Two professors in Georgia Tech’s Institute for Information Security and Privacy (IISP) led a course in cybersecurity last month at Intel in Costa Rica, providing 25 Costa Ricans an opportunity to expand their knowledge on the subject.

The course, called “Understanding and Addressing Cybersecurity Challenges: Fundamental Concepts and Practical Techniques,” was led by Professor Mustaque Ahamad and Professor and IISP Co-Director Wenke Lee and was divided into two modules. One focused on basic elements of cybersecurity and software security, the other on such topics as cryptography basics, network security, web and mobile security, and the future of cybersecurity.

All participants who finished the non-credit course received a certificate of course completion.

The course is the result of an industry-led coalition, the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), that visited Georgia Tech in 2015. It consists of a variety of companies, many of which are native to the United States.

The delegation that visited the Institute identified cybersecurity as one of the high-priority challenges for the country.

“The economy is more tech-focused now, so they want to have the capacity to secure the cyber infrastructure they rely on,” Ahamad said.

With participation from the IISP and Georgia Tech Professional Education, Ahamad and Lee developed the weeklong course that was delivered in September.

There were 25 participants, employees from several companies including, but not limited to, Intel, Experian, IBM, and Emerson. Ahamad said that there is interest in additional delivery of this course and others that will target managers, decision-makers, and some at specific universities within the country.

“Our goal is to develop and deliver high-impact education and training programs in this field, which has become so important to people, enterprises and governments,” Ahamad said. “This is more about professional education. Working professionals need to keep up with the latest and greatest, and Georgia Tech is delivering that.”