UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 17 | November 1 , 2001

Downtown course aims to tighten Internet security net

Students learn to target threats ranging from viruses to theft in course moving soon to UBC at Robson Square

An innovative program offered by Continuing Studies aims to arm wired companies with solutions to a growing problem -- Internet hackers.

"It's surprising how many companies don't see the value of an investment in systems security," says program director Chuck Wilmink. "Once they've been hacked, though, they get it."

The Certificate Program in Internet and Technology Security is Western Canada's only comprehensive course on how to protect electronic systems from everything from unauthorized use by employees to virus protection and large-scale electronic theft.

It is among the programs that will soon be offered at UBC's new Robson Square campus. The campus officially opens later this month.

"We need to be downtown so that we can wake up the business community to how serious a problem this is," says Wilmink, a UBC mathematics alumnus with almost 15 years of experience in the security industry.

In the United States alone, the FBI estimates some 809,000 credit cards were stolen over the Web in the first quarter of 2000.

The first class of 17 students began the 10-month course in February and another group of 15 started this fall.

The course requires only mid-level computer knowledge as the focus is on theoretical training that teaches students what they need to be aware of in order to make systems secure. .

Students include information technology managers, systems administrators, auditors or corporate security managers whose jobs now include systems security.

Approximately a third are sponsored by their employers. Others see it as a way of maintaining a competitive edge in the IT job market, Wilmink says, while a handful are police officers contemplating new careers in technology security.

The program is a joint venture between Continuing Studies, the Justice Institute of B.C. and the Canadian Centre for Information Technology Security.

More information

An information session on the Internet and Technology Security certificate program will be held Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at UBC at Robson Square (800 Robson St.) To reserve a space at the session, call 604-822-1420. For more information on UBC at Robson Square programs, visit www.robsonsquare.ubc.ca.

Official opening

Nov. 30

Open House that day and Dec. 1 features UBC speakers, exhibits and demonstrations.