About CyBOK

An increasing political, societal and economic concern, cyber attacks cost an estimated $400 billion (according to Lloyds) to global economies. The scale of the issue was further highlighted recently when the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists factored cyber attacks into their decision to move the symbolic Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.

However, there is a long-recognised skills gap within the cyber security sector, an issue that experts agree is compounded by a fragmented and incoherent foundational knowledge for this relatively immature field.

Mature scientific disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology have long-established foundational knowledge and clear learning steps from pupils studying GCSEs at secondary school to undergraduate degrees at university, and beyond.

Aims of the CyBOK project

CyBOK will be a guide to the body of knowledge—the knowledge that it codifies already exists in literature such as textbooks, academic research articles, technical reports, white papers and standards. The project’s focus is, therefore, on mapping established knowledge and not fully replicating everything that has ever been written on the subject.

The CyBOK project team have undertaken an extensive exercise involving a mapping and analysis of relevant texts as well as a range of community consultations via workshops, an online survey, interviews and position papers. These activities have provided an in-depth understanding of the community’s collective view of the top-level Knowledge Areas (KAs) that should be in the scope of CyBOK. Following these consultations and various inputs, the 19 top level KAs were distilled and these will inform the scope of CyBOK.

The structure of the project

The progress of the project and work undertaken will be overseen by the Project Management Board which comprises the principal investigator, the co-investigators and the project manager. The project will be reviewed and advised by two separate boards: the Professional Advisory Board and the Academic Advisory Board.

The Professional Advisory Board will act to review and provide input to the Project Management Board on the overall progress and strategic development of the project with regards to the cyber security profession.

The Academic Advisory Board will provide advice to the Project Management Board on all academic aspects of the project and act as a critical sounding board.