University students are to be taught the art of computer hacking, it has been announced.

The MSc ethical hacking and computer security course will give postgraduate students “detailed knowledge of electronic attacks”.

The University of Abertay, in Dundee, says its course will teach participants to identify vulnerabilities in computer systems and come up with methods to protect them. It is the first course of its type in the UK.

By becoming “ethical hackers”, the course’s graduates are in a position to work for computer companies and other large firms to protect networks.

It is predicted graduates could be earning up to £60,000 annually within a couple of years of completing the course.

Professor Lachlan MacKinnon, head of the school of computing and creative technologies, said years of “complacency and ignorance” in the industry meant there was a lack of security experts. He said: “There’s an enormous shortage of people with relevant skills to work on the security side of this industry.

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