Businesses cannot survive today without digital services. These range from companies trying to advertise to customers (big data users) to hospitals that use electronic medical records to keep track of patient status. Threat actors can and do take down our IT services in various ways, ranging from data theft (data breaches) to denial of service (ransomware) that can cause a grinding halt to operations.
The risk of dangerous threat actors has risen alongside our global interconnectivity. Cybersecurity efforts have been increasing, but data breaches continue to increase year-on-year, with a 20% increase in data breaches from 2022 to 2023. According to the 2023 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, 75% of cybersecurity professionals view the current threat landscape as the most challenging it has been in the past five years—yet only 52% believe that their organization has the tools and people needed to respond to these cyber incidents, which explains why organizations are willing to pay great salaries to attract and retain cybersecurity talent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Information Security Analysts have a median wage of $120,000 in 2023 and are projected to grow 32% in the next decade. And even more opportunity awaits further up the ladder: Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), for example, make an average of $244,565—with some drawing pay packages of over a million.
With 93% of organizations having two or more identity-related breaches in the past year, businesses today must prepare for a future in which they must defend against and be resilient to the impacts of cyberattacks. An MBA specialization in cybersecurity prepares students to step into lucrative and high-impact roles that both enhance overall business acumen and bring desperately needed security value to almost every industry.
Cybersecurity is a vast field with many entry points and roles within it. The Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) helps employers build their cybersecurity workforce by providing a standardized language around cybersecurity roles and tasks, applicable across all sectors. Rize’s MBA Cybersecurity program was designed with this framework in mind, guiding students to target jobs in the following areas:
OG and PD managerial-type roles, although largely non-technical, are some of the higher-paid positions within cybersecurity. In our program, students will learn to think big-picture about cyber management and strategy to protect their organizations from the most pressing threats and cybercrimes. They will also become literate about the function of other roles in the NICE framework—it is the combination of these roles, not any single role alone, that leads to effective cybersecurity within organizations. Graduates will be ideally positioned to move into these cybersecurity roles at a time where they’re needed most.
Dr. Gregory Falco is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Systems Engineering Program, specializes in cybersecurity. He earned his PhD from MIT, where his doctoral research in cybersecurity was funded by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Before his tenure at Cornell, he held positions at Johns Hopkins and conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford and MIT. He directs the Aerospace ADVERSARY Laboratory, focusing on creating autonomous, secure space infrastructure, with support from DARPA, NASA, and other agencies. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and as a DARPA RISER, Falco’s research has led to impactful patents and startups. He also consults for major tech and defense companies. Prior to his academic career, he was an executive at Accenture.
The following Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) have been defined by the program Curriculum Committee.
By the end of this program, students will be able to:
| ID | Program Learning Outcome |
|---|---|
| PLO-1 | Evaluate and create comprehensive governance, risk management and compliance plans that align with corporate performance goals, follow key regulations, and enhance organizational resilience. |
| PLO-2 | Evaluate security solutions to meet the unique needs of IT and OT systems, cloud environments, data storage, and IoT networks, aligning with business goals. |
| PLO-3 | Demonstrate strategic leadership in cybersecurity by proactively planning, implementing, and managing comprehensive security measures. |
| PLO-4 | Effectively communicate technical and policy information about cybersecurity challenges in order to effect organizational security measures. |
| PLO-5 | Assess career opportunities and key sectors relevant to cybersecurity. |
| PLO-6 | Identify and operate open-source hacking tools to recognize and address security vulnerabilities in accordance with ethical hacking principles. |
Recommended CIP Code: 11.1003 (Computer and Information Systems Security) or 52.0201 (Business Administration and Management, General)
Note: The MBA Cybersecurity Program is a four-course concentration within an MBA degree. Courses provided through the LCMC are shown in blue text.