RATIONALE

Our society is wholly dependent on computing and communications technology and it has never been more at risk from hackers and cyber criminals of every kind. This module provides an understanding of why cyber security matters to business, to society and to individuals, coupled with knowledge of basic concepts, attack techniques, attacker types, ethical and legal obligations, and the core elements of cyber assurance. Its purpose is to provide students with the necessary framework of understanding so that students can undertake and integrate the content of more specialist cyber security topics as their studies advance.

AIMS

The aims of the module are:

• To introduce the concepts and vocabulary of cyber-security
• To create an awareness of the cyber-security arena and the concept of critical systems
• To explore the attack vectors employed by various types of attackers in an attempt to compromise the security of a target system, and the principal means of defense and assurance
• To demonstrate the above by investigating a simple cyber-physical system, its means of compromise and considering the consequences

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:

1. Express themselves competently in the vocabulary of cyber-security
2. Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the systems, vulnerabilities, threats and weaknesses that constitute the cyber-security arena
3. Recognise the main threat agents active in the cyber-security domain
4. Apply the basic concepts of cyber-security defence to a given scenario through a basic threat assessment and the creation of a basic assurance strategy