminology is one of several departments and schools across the University that contribute to the work of the Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub. More than 90 academics across all four faculties currently contribute their expertise to the hub’s research programs. 

“The threat of cyber security is deeply complex, and one research discipline cannot solve it on its own,” says the hub’s Director, Professor Dali Kaafar. “An intersection in research is fundamental to finding solutions, and Macquarie’s unique approach means we can quickly assemble multidisciplinary research teams to help our partners address problems.” 

Already a leading academic centre for cyber security in Australia, the Department of Security Studies and Criminology’s new CyberCRIME lab will enhance the department’s capabilities for solution-building and give Faculty of Arts students even greater exposure to real-world learning. 

“This new lab will emphasise both the technical and non-technical perspectives of cyber security – such as human behaviour, policy, management, criminology, and counterterrorism – to produce research and cyber responses for industry, government and other partners,” says Associate Professor Jeffrey Foster. “It will also provide opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students to work alongside our key academics on emerging research projects.”

Students across Macquarie’s security, intelligence and criminology courses benefit from the University’s multidisciplinary approach to education, with double degrees particularly popular for students looking for a comprehensive and multifaceted qualification to enhance their employability.

The Master of Cyber Security Analysis – designed in consultation with industry and government to directly address the cyber security skills gap in Australia – can be combined with five other postgraduate degrees: the Master of Counter Terrorism, Master of Intelligence, Master of International Relations, Master of Public and Social Policy, or Master of Security and Strategic Studies. 

Students in the Master of Cyber Security Analysis use advanced disciplinary techniques sought after by employers and develop practical skills through dynamic simulations, such as war games, research internships with leading academics, industry internships with partner organisations and international placements in Washington DC. 

In the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bachelor of Cyber Security students learn to identify and respond to breaches and develop a unique combination of technical, policy and business skills. The undergraduate degree was designed with influence from the Gonski-Shergold review. 

The University is also playing a key role in addressing the cyber security skills gap in Australia through our participation in the New South Wales Institute of Applied Technology, in partnership with TAFE NSW, Microsoft and the University of Technology Sydney.