The programme provides students with core skills in wide aspects of the security of information systems and specialised skills in the chosen specialisation. Students get a unique chance to study under high-level Cybersecurity practitioners from Estonian universities, industry, law enforcement, CERT and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

Overview

The programme is taught jointly by the two largest public universities in Estonia. The Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics studies are concentrated in Tallinn, while the specialization in Cryptography is concentrated in Tartu. Upon successful completion of the programme students will receive a joint degree signed by both universities - TalTech and the University of Tartu.

Specialisation in Cyber Security

The public focus on the field of cyber security is growing around the world. Estonia is well known for its eagerness to put innovative IT solutions into everyday use. It is a pioneer in electronic identities and electronic voting and enthusiastically adopts mobile technology, online banking and electronic government services. However, with so many e-solutions and such extensive use of the internet, attention also needs to be turned to the security issue.

By choosing electable courses, it is possible to specialise in one of the following aspects or a suitable mix of those:

• Organisational aspects - law, organization, psychology, standards, etc.
• Technological aspects - networking, attack/defence technology, cryptography.

Specialisation in Digital Forensics

Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices, often in relation to computer crime. The area is becoming critical for both data security and law enforcement and is involved in a complicated interplay between surveillance and counter-surveillance issues.

Specialisation in Cryptography

Cryptography is vital for the functioning of the modern interconnected world, since it is required to ensure privacy, data integrity, etc. Cryptography experts are required to develop new ways of keeping data secure, as well as making sure that the existing solutions are still strong enough.

Curriculum Outline (120 ECTS)

• General studies – cover the courses about entrepreneurship and business planning, which help to understand the essence of entrepreneurship and its processes.
• Core studies – consist of courses about system administration, network technology, principles of secure software design, computer programming, and applied cryptography.
• Special studies – students can specialise in Cybersecurity (human and legal aspects of cybersecurity, cyber incident handling, cybersecurity management, cryptology, etc.), Digital Forensics (organisational theory and psychology, network protocol design, cyber defence monitoring solutions, etc.) or Cryptography (distributed computing and blockchains, design and analysis of algorithms, coding theory, etc.).
• Free choice courses – this module aims to let the students choose to study topics according to their interests and/or specialization.
• Graduation thesis – a scientific project that allows to apply theoretical knowledge to solving practical problems in the field of IT and Cybersecurity.