Cyber Security

You can gain either a Graduate Apprenticeship at SCQF level 10 or SCQF level 11. 

The SCQF level 10 is called: 

Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng (Hons) Cyber Security

The SCQF level 11 is called: 

Graduate Apprenticeships in BEng (Masters) Cyber Security

SCQF qualification levels explained

A GA is about much more than just getting a degree. In SCQF level 10, you'll learn skills such as:

• Identifying, analysing and evaluating security threats and hazards to a digital business system or service using relevant external sources of threat intelligence or advice (e.g. CERT UK)
• Researching and investigating different attack techniques and recommending how to defend against them using relevant external sources of vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP)
• Discovering vulnerabilities in a digital system and undertaking a security risk assessment, proposing remediation advice in the context of the employer
• Developing a security case to describe the security objectives
• Recommending and implementing appropriate cyber security defences against identified attack techniques
• Understanding the foundations of cyber security, its significance to business and society, the theory and concepts
• Understanding cyber security concepts applied to ICT infrastructure, including the fundamental building blocks and typical architectures of software applications, databases and networks, identifying common vulnerabilities in these different systems
• Applying and understanding relevant laws and ethics 
• Understanding the existing threat landscape, trends and their significance, including how to apply relevant techniques for threat intelligence

In SCQF level 11, you’ll also gain a whole range of useful experience and skills such as:

• Confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA), concepts such as probability, consequence, harm, risk identification, assessment and mitigation and the relationship between information and system risk
• Threats, how they materialise, typical attacks and how those attacks exploit vulnerabilities
• Physical and process controls that can be implemented across an organisation to reduce information and systems risk, identify and mitigate vulnerability, and ensure organisational compliance
• The concepts of systems hardening and usability to ensure robust, resilient systems that are fit for purpose
• Understanding the personal, organisational and legal context in which information systems could be used, the risks of such use and the constraints (such as time, finance and people) that may affect how cyber security is implemented
• The ability to communicate, problem solve, work with and lead teams

The key content areas which make up the Cyber Security: SCQF level 10 Graduate Apprenticeship:

• Security concepts and foundations
• Secure network and application infrastructures
• Threats, vulnerabilities, impacts and mitigations in ICT systems and the enterprise environment
• Intrusion detection, incident investigation and management, and digital forensics
• Risk assessment and management
• Cyber security governance
• Personal and interpersonal
• Security testing
• Digital forensics
• Security architecture
• Information security audit and compliance
• Malware research and reverse engineering
• Secure operations management
• Business resilience

The key content areas which make up the Cyber Security: SCQF level 11 Graduate Apprenticeship:

• Information and risk
• Threats and attacks
• Cyber security architecture and operations
• Secure systems hardening and usability
• Cyber security management
• Personal and professional

Plus, a specialisation optional pathway in one of the following areas:

• Information security audit and compliance
• Security testing
• Digital forensics
• Network security
• Secure operations

For SCQF level 10, you could find employment in roles like:

• Cyber security analyst
• Malware analyst
• Security tester
• Security engineer
• Cyber security and information risk advisor
• Cyber security/information assurance architect
• Information security accreditor
• Cyber security/information assurance auditor
• IT/network security engineer
• Cyber security forensics analyst

For SCQF level 11, you could find employment in roles like:

• Information security assurance specialist
• Cyber security technical specialist
• Security operations centre specialist