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COURSE SYLLABUS: Computer and Information Security

Course Title:   CST431 – Computer and Information Security
Department:   Computer Science
Instructor:   Kurt Diesch, PhD - E-Mail (khdiesch@canyoncollege.edu) -- Vita
Phone:   309-582-5096, M-F 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (CST)

Course Description

CST431 addresses a variety of topics regarding computer and information security and prepares the student for Security+ certification. Exam topics along with tips and other practical guidelines will help on the path to successful completion of the exam.

Course Topics Required Texts  Online Bookstore

Security+, Mike Meyer’s Certification Passport, by Trevor Kay. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780072227413 ISBN: 0072227419

Module Objectives

General Security Concepts Communication Security Infrastructure Security Basics of Cryptology Operational Security Organizational Security Online Weekly Schedule: Remember that the online week begins on Thursday and ends on Wednesday of the following week (e.g. Day 1 – Thursday, Day 2 – Friday, Day 3 – Saturday, etc.) for a total of 7 days per week.

Course Changes: You will be notified by your Canyon College email if any changes are made to the course. These changes will take priority over those in this syllabus.

Attendance: Online course attendance will be monitored. Each student is required to respond to the weekly assignments. If a student fails to meet the attendance requirement two or more weeks, he or she will be automatically withdrawn and will not be eligible to receive credit or earn a letter grade.

Course Structure: This is an eight-week course with the first week used for preparation and setup and the eighth week for grading. Weeks 2 through 7 will be for your study and work in each of the six course modules. See the weekly schedule at the end of the syllabus for specific information on each week.

Length and Quality of Responses: Quality responses in the weekly questions are considered to be adequate to cover the topic and should include research where appropriate. Spelling and grammar will also be considered in the grading process.

Assignment Submission: Submit all assignments to my email. Make sure you are using up-to-date virus checking software. Be sure to state your name, course and the assignment, i.e., John Doe – CST 397 - Week 1, in your subject line. Use the same naming convention for your documents. All assignments must be done using MS Word and submitted as .DOC files.

Late Assignments: A weekly schedule is shown at the end of the syllabus. The schedule provides details on tasks, due dates, references, etc. Follow this schedule. If you get behind on the assignments, you will have difficulty completing the required work. Late submission will be accepted if completed before the scheduled end of the course, but not after the end of Week 7. A 20% late penalty will be deducted from late submissions. Only extreme situations will be considered valid excuses for late submission of work. Technical difficulties, work, or other situations will not be considered. Be sure to contact me in advance if there is a situation that will cause your assignments to be late so we can discuss the issue.

Academic Honesty: Academic honesty is highly valued at Canyon College just as at any College or University campus. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original works or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student’s original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources. The student should also make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communications when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. At the Online campus, all submissions to any public meeting or private mailbox fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author.

Academic dishonesty in an online learning environment could involve having a tutor or friend complete a portion of you assignments; having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment; copying work submitted by another student; or using information from online information services without proper citation. This is not intended as a complete list, but rather, an example of the types of situations that could be considered academic dishonesty.

Grading: Grading for this course will follow the grading scale shown below. The grading table shows the assignments and percentage of the grade applied to each category. The grade is based on a total score of 100.

Grading will go as follows:

ASSIGNMENT PERCENT POINTS
Weekly Questions 6 weeks of 10% = 60% 6 * 10 = 60 pts
Session Project 40% 40 pts


Grade Scale
100 - 95 A 94 - 90 A- 89 - 87 B+ 86 - 83 B 82 - 80 B- 79 - 77 C+
76 - 73 C 72 - 70 C- 69 - 67 D+ 66 - 63 D 62 - 60 D- 59 - 0 F


WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS


WEEK ONE
Task
Review syllabus and prepare for course


WEEK TWO
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read I     Course Text
Answer   Design an access control and authentication system for your workplace. Be sure to address the issues covered in this week’s reading. MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject line. Reading assignment and independent research


WEEK THREE
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read II     Course Text
Answer   Use the web to research remote access software and summarize your findings. MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject line. Reading assignment and independent research
Begin Project You need to begin to analyze the project requirements (see the project description following the syllabus). Submit questions regarding the project to me.


WEEK FOUR
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read III     Course Text
Answer   Prepare a paper addressing the infrastructure needs at your workplace using the information gained in this week’s reading. MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject line. Reading assignment and independent research
Continue Project You should have a good start on your research for the project.


WEEK FIVE
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read IV     Course Text
Answer   Select a key technology from this week’s reading and apply it to your MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject Reading assignment and independent research
Continue Project By now you should have your first draft completed.


WEEK SIX
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read V-11, V-12     Course Text
Answer   Prepare a recommendation for your manager on disaster recovery at your work. MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject line. Reading assignment and independent research
Continue Project The final draft of your paper should be ready now and final proofing done. Procrastinators should be putting in some serious work this week. Early birds should be ready to submit the paper.


WEEK SEVEN
Task Part Exercises Format Reference
Read V-13, V-14     Course Text
Answer   Prepare an announcement for your work detailing to employees the new computer usage monitoring system that will be implemented next month. MS Word doc, 2 page minimum, submitted to my email. Include proper subject line. Reading assignment and independent research
Project Due Ask any last-minute questions regarding the project. The project should be completed and ready for submission. Be sure to submit to my email with an appropriate subject line.


WEEK EIGHT
Task
No work on your part this week. Reserved for grading.


The Individual Project: The Individual Project will be to select one topic area from those covered in this course and prepare a report, investigating the topic and presenting your findings. The theory and practices in the course text will be used, along with independent research. The final deliverable will be report, 10 – 15 pages, double-spaced discussing the details of your research. Your paper should include the following: