Cybersecurity Track

Modern technologies have created a myriad of ways that data can be stored and communicated — and hidden. Digital forensics is the science of finding those data after the fact. This course presents an overview of the principles and practices of digital investigation and prepares students to conduct a cyber forensics investigation in an organized and systematic way. The course allows students to develop skills in collecting, seizing and analyzing suspect devices, creating forensics images, recovering deleted data from various file systems and damaged media, applying digital forensics techniques to email and other electronic communications and describing incident and intrusion response approaches, among other topics.

Ethical hacking or penetration testing is the act of breaking into a system with the permission and legal consent of the organization or individual who owns and operates the system, with the purpose of identifying vulnerabilities to strengthen the organization’s security.

This course introduces students to the principles and techniques of the cybersecurity practice known as penetration testing and covers various tools and methods commonly used to compromise and control access to information systems. As part of this course, students will conduct hands-on penetration tests in a controlled lab environment, discover how system vulnerabilities can be exploited and learn how to avoid such problems in order to better secure organizational data and systems.

Cloud computing services (whereby distributed resources are rented, rather than owned) are being adopted across a variety of organizations yet many security challenges exist. This course introduces students to various cloud computing architectures and delivery models followed by a review of the security and privacy issues related to various types of cloud computing environments.

The course covers aspects related to cloud security design, implementation, architecture, operations, controls and compliance with regulatory frameworks for both cloud platforms and infrastructure security and cloud application security.

Protecting organizational assets against an increased numbers of cybersecurity threats is of critical importance in all modern organizations. Having a cybersecurity plan and a governance structure in place for dealing with cybersecurity risks is a more successful strategy than recovering organizational systems after a cyberattack has occurred.

This course introduces students to risk management approaches for identifying, analyzing and responding to cybersecurity risks, governance mechanisms, human resource security and business continuity. This course provides students with necessary skills required to formulate and implement a cybersecurity plan.

Internships are a valuable experiential learning tool where students engage in work with an organization on an approved topic. Students will write a comprehensive report based on their learning experience along with weekly logs and a managerial evaluation. The report will be evaluated and graded by the instructor.

Students will work on proposing, developing and implementing a comprehensive project based on concepts learned during their program. A project is a form of research aimed at creating or contributing new knowledge in a discipline, or an applied study that combines a specific topic with actual problems or issues within a setting.

A master’s in cybersecurity is built for deep specialization. You’ll spend most of your time mastering advanced defense techniques, forensics and security architecture.

The cybersecurity track in Cal Lutheran’s MSIT program keeps that technical depth but adds something more: a wider view of how security decisions shape an organization. You’ll learn to protect systems, and also to think like a strategist who understands how people, processes, and technology work together.

This track prepares you for the big picture. You’ll build the technical skills to stop threats and the leadership skills to lead teams, influence budgets and communicate risk in a language executives respect. It’s the right choice if you want to grow from technical expert to trusted decision-maker.

Most students finish the MSIT with a cybersecurity specialization in 12 to 24 months. You’ll complete eight core courses, four cybersecurity electives and an optional capstone project or internship.

Yes. Many students take one or two evening classes per term while working full time. The cybersecurity track courses are on campus, but they are offered in the evening, so you can build expertise in cybersecurity without putting your career (or life) on hold.

No prior cybersecurity experience is required. If you’re new to the field, you’ll gain a solid foundation. If you’re already in IT, you’ll deepen your expertise and position yourself for leadership roles.

Absolutely. Courses like Ethical Hacking and Digital Forensics put you in lab-based scenarios to test and defend systems in real time. You’ll also complete either an internship or an IT project, which gives you market-ready experience that employers notice.