COIT20263 - Information Security Management

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides you with a thorough understanding of the managerial aspects of information security in a business organisation. You will complement your existing knowledge of information and communication technologies by studying the organisational and management issues relevant to information security. You will learn about the importance of information security plans, security risk management and compliance monitoring, and develop and apply security policies and best practices. Through case studies, you will consider information security strategies that support business objectives while being aware of legal and ethical obligations. As a result, you will have the knowledge and skills to contribute to information security governance in accordance with standards set by governments, professional bodies and industry.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: COIT20261 Network Routing and Switching

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 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney

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 Postgraduate 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. In-class Test(s) 30%
2. Presentation 30%
3. Written Assessment 40%

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 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 85.71% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 48.28% 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: Self-reflection
Feedback
Students were struggling to identify topics when conducting risk management.
Recommendation
Introduce workshop exercises or supplementary materials that guide students in effectively identifying and prioritising key topics when conducting risk management, with practical examples and step-by-step strategies.
Action Taken
Workshops about risk management were introduced in Weeks 6 and 7. The guidance for conducting the related exercises has been enhanced to provide students with step-by-step strategies.
Source: Teaching Team and Discipline Lead
Feedback
Individual contributions are not evaluated in the group assessment.
Recommendation
Incorporate evaluation of group members' contributions and reflection into the group assessment.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
An oral assessment could be considered in the written report of the final assessment.
Recommendation
Introduce an oral assessment (viva) into the evaluation process of the written report (final assessment).
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Develop security policies and program for an organisations based on national and international standards and industry's best practice
  2. Apply appropriate security control mechanism to protect critical infrastructure
  3. Assess security risks and develop risk management strategies for an organisation
  4. Justify appropriate risk treatment options
  5. Integrate laws and ethics of information security management into the organisation's security framework.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the professional association for Australia's ICT sector, 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 SFIA8. The SFIA code is included:
  • Information Management (IRMG)
  • Information Security (SCTY)
  • Risk Management (BURM);
  • Continuity Management (COPL)
  • Methods and Tools (METL)

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework defines knowledge, skills and tasks needed to perform various cyber security roles. Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NICE Framework is used by organisations to plan their workforce, including recruit into cyber security positions.

This unit helps prepare you for roles such as Systems Security Analyst, Network Operations Specialist and Systems Administrator, contributing to the following knowledge and skills:

  • K0002 Knowledge of risk management processes (e.g., methods for assessing and mitigating risk).
  • K0003 Knowledge of laws, regulations, policies, and ethics as they relate to cybersecurity and privacy.
  • K0004 Knowledge of cybersecurity and privacy principles.
  • K0038 Knowledge of cybersecurity and privacy principles used to manage risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data.
  • K0040 Knowledge of vulnerability information dissemination sources (e.g., alerts, advisories, errata, and bulletins).
  • K0263 Knowledge of information technology (IT) risk management policies, requirements, and procedures.
  • K0267 Knowledge of laws, policies, procedures, or governance relevant to cybersecurity for critical infrastructures.
  • K0276 Knowledge of security management.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - In-class Test(s) • • • •
2 - Presentation • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • • • • •
2 - Communication • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • •
4 - Research • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8