Applying Parallel and Distributed Computing Curriculum to Cyber Security Courses

Abstract

Parallel technologies evolve at a fast rate, with new hardware and programming frameworks being introduced every few years. Keeping a Parallel and Distributed Computing (PDC) lecture up to date is a challenge in itself, let alone when one has to consider the synergies between other courses and the shifts in direction that are industry-driven and echo inside the student body. This paper details the process of aligning parallel and distributed curriculum at the Military Technical Academy of Bucharest (MTA) over the last five years, with government and industry demands as well as faculty and student expectations. The result has been an adaptation and an update of the previous lectures and assignments on PDC, and the creation of a new course that relies heavily on parallel technologies to provide a modern outlook on software security and the tools used to combat cyber threats. Concepts and assignments originally designed for a PDC course have molded perfectly into a new supporting paradigm focused on malicious code (malware) analysis.