Unit Synopsis
This unit introduces you to the processes and controls for protecting organisations from cyber security threats. You will learn about management controls such as security governance and policy, risk management, and auditing, as well as processes involving employees and end users that contribute to the protection of an organisation's assets. With recent attacks as case studies, this unit will prepare you to select a range of non-technical measures to minimise future cyber security threats.
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 |
Pre-requisite: COIT11238 Network Infrastructure Foundations and COIT11223 Information Technology and Society 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 - 2026
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).
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 | 40% |
| 2. Portfolio | 40% |
| 3. Presentation | 20% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 0.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 0% 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: Student Evaluations
Some inconsistencies across the unit content, assessments, and their associated deadlines.
Review unit content, assessments and submission deadlines to ensure clarity and consistency.
Unit content, assessment instructions, and submission deadlines were reviewed systematically to enhance clarity and alignment. Assessment briefs were rewritten for consistency of language and expectations, key requirements were highlighted within Moodle, and deadline schedules were standardised across all tasks.
Source: In-Class student verbal feedback, T2,2025
Student-to-student engagement was limited.
In the Week 3 workshop, incorporate a group-based peer learning activity in which students analyse a cybersecurity risk scenario, present their findings, and receive structured peer feedback. This approach should support collaborative learning by exposing students to alternative perspectives.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Discuss the best practice principles, processes and standards in cyber security
- Compare the role of management, operational and technical controls in delivering cyber security
- Conduct an organisational cyber security risk analysis
- Prepare plans for auditing security controls and recovering from security attacks
- Explain techniques for managing people to ensure secure IT systems.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments and individuals in many countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile.
This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 7 (the SFIA code is included):
- Information Security (SCTY)
- Information Assurance (INAS)
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Portfolio | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Presentation | • | • | |||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| 2 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| 3 - Presentation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||