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COIT12202 - Network Security Concepts

General Information

Unit Synopsis

As the Internet becomes more pervasive, so do the threats to the security of our computer systems and communications. This course provides students with grounding in security technology. Topics include network security fundamentals, access control and authentication, firewalls, wireless network security, intrusion detection systems and cryptographic techniques and their applications. The course provides the knowledge requirements to sit the CompTIA Security and industry standard certification exam should students choose to once they have gained the required industry experience.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites Prerequisite: COIT13147

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2010

Term 2 - 2017 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Distance
Melbourne
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2018 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Distance
Melbourne
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2019 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2020 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2021 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 25%
2. Written Assessment 25%
3. Examination 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 78.26% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 35.38% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Teaching staff and discipline team feedback
Feedback
Advanced security practices or exercises can be included as emerging topics in this unit, such as wireless, IoT applications, and cloud cybersecurity.
Recommendation
Update the teaching materials with advanced cybersecurity practices and exercises, such as wireless, IoT applications, and cloud cybersecurity.
Action Taken
The teaching materials have been updated to include new content and activities on cloud (Week 8), wireless (Week 10), and IoT (Week 11) cybersecurity.
Source: Students and teaching team feedback
Feedback
Python/(Power)Shell scripting can be introduced for cybersecurity practices/exercises.
Recommendation
Design some practices or lab exercises based on the Python/(Power)Shell scripting to enhance students' understanding of how to use the scripting technologies to perform cybersecurity practices.
Action Taken
Redesigned tutorial activities from Weeks 2 to 6, enabling students to practice Python and PowerShell scripting for cybersecurity tests. Questions 2 and 5 in Written Assignment 2 were devised to assess students' proficiency in Python and PowerShell scripting.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
The students felt restricted by the word count when addressing the final assessment adequately and suggested either increasing it or removing the limit.
Recommendation
Increase the word count limit from 2500 to 3000 words for the final assessment.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: External Reviewer
Feedback
The teaching materials lack state-of-the-art cloud computing security practices.
Recommendation
Incorporate firewall configuration on the Azure cloud platform into the tutorial activities.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Discuss general security concepts and define basic terminology
  2. Explain the role of network security technologies such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems and authentication
  3. Assess wireless security infrastructure and recognise threats and weaknesses
  4. Explain cryptographic mechanisms used to provide security
  5. Describe methods and technologies used to achieve operational and organisational security
  6. Apply the knowledge gained in the course in practical exercises using common hardware and software

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Examination
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Examination