Course Coordinator:Nayson Machin (nmachin@usc.edu.au) School:School of Science, Technology and Engineering
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Adelaide |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
In this online course you will be introduced to cybersecurity operations. You will develop the professional knowledge, qualities of thinking and digital collaboration skills needed to prepare you for future technical cyber security courses. You will explore the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and how cyber criminals target individuals and businesses, unlawfully seizing data and identities. You will also identify the dark markets where stolen data, identities and Intellectual Property are traded and how international law enforcement agencies operate to locate and prosecute cyber criminals.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Asynchronous Learning material | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Synchronous on campus workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Seminar – On campus seminar | 1hr | Week 1 | 2 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Asynchronous Learning material | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Synchronous Zoom workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Seminar – Online seminar | 1hr | Week 1 | 2 times |
600 Level (Specialised)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Describe basic network structures and technologies and how they can be exploited in an organisational context | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Examine the range of technical and human factors (threats and vulnerabilities) that impact networks and the governance and compliance requirements. | Empowered |
| 3 | Communicate cyber-security incidents or potential incidents using technical and non-technical language and recommend timely and effective mitigation actions to a broad range of stakeholders. | Engaged |
| 4 | Evaluate evolving technologies and the potential cybersecurity implications of their deployment and implementation. | Creative and critical thinker |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Enrolled in Program SC509 or SC517 or BU708 or SC705 or MC007 or MC008
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Using marking rubrics, students will participate in continuous peer and self-assessment during tutorials
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Individual | 20% | 1 hour |
Week 5 | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Case Study | Individual and Group | 40% | 2,000 words |
Week 9 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 2,000 words with references |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Key concepts quiz | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To evaluate understanding of critical thinking, analysis and report writing. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | The evaluation will be comprised of a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank and free text answers. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Cybersecurity Analysis Report | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | This task will enable the student to identify and articulate technical and human factors attack strategies and methodologies in written format given a scenario of how a notional company operates. |
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| Product: | Case Study | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Individual written report |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Defence project plan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Students will design a defensive strategy for a notional company and present their plan |
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| Product: | Written Piece | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Given a scenario describing the cybersecurity posture of a notional company, and building on the report they submitted in task 2, students will submit a written presentation to defend a protected network. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Recommended | Graeme Edwards | 2019 | Cybercrime Investigators Handbook | n/a | John Wiley & Sons |
| Recommended | Thomas J. Holt,Adam M. Bossler,Kathryn C. Seigfried-Spellar | 0 | Cybercrime and Digital Forensics | n/a | n/a |
| Recommended | William Stallings,Lawrie Brown | 2017 | Computer Security | Fourth | Pearson Higher Education |
This is an online course; therefore, access to a computer and the internet for 10-12 hours per week is essential. Students should have a laptop or other computing device (PC) with full administrative rights allowing for the installation of software, browsers, and the ability to navigate to various sites, install virtual machine and penetration testing software. Tablets and mobile devices are NOT suitable for studying this course.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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