Bachelor of Science (Cyber Security)

This unit will introduce students to the skills required of professional scientists, with a special focus on effective communication. These professional skills include techniques of accessing, evaluating and presenting scientific information. Written, visual and oral presentation skills for scientific and general audiences will be developed through the analysis of topical scientific issues. This unit will prepare students to develop careers in the science discipline of choice.

This unit introduces students to the principles of programming, including data manipulation, control structures, and abstraction. The unit focuses upon developing the ability to design and implement programs to solve problems.

This unit presents fundamental topics in mathematics that are essential to computing studies including propositional and predicate calculus, Boolean algebra, set theory, computer arithmetic and number systems in computing. It also provides an introduction to matrix algebra with applications to computing and cryptography.

Understanding of the components of systems analysis: definition of a system, the role of and context of systems analysis, interfacing with the user; the life cycle of a management information system from the feasibility study through to the post-implementation audit. Applying skills by fact gathering, interviewing, presenting, group working, documenting an existing system; analysis techniques involving use cases, state diagrams, data modelling, data from diagrams, data dictionaries, decision tables, web page, screen and report design.

This unit introduces students to current and proposed telecommunications and networking infrastructures and their application in business and communications services. With a primary focus on the Internet and World Wide Web, students examine in detail the principles, processes and technologies associated with data communications and computer networking, applications of the major carriage media, communications standards and emerging broadcast and narrowcast technologies based on communications channels.

The unit is an introduction to computer security which serves as a preliminary unit to prepare students for various advanced studies within their respective courses. The unit focuses on understanding the potential threats and vulnerabilities geared towards a variety of computer-related assets and examines a wide range of countermeasures to overcome weaknesses and minimise threats..

This unit introduces the fundamental architecture and operating principles of digital computer system. Students will learn how modern computers are organised and operated, and how they can be programmed at an assembly (machine) language level, as well as using higher level languages, and the role of operating systems in this. Students will also learn fundamental concepts related to the interfacing of peripheral components to computer systems, including memory and secondary storage, and explore different types of computer systems including an overview of virtualisation and cloud technologies.

This unit introduces students to the concepts of relational databases, including database design via normalisation and entity-relationship modelling in order to solve problems. It explores the use of Structured Query Language (SQL) to create, populate and administer relational databases and to perform complex queries upon the data inside them.

This unit covers various aspects of Information Security Management, the practice of safeguarding an organisation’s information assets, data, and technological infrastructure from unauthorized access and cyber threats. The unit delves into information security governance, policies, and protocols to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical information. Information security managers play a pivotal role in assessing risks, implementing safeguards, managing resources, and staying abreast of the threat landscape. In addition, security management fosters a culture of security awareness and compliance. This unit explores the many aspects of protecting information from a management perspective.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT) are two areas crucial to cyber security in industrial environments. This unit introduces students to industrial cyber security frameworks and laws, and within that context, identifies threats within IoT and OT domains, and presents security countermeasures in various contexts.

Cryptography is a field of science that explores the means by which data can be securely transmitted through insecure mediums. A fundamental understanding of cryptographic concepts is an essential part of any cyber security specialist’s arsenal of knowledge. This unit is a primer on cryptographic concepts as they are applicable to the cyber security specialist. The core cryptographic primitives will be explored in terms of function, implementation and implications of their use within the security landscape. Extending from the basic understanding of primitives the unit delves into relevant ciphers both historical and current, for a deeper understanding of the failures and successes of cryptographic theory and implementation.

This unit is for those who wish to extend their skill set into the area of scripting technologies. Using widely deployed industry standard scripting languages, the unit will focus on creating scripts to automate tasks, interface with external services and extend the capabilities of pre-existing software.

This unit develops students’ expertise in: the project development life cycle; project management techniques including planning, risk and configuration management; quality assurance; verification and validation; and requirements definition and design specification. The unit studies management issues involved in computing together with technical issues related to measurement and assessment of processes. The unit develops skills in both traditional Waterfall processes as well as Agile processes. Future developments together with social issues relating to ethics, professionalism and the law are also considered.

Modern forensic computing involves the preservation, identification, and analysis of digital evidence stored on various devices and media. Digital evidence is often not examinable by conventional access methods, so specialised software tools, techniques, and processes must be employed to preserve and recover it. This unit introduces students to the tools, techniques, and methods needed to recover digital evidence from a variety of devices.

Malware analysis is the art and science of determining the functionality and means of operation of malicious software (malware). This process helps identify malware’s operation and origins and how to defend against or remove it. This unit explores the core tools and techniques cyber security specialists use when encountering potentially malicious or otherwise interesting software in the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape. Successful students will learn the skills required to discover software’s true purpose without source code or other documentation, keeping them up-to-date and engaged. Students will be familiarised with various tools and techniques to analyse malware and develop countermeasures. The state-of-the-art malware and corresponding research will also be explored, ensuring their knowledge is relevant and current. These skills are essential for any incident responder dealing with cyber incidents and intrusion.

This unit covers fundamental aspects of networks and security, using design solutions optimised to different networks and the evaluation of security measures. Students will be given an overview of what network security is and how it can be implemented using a practical and theoretical approach.

This unit will enable students to relate security frameworks to an enterprise context with a focus on governance. It will also adopt approaches to address contemporary cyber security issues within an enterprise environment.

The increasing sophistication and prevalence of cyber security incidents require organisations to strengthen their capabilities for timely detection and effective response. This unit equips students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to identify, analyse, and respond to a range of cyber security incidents. Through hands-on learning, students will develop industry-relevant competencies that prepare them for roles in security operations and incident response.

This unit is an introduction to ethical hacking with a particular focus on internet enabled services and technologies. Students will develop an understanding of modern techniques that can be employed to evaluate the security of implemented network configurations. Based on this understanding students will develop the skills to defend against network based threats. Ethical hacking is an emerging field which favours the practical application of skills to penetrate secure systems in order to demonstrate vulnerability so that steps can be taken to mitigate risk..

This unit introduces students to the principles and practices of machine learning to uncover patterns and trends in complex data sets, and to visualise these patterns in meaningful ways. Machine learning is a process by which computer models are not explicitly programmed but “learn from data”. Students will use existing data to develop models used to predict various outcomes for new data.

In this unit, students will work in groups, under academic supervision, to propose and deliver a substantial project representative of industry norms for quality and outcomes. As a capstone learning experience, students must undertake a project directly aligned to their course learning outcomes, with a focus on discipline knowledge, communication and collaboration.

• Select from units available at ECU Sri Lanka

• Select from units available at ECU Sri Lanka