This paper presents an analysis of Bachelor’s and Master’s cybersecurity theses in Jyväskylä, Finland. The theses were gathered from publicly available publishing platforms of Finnish universities and were analysed using the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NCWF) categories and European Cyber Security Organization’s (ECSO) The European Cybersecurity Taxonomy. The aim of this research was to find whether there clearly were emphasis on certain framework categories or work roles. Similarly, industry sectors about which cybersecurity theses were done were of interest. The results can be used by education providers to align and plan their education based on regional needs, and cybersecurity students, before starting their thesis project, can use this information to deliberate suitable work sectors in which theses are lacking. As our research results point out, there is a clear emphasis on certain NICE categories and work roles that are more common within the dataset. However, it is prudent to take into account the scope of the dataset, which was specific to one region in Finland. While this research presents findings about this one region, researchers from around the world can consider using the same research methods on a similar datasets gathered from their respective regions.
Authors
Joonatan Ovaska, Karo Saharinen, Tuomo Sipola
Cite as
Ovaska, J., Saharinen, K., Sipola, T. (2022). Analysing Finnish Cybersecurity Thesis Topics Using Taxonomic Frameworks. In: 2022 IEEE Intl Conf on Dependable, Autonomic and Secure Computing, Intl Conf on Pervasive Intelligence and Computing, Intl Conf on Cloud and Big Data Computing, Intl Conf on Cyber Science and Technology Congress (DASC/PiCom/CBDCom/CyberSciTech). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/DASC/PiCom/CBDCom/Cy55231.2022.9927808
Publication
https://doi.org/10.1109/DASC/PiCom/CBDCom/Cy55231.2022.9927808
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by European Social Fund 2021–2023 as part of the LIPPA research and development project which is supporting smooth transitions from ICT studies to work life.
