This unit introduces students to the principles and practices of defensive cybersecurity, which aims to protect networks and systems from cyberattacks. Students will learn how to identify and analyse threats and vulnerabilities, how to design and implement mitigation strategies and countermeasures, and evaluate and compare their effectiveness in different application contexts. Students will also gain hands-on experience with various tools and techniques for anomaly detection, intrusion prevention, forensic analysis, and system hardening.
The unit will cover areas as defined in the Cyber Security Book of Knowledge (CyBoK) as recommended by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). These areas include: (1) Attacks and Defences; (2) Systems Security; (3) Software and Platform Security; and (4) Infrastructure Security.
{% hint style="danger" %} This unit provides cybersecurity knowledge and techniques for your learning purposes only. It is ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL to apply the learned knowledge to others without proper consent/permission, and even then, you must check and comply with any regulatory restrictions and laws. The authors do not take any responsibility for your misbehaviour using the information provided here. {% endhint %}
Students are able to (1) identify and analyse vulnerabilities and potential security threats to information systems and networks in various domains and scenarios; (2) evaluate and compare defensive cybersecurity tools, techniques and methodologies to design and implement mitigation strategies and countermeasures for different types of cyberattacks; (3) analyse and apply different defensive cybersecurity frameworks and standards to various contexts and situations; and (4) assess the effectiveness and efficiency of defensive cybersecurity solutions and practices using appropriate metrics and method.
There are 3 lab quizzes that are worth a total of 60% of unit marks. There will be a group project worth 40% of unit marks. There is NO final exam in this unit. Please note that assessment items and schedules may change, and the best effort will be taken to inform you of such change - but as a student, you are expected to also regularly check for any new updates here.
Although the prerequisite for this unit is only CITS1401 and CITS1003 (Intro to programming and cybersecurity), you are advised to study more in depth about Linux systems and computer networks. But don't panic, we will cover the necessary background knowledge in the first lab to get started.
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