IFQ722 Cyber Security Fundamentals
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | IFQ722 |
|---|---|
| Equivalent(s): | IFN722, IFZ722 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,118 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,528 |
Unit Outline: Session 1 2024, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | IFQ722 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | IFN722, IFZ722 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | There is no assumed knowledge for this unit. |
Overview
Cyber Security breaches - from database hacking to malware campaigns - are increasing. Globally connected computer systems mean that individual actions can have a wide impact.
This unit helps you understand the challenge of protecting information assets, introducing fundamental concepts in Cyber Security and Resilience. You will learn about the security goals of confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation and learn to identify threats to information and vulnerabilities that could be exploited. We will consider technical and non-technical measures to provide security - including access control, cryptography, and network communications - and we will review security management standards and guidelines to enable cyber resilience within an organisation.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of Cyber Security concepts as they apply to individuals and organisations (SALO1 and CLO1)
- Define major Cyber Security goals and identify those which relate to the strategic goals of an organisation. (SALO1 and CLO1)
- Analyse real-world Cyber Securty incidents and determine their ethical and information security implications. (SALO2 and CLO2)
- Develop Cyber Resilience strategies to address the information security implications of Cyber Security incidents (SALO3 and CLO3, SALO4 and CLO4)
- Recommend and justify Cyber Resilience strategies (SALO6 and CLO6)
Content
This unit introduces fundamental concepts in cyber security (the protection of information assets) and helps you understand and apply security principles to provide sustainable cyber security and resilience within an organisation. Information security goals including confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation are defined. Risk factors impacting on the security of information assets are identified and discussed. Methods of protecting information are outlined, including both technical and human-centered approaches, in areas such as access control, cryptography (symmetric and asymmetric) and network security. Security management standards are introduced. Discussions of information security issues emphasize the high standard of ethical conduct expected of those working in areas which affect information security.
Learning Approaches
This unit is designed for asynchronous online study, with activities including numerous short videos, podcasts and exercises carefully chosen to reinforce key skills and concepts. Students will have the opportunity to participate in online discussions with peers and teaching staff.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive automated feedback on some exercises and assessments, and written feedback on assignment task submissions. You may seek additional feedback from the teaching staff in the unit.
Assessment
Overview
The summative assessment items in this unit will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts in Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience (the problem solving task), and to analyse security incidents and report on their impact in a professional manner (the written report).
Unit Grading Scheme
S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Problem Solving Task
This is an individual assessment task. This task will test your understanding of the learning material associated with the concepts covered in the first part of the unit, and your ability to apply these to a case study. This will be assessed through answering carefully structured online short answer questions related to the enterprise context presented in the provided case study.
Assessment: Cyber Security Report
This task requires that you analyse a number of Cyber Security Incidents and make recommendations to a client organisation in a professional report. You will be guided on the report structure and style.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
No textbook is necessary. There are many useful online sources of material on cyber security and cyber resilience. However, if you want a hardcopy reference book, consider purchasing either (not both) of the texts suggested below the ASIC link.
Resource Materials
Reference book(s)
Cybersecurity Essentials, 1st Edition
By: Charles J. Brooks; Christopher Grow; Philip Craig
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Place: US
Year:2018
Principles of Information Security, 6th edition, Michael Whitman and Herbert Mattord.
Publisher: Cengage Learning
Place: US
Year:2017
Other
https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/digital-transformation/cyber-resilience/
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/caf/
Risk Assessment Statement
No out of the ordinary risks are associated with this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.IQ70 Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Practice (Study Area A)
- Demonstrate advanced, role-specific Information Technology (IT) discipline knowledge
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Problem Solving Task - Identify and employ appropriate industry relevant methods and approaches to address IT problems
Relates to: ULO3, Cyber Security Report - Apply design, problem solving and critical thinking skills to develop appropriate IT solutions
Relates to: ULO4, Cyber Security Report - Solve complex IT problems in both self-directed and collaborative contexts
Relates to: ULO4, Cyber Security Report - Demonstrate professional and career-oriented aptitude in the field of Information Technology
Relates to: ULO5, Cyber Security Report
Unit Outline: Session 3 2024, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | IFQ722 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | IFN722, IFZ722 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | There is no assumed knowledge for this unit. |
Overview
Cyber Security breaches - from database hacking to malware campaigns - are increasing. Globally connected computer systems mean that individual actions can have a wide impact.
This unit helps you understand the challenge of protecting information assets, introducing fundamental concepts in Cyber Security and Resilience. You will learn about the security goals of confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation and learn to identify threats to information and vulnerabilities that could be exploited. We will consider technical and non-technical measures to provide security - including access control, cryptography, and network communications - and we will review security management standards and guidelines to enable cyber resilience within an organisation.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of Cyber Security concepts as they apply to individuals and organisations (SALO1 and CLO1)
- Define major Cyber Security goals and identify those which relate to the strategic goals of an organisation. (SALO1 and CLO1)
- Analyse real-world Cyber Securty incidents and determine their ethical and information security implications. (SALO2 and CLO2)
- Develop Cyber Resilience strategies to address the information security implications of Cyber Security incidents (SALO3 and CLO3, SALO4 and CLO4)
- Recommend and justify Cyber Resilience strategies (SALO6 and CLO6)
Content
This unit introduces fundamental concepts in cyber security (the protection of information assets) and helps you understand and apply security principles to provide sustainable cyber security and resilience within an organisation. Information security goals including confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation are defined. Risk factors impacting on the security of information assets are identified and discussed. Methods of protecting information are outlined, including both technical and human-centered approaches, in areas such as access control, cryptography (symmetric and asymmetric) and network security. Security management standards are introduced. Discussions of information security issues emphasize the high standard of ethical conduct expected of those working in areas which affect information security.
Learning Approaches
This unit is designed for asynchronous online study, with activities including numerous short videos, podcasts and exercises carefully chosen to reinforce key skills and concepts. Students will have the opportunity to participate in online discussions with peers and teaching staff.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive automated feedback on some exercises and assessments, and written feedback on assignment task submissions. You may seek additional feedback from the teaching staff in the unit.
Assessment
Overview
The summative assessment items in this unit will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts in Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience (the problem solving task), and to analyse security incidents and report on their impact in a professional manner (the written report).
The grading schema used in QUT Bootcamps is satisfactory/unsatisfactory. All assessment is not weighted and as such becomes threshold. This approach has been taken to differentiate your assessment experience from more traditional methods and acknowledge the skills-based approach to your learning, as well as the steep learning trajectory that you will take in this course.
Unit Grading Scheme
S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Problem Solving Task
This is an individual assessment task. This task will test your understanding of the learning material associated with the concepts covered in the first part of the unit, and your ability to apply these to a case study. This will be assessed through answering carefully structured online short answer questions related to the enterprise context presented in the provided case study.
Threshold Assessment:
The grading schema used in QUT bootcamps is satisfactory/unsatisfactory. Students are provided with the opportunity to re-submit Assessment 1 if they receive an unsatisfactory grade as explained in the special conditions of assessment in each unit learning site.
Assessment: Cyber Security Report
This task requires that you analyse a number of Cyber Security Incidents and make recommendations to a client organisation in a professional report. You will be guided on the report structure and style.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Threshold Assessment:
The grading schema used in QUT Bootcamps is satisfactory/unsatisfactory. All assessment is not weighted and as such becomes threshold.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
No textbook is necessary. There are many useful online sources of material on cyber security and cyber resilience. However, if you want a hardcopy reference book, consider purchasing either (not both) of the texts suggested below the ASIC link.
Resource Materials
Reference book(s)
Cybersecurity Essentials, 1st Edition
By: Charles J. Brooks; Christopher Grow; Philip Craig
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Place: US
Year:2018
Principles of Information Security, 6th edition, Michael Whitman and Herbert Mattord.
Publisher: Cengage Learning
Place: US
Year:2017
Other
https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/digital-transformation/cyber-resilience/
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/caf/
Risk Assessment Statement
No out of the ordinary risks are associated with this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.IQ70 Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Practice (Study Area A)
- Demonstrate advanced, role-specific Information Technology (IT) discipline knowledge
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Problem Solving Task - Identify and employ appropriate industry relevant methods and approaches to address IT problems
Relates to: ULO3, Cyber Security Report - Apply design, problem solving and critical thinking skills to develop appropriate IT solutions
Relates to: ULO4, Cyber Security Report - Solve complex IT problems in both self-directed and collaborative contexts
Relates to: ULO4, Cyber Security Report - Demonstrate professional and career-oriented aptitude in the field of Information Technology
Relates to: ULO5, Cyber Security Report