Nechay A.A., Nichagina A.V.
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL MODEL OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE FORMATION IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATION SECURITY FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF RUSSIA ^{[№ 2 ' 2026]}
The rapid digital transformation of law enforcement agencies and the ever-increasing sophistication of cybercrime methods have created a significant gap between existing approaches to training and the actual requirements for information security competence in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In educational practice, there is a discrepancy between the strict requirements of regulatory documents and the insufficient practical focus of curricula. The specific nature of operational work involving handling confidential information requires the development of not only technical skills but also a strong culture of personal responsibility, which is not fully supported by the traditional departmental education system. The main result of the study was the development of a structural and functional model comprising four interconnected blocks: target, content, procedural, and evaluation and results. The content block is implemented through three modules: regulatory and legal, technical and technological, and operational and tactical, ensuring a comprehensive coverage of the necessary knowledge and skills. A pilot study involving 127 cadets confirmed the model's effectiveness: the group trained using the new methodology demonstrated a 42% improvement in identifying cybercrimes and a 37% improvement in enforcing information security regulations. Statistical analysis revealed a strong direct correlation (r = 0.82) between the use of active, practice-oriented methods and the achieved level of competence. The study concludes that the implementation of a comprehensive structural and functional model helps bridge the gap between theoretical training and the practical requirements for professional work of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs employees. The integration of regulatory, substantive, and assessment components into a unified system ensures the development of sustainable readiness to combat cybercrimes. The developed approach opens the possibility of modernizing curricula and creating uniform training standards, which ultimately contributes to strengthening the information security of the Russian Federation's law enforcement system as a whole.