High-profile security breaches and large-scale cyber attacks continue to expose vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and digital services that societies now run on. Data breaches expose the sensitive data behind those services, such as patient records, payment details, and the control systems of physical infrastructure. The defences that safeguard them have to be designed from the hardware upwards.
In this two-year programme, you tackle these challenges with a unique focus on computer systems and network security. Working across the entire computing stack—from low-level hardware and operating systems to cloud platforms and large-scale infrastructures—you develop the expertise to understand how vulnerabilities arise, how attackers exploit them, and how resilient digital systems are designed and defended.
You explore the full lifecycle of modern cyber attacks, from ethical hacking and reverse engineering to malware analysis and side-channel attacks, before learning how to build secure systems through secure design, software hardening and network defence. By learning to think like an attacker, you develop the skills to protect the systems that people, hospitals and governments rely on every day.
The curriculum combines core courses, specialised electives and a Master’s thesis, balancing strong theoretical foundations with hands-on experience and an increasing emphasis on independent, research-driven work.
The programme is led by programme director Cristiano Giuffrida and scientific coordinator Asia Slowinska, who both teach in the Master’s and are part of a diverse team of faculty who work closely with you in small-scale, hands-on courses.
Due to the international character of this programme, courses are taught entirely in English.
The start date of this programme is 1 September.
For a detailed overview of courses visit the study guide.
