Mapping information security curricula to professional accreditation standards

The alignment of information security education curricula with national and international accreditation standards is a fast growing area of activity. This paper discusses several prominent professional accreditation standards in the area of information assurance in the USA and information security worldwide. Body of knowledge and student learning outcome recommendations by professional computing organizations for the discipline of information security form the basis of much of the education curricula design at present. Key topic areas in standards used for accreditation and certification in information security are also included in curricula design. This paper presents the findings from an exercise to identify areas of specific interest within information security reflected in a group of US national and international standards and discusses their relevance to education curricula design and evaluation.