Cybersecurity is a very mature area in higher education. However, it is a newcomer in most business schools, which have focused more energy on management of people than management of networks, data, systems and privacy. When examining cybersecurity from a business context, a host of issues that aren’t always considered in computer science curricula suddenly come into play, including differences in how countries set privacy laws and the financial implications of breaches.

Curriculum report

Because this is a nascent area in business curricula, the task force is looking at larger issues in management education and cybersecurity teaching to better chart a course for what this area might look like in the digital era. The idea of ethics, social welfare computing and the downside of technology — such as surveillance capitalism and privacy mining — will figure prominently as regulators begin to take a harder look at technology’s role in driving business growth. Are the world’s most profitable business models immoral? How can innovation be managed without stifling it? These are the kinds of questions Big Tech executives already are considering. In an age of digital transformation, companies of every industry will have to have answers for these challenges.

This task force is currently surveying industry leaders for an assessment of future needs in the cybersecurity area. It will then produce recommendations for the MaCuDE steering committee.

Task force leader: Eric K. Clemons

Dr. Clemons is professor of operations, information and decisions at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A pioneer in the systematic study of the transformational impacts of information on the strategy and practice of business, his research and teaching interests include strategic uses of information systems, information economics and the changes enabled by information technology. A prolific scholar and researcher, Dr. Clemons’ insights have been published in Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Management Information Systems and Management Science, among many others.