Cyber security is becoming an important element in curricula at all education levels. However, the foundational knowledge upon which the field of cyber security is being developed is fragmented and, as a result, it can be difficult for both students and educators to map coherent paths of progression through the subject. By comparison, mature scientific disciplines like mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology have established foundational knowledge and clear learning pathways. There are a number of previous and current efforts on establishing skills frameworks, key topic areas and curricular guidelines for cyber security. However, a consensus has not been reached on what the diverse community of researchers, educators and practitioners sees as established foundational knowledge in cyber security.  

 

The Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK) project aims to codify the foundational and generally recognised knowledge on cyber security. CyBOK is meant to 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 focus is, therefore, on mapping established knowledge and not fully replicating everything that has ever been written on the subject. Educational programmes ranging from secondary and undergraduate education through to post-graduate and continuing professional development programmes can then be developed on the basis of CyBOK. 

 

The CyBOK project is led by the University of Bristol (UoB) and is funded by the National Cyber Security Programme in the UK. It commenced in February 2017 and runs in phases, with the current phase running until July 2023.

 

 

Key outcomes of the project are: