STUDY

This module will provide you with the fundamental knowledge and understanding of computer science and cyber security that are required to purse the technology conversion course on offer at postgraduate level. For computer science the essentials of operating system and relevant computing-related mathematics are covered that will provide the groundwork for subsequent coverage of the terminology and concepts specific to cyber security.   

Cyber security is now an executive-level concern in most organisations. Cyber security specialist will be required to deliver  strategic value to their organisations by ensuring security is intrinsic to system architectures by design and by default, by applying appropriate standards in risk analysis, systems modelling and policy design, and scanning the horizon of emergent threat landscapes to discern new issues.

All of this must be done within the context of legal and regulatory frameworks, typically making use of governance and policy standards, controls and models. Professional cyber security engineers need to be able to translate technical issues and concepts into business notions that senior leaders can understand, and vice-versa  

Human beings may be central or peripheral to the idea of a system yet be the weakest link in their security. Moreover, human beings tend to behave irrationally in certain circumstances which, if influenced skilfully, present rich opportunities for an attacker. Another cornerstone of any attack is the gathering of information, or intelligence, that will assist a malicious actor in obtaining a foothold in a target organization, and much of this information can be obtained publicly. Whilst these ideas can be used for malicious purposes, they can also be used to develop defences, through the activity of penetration testing, and these skills and techniques are essential for any cyber security professional.

This module introduces, in the context of cyber security, human behaviour, how social engineering and open-source intelligence (OSINT) may be used in both attack and defence of systems and individuals, and introduces through practical work the essential concepts, tools and techniques commonly used to carry out penetration testing.

This module introduces the fundamentals of several technical but significant topics in cyber security:

• networking, which covers basic and advanced security concepts related to wired and wireless networks;
• forensics, which makes use of earlier work on operating systems to develop forensics concepts such as incident response, event timelines, investigation, and gathering and preserving evidence; and
• malware, which again makes use of computer fundamentals to analyse malicious software both statically and dynamically (whilst running it in a safe environment).

Ethical and professional issues related to digital forensics will also be covered. The OSI stack is used as a vehicle to explore protocol security issues at different OSI layers. Further, the module presents common network defence techniques and tools used to counter different security threats and explores some of the latest network security challenges posed by recent technology developments.

The Master Project is the culmination of our taught MSc degrees. The project and it's associated dissertation are intended to be demanding, to test your skills to the upmost and to give you the opportunity to prove you are of Masters standard. The Masters Projects provides the opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from all the earlier modules completed on the course. It will enable and require you to utilize practical, intellectual and decisions-making skills in novel situations.

The project will provide a mechanism for you to develop and demonstrate your autonomy and self-direction, whilst undertaking a problem-solving approach to you chosen topic.  The dissertation will provide the means by which you can demonstrate your ability to communicate coherently and concisely the development and outcomes of your technical work, research and analysis.  

This module will provide you with the fundamental knowledge and understanding of computer science and cyber security that are required to purse the technology conversion course on offer at postgraduate level. For computer science the essentials of operating system and relevant computing-related mathematics are covered that will provide the groundwork for subsequent coverage of the terminology and concepts specific to cyber security.   

Cyber security is now an executive-level concern in most organisations. Cyber security specialist will be required to deliver  strategic value to their organisations by ensuring security is intrinsic to system architectures by design and by default, by applying appropriate standards in risk analysis, systems modelling and policy design, and scanning the horizon of emergent threat landscapes to discern new issues.

All of this must be done within the context of legal and regulatory frameworks, typically making use of governance and policy standards, controls and models. Professional cyber security engineers need to be able to translate technical issues and concepts into business notions that senior leaders can understand, and vice-versa  

Human beings may be central or peripheral to the idea of a system yet be the weakest link in their security. Moreover, human beings tend to behave irrationally in certain circumstances which, if influenced skilfully, present rich opportunities for an attacker. Another cornerstone of any attack is the gathering of information, or intelligence, that will assist a malicious actor in obtaining a foothold in a target organization, and much of this information can be obtained publicly. Whilst these ideas can be used for malicious purposes, they can also be used to develop defences, through the activity of penetration testing, and these skills and techniques are essential for any cyber security professional.

This module introduces, in the context of cyber security, human behaviour, how social engineering and open-source intelligence (OSINT) may be used in both attack and defence of systems and individuals, and introduces through practical work the essential concepts, tools and techniques commonly used to carry out penetration testing.

This module introduces the fundamentals of several technical but significant topics in cyber security:

• networking, which covers basic and advanced security concepts related to wired and wireless networks;
• forensics, which makes use of earlier work on operating systems to develop forensics concepts such as incident response, event timelines, investigation, and gathering and preserving evidence; and
• malware, which again makes use of computer fundamentals to analyse malicious software both statically and dynamically (whilst running it in a safe environment).

Ethical and professional issues related to digital forensics will also be covered. The OSI stack is used as a vehicle to explore protocol security issues at different OSI layers. Further, the module presents common network defence techniques and tools used to counter different security threats and explores some of the latest network security challenges posed by recent technology developments.

The Master Project is the culmination of our taught MSc degrees. The project and it's associated dissertation are intended to be demanding, to test your skills to the upmost and to give you the opportunity to prove you are of Masters standard. The Masters Projects provides the opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from all the earlier modules completed on the course. It will enable and require you to utilize practical, intellectual and decisions-making skills in novel situations.

The project will provide a mechanism for you to develop and demonstrate your autonomy and self-direction, whilst undertaking a problem-solving approach to you chosen topic.  The dissertation will provide the means by which you can demonstrate your ability to communicate coherently and concisely the development and outcomes of your technical work, research and analysis.