Pell fellow to instruct graduate level cybersecurity course

NEWPORT – Francesca Spidalieri, the Pell Center’s senior fellow for cyber leadership, is teaching a new graduate-level course, Management of Cyber Opportunities and Threats, at Salve Regina University.
The course, a new core requirement, is part of the university’s MBA program; it also is open to students from other academic disciplines.
The course will provide students with an understanding of opportunities and threats of doing business in cyberspace, and will address a variety of topics, including: the advantages and risks of new technology innovations; risk assessment related to security breaches and privacy; intellectual property; industrial espionage; business continuity; and resiliency planning.
Students will learn strategies on how to prevent and mitigate cyber risks and will acquire the tools to build a comprehensive incident response plan, including disaster recovery.
Traci Warrington, dean of professional studies at Salve Regina University, said they are excited to have Spidalieri teach the course.
“Her contributions to the cybersecurity field are important across industry sectors, and we look forward to the opportunity that students will have to interact with, and learn from, Ms. Spidalieri,” Warrington said in a statement.
Said Pell Center Executive Director Jim Ludes, “When the Pell Center began looking at cybersecurity two years ago, master’s degree programs were really in the stone-age when it came to preparing leaders for an era of persistent cyber threat. It’s exciting to see Salve Regina University lead the way to prepare the next generation of executives.”
Two years ago, Spidalieri published a study that detailed the failing of America’s most prestigious graduate programs to prepare their graduates for cybersecurity challenges. Various colleges and universities have added cybersecurity degrees and concentrations since the study’s publication, but most of these programs remain highly technical.
“The goal of this course is to turn our students into ‘cyber-strategic leaders’ who possess a deep understanding of the cyber context in which they operate and who are able to harness the right tools, strategies, people and training to respond to a dynamic and rapidly-developing array of cyber threats,” Spidalieri said.