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.
This online professional competency course introduces you to fundamental competencies and skills to effectively secure computer devices and networks.You will specifically develop and test your competency across device and network security vulnerabilities, behaviours and restrictions. You will also develop an understanding of ethical hacking and vulnerability/penetration testing. You will work online independently and in teams through problem based and case study activities and you will be able to diagnose and secure network devices.
| 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 | Explain device and network fundamental concepts. | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Diagnose data points and device/network behaviours that reveal vulnerabilities in the computer network. | Empowered |
| 3 | Evaluate the role of data access restrictions, white-listing, administrative privileges, and related controls from a multi-actor perspective in an organisational context. | Creative and critical thinker |
| 4 | Communicate research and findings in systematic ways to specialist and non-specialist audiences. | Engaged |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
SEC601 and Enrolled in Program SC509, SC517, SC705 or BU708
Not applicable
Not applicable
Students will be expected to have a working knowledge of computer systems and networks.
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Feedback will be given to students from activities conduced in the weekly 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 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 10% | 1 hour |
Week 4 | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 1000 words |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Report | Individual | 50% | 1500 words |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Security Artefact Development | ||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your understanding of foundational level knowledge of security, compliance, and identity concepts and related cloud-based solutions. |
|||||||||
| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | Individual 1 hour online exam. More details will be provided on Canvas. |
|||||||||
| Criteria: |
|
|||||||||
| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Connecting theory and practice | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to apply your understanding of the weekly learning material to industry-based situations and to practice configurations and professional report writing, both skills fundamental to the work of industry professionals. |
||||||||||||
| Product: | Written Piece | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | 3 Mini Tasks in 3 weeks (Week 3,5 and 7). Specific mini-task information will be released a minimum of one (1) week prior to each deadline. Mini tasks may include applying understandings of OS utilities, practical exercises and report writing in response to case studies. |
||||||||||||
| Criteria: |
|
||||||||||||
| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 3:Policy and Governance Report | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal for this task is to apply your understanding of governance to review a fictional company's Information Technology policy and make recommendations to ensure that it represents industry best practice. |
||||||||||||||||||
| Product: | Report | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will compile your recommendations in a written report and provide justification using relevant governance documentation. Your recommendations should be formatted as a written report and saved as a Word document. More details will be provided on Canvas. |
||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria: |
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
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 | Charles Pfleeger, Shari Pfleeger, Lizzie Coles-Kemp | 2023 | Security in Computing | 6th Ed | Pearson College Division |
Access to a computer and the internet for activities during the week.
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.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: