An Academic Perspective on the CNSS Standards: A Survey

In this paper we examine the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) 4011-4016 family of standards for high assurance academic programs. Currently, institutions that apply for the NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) or Information Assurance Courseware Evaluation (IACE) designation must map their curricula to the CNSS standards. We survey academic institutions that have earned either the CNSS CAEIAE or IACE about their experiences in performing the mapping. Prior investigation and personal experience with the mapping process suggest the standards may not be appropriate for college computer security programs since they were developed as government training standards. The goal of the survey is to gather information from other institutions that demonstrate the adequacy of the standards or document any perceived shortcomings. This information should prove useful to support continued use of the CNSS standards as is, recommend improvements or suggest that alternative standards might be warranted. Index terms – Computer Security, Computer Science Education, Curriculum, Training Standards