SOFTWARE SECURITY. AN INDISPENSABLE SUBJECT FOR A SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Computer Security is ever-increasingly important owing to the considerable growth in new information technologies, Web services, electronic commerce, etc. Organizations therefore question the security of their applications and infrastructures, along with the current security level of the information systems that manage their information. A need has thus arisen for them to rely on new professionals in this environment (network administrators, secure Web servers installers and supervisors, data protection, auditing, contingency, recovery, etc.).

Furthermore, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is now implanted in the vast majority of European Union Member States and their partners, and is a basic benchmark through which to achieve the transparency and harmonization of their teachings. In order to implant this system of credits in software engineering, an educational innovation project has been proposed which establishes the guidelines to follow for the adaptation of computer engineering subjects to the ECTS system. These subjects will be adapted to the methodologies and techniques in accordance with the ECTS system, and a detailed planning of educational activities and continuous assessment for each subject will be implemented.

This paper presents the adaptation and implementation of a specific software engineering subject, Security of Software Systems, which is part of the specific Technology of Software Engineering of the Teaching Project developed by identifying and adjusting the contents of this subject, first, to the guidelines defined in the ECTS system, and secondly, to the real needs that any software engineer may confront in the current business world.