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The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
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CSC8370 Network Security Management

Semester 2, 2021 Toowoomba On-campus
Short Description: Network Security Management
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences
School or Department : School of Sciences
Student contribution band : Band 2
ASCED code : 029901 - Security Science
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: CSC8520

Rationale

In today’s interconnected world, existing and emerging threats to privacy and security are of ever-growing concern. In addition to technical skills, security professionals need to be aware of the regulatory and ethical dimensions of security and privacy. Development of sound security policies and procedures to ensure compliance via security auditing are crucial in being confident that an organisation’s data and communications are secure. This advanced course forms an end-point in the formal investigation into security, and provides the skills for practitioners to continue to grow their expertise over a large range of present and future security technologies.

Synopsis

Building on basic knowledge of security concepts, this course introduces more advanced topics in IT security. Students will gain knowledge and hands-on experience with AAA (authentication, authorization and accounting), penetration testing and other concepts around security auditing and forensic analysis. A key task for security professionals, beyond the technical skills, is to take business requirements and craft appropriate policies, with reference to regulations and ethical conduct, and thus the course discusses ethics and legal issues in security and privacy and also presents methods of developing policy.

Objectives

On completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Confidently analyse business requirements and develop security and privacy policies;
  2. Adequately apply regulatory, cultural and ethical dimensions of security and privacy to the practice of network management;
  3. Utilise penetration testing and other tools to audit security and identify security vulnerabilities;
  4. Utilise AAA tools to implement access control to servers or applications;
  5. Analysis and manage server security issues and implement server hardening professionally;
  6. Relate roles in security to the ACS Code of Ethics;
  7. Professionally communicate with other areas of an IT or business organisation for security related issues via formal documentations;
  8. Identify and critically assess emerging trends in wireless networking.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Developing security policy 10.00
2. AAA and multifactor authentication 15.00
3. Privacy policies and data management 10.00
4. Security auditing 15.00
5. Penetration testing, intrusion detection and prevention 15.00
6. Cryptography 10.00
7. Server security and server hardening 10.00
8. Introduction to forensic analysis 5.00
9. Ethics and legal issues in security and privacy 5.00
10. Emerging trends and regulatory, cultural, and ethical dimensions in network security management 5.00

Text and Materials

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=02&subject1=CSC8370)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

There are no texts or materials required for this course.

Reference Materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Student Workload Expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 33.00
Private Study 80.00
Workshops 52.00

Assessment Details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Objectives Assessed Notes
Project Protocol 24 24 13 Aug 2021 1,2,5,7
Project Implementation 26 26 20 Sep 2021 3,4,5
Final Project Report 100 50 15 Oct 2021 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. This includes the recorded lectures and tutorials. To maximise their chances of satisfying the objectives of the course, students should actively participate in the course discussion group.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade students must obtain at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    Deferred and Supplementary examinations will be held in accordance with the Assessment Procedure .

  8. University Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment Notes

  1. The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must despatch the assignment to the USQ. Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment purposes. Such copies should be despatched to the USQ within 24 hours of receipt of a request to do so.

  2. Electronic submission of assignments is required for this course. All submissions must be made through the Assignment Drop Box located on the USQ study desk for this course, unless directed otherwise by the examiner of the course. Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be despatched to USQ within 24 hours if requested by the Examiner.

  3. Reliable access to the internet is a requirement of this course as the course contains electronic assessment and submission elements. In order to avoid internet issues, on-campus students should upload their assignments electronically using the same computer laboratories. Online students who knowingly do not have reliable access to the internet should actively seek alternative internet access (e.g., Internet cafes, local libraries, or work places) for assessment submission. Online students are able to use the on-campus student computer laboratories once access has been enabled. To be granted access, Online students need to contact ICT and ask to have a student account enabled so that they can work on-campus.

  4. Students are expected to open their university provided email account and check it regularly for personal communication. In accordance with the Electronic Communication with Students Policy and Procedure ( information sent to the student's USQ email account will be regarded as being received.

  5. APA style is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use the 6th or 7th edition of the APA Style Manual to format their assignments. The APA Style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide.

Evaluation and Benchmarking

In meeting the University’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:

  1. Conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
  2. Forms part of the Master of Information Technology and is benchmarked against the:
• internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review; and
• professional accreditation standards of the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

Date printed 8 November 2021