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framework would benefit cybersecurity students, instructors, researchers,
and practitioners. Layers 8–10 classify vulnerabilities and mitigations
that are frequently studied by non-computer scientists, but are also
critical for a holistic understanding of the cybersecurity ecosystem by
computing professionals.
REAL” CYBERSECURITY TODAY devotes enormous effort to non-code vulnerabilities and responses. The Cybersecu- rity Workforce Frameworka
of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education lists 33 specialty areas for cybersecurity jobs. Ten of the
specialty areas primarily involve coding, but more than half primarily involve non-code work ( 15 areas, in my
estimate) or are mixed (eight areas,
per my assessment).
This column proposes a Pedagogic
Cybersecurity Framework (PCF) for
categorizing and teaching the jumble
of non-code yet vital cybersecurity
topics. From my experience teaching cybersecurity to computer science and other majors at Georgia
Tech, the PCF clarifies how the varied pieces in a multidisciplinary cybersecurity course fit together. The
framework organizes the subjects
that have not been included in traditional cybersecurity courses, but
instead address cybersecurity management, policy, law, and international affairs.
The PCF adds layers beyond the
traditional seven layers in the Open
Systems Interconnection model
(“OSI model” or “OSI stack”). Previous writers have acknowledged the
possibility of a layer or layers beyond
seven, most commonly calling layer 8
a https://bit.ly/2McPRB3
“
the “user layer.”b The framework pro-
posed here adds three layers—layer
8 is organizations, layer 9 is govern-
ments, and layer 10 is international.
This column explains how the new
b Varying previous definitions of higher
layers of the OSI Model are available at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layer_8.
Privacy and Security
A Pedagogic
Cybersecurity Framework
A proposal for teaching the organizational, legal,
and international aspects of cybersecurity.
˲ Carl Landwehr, Column Editor
DOI: 10.1145/3267354
