Course content
There are eight required modules, each worth 15 credits and a 60 credit project.
Security Architectures and Network Defence
You will learn about the domain and the core fundamental concepts of cyber security, such as the underlying security infrastructure and protocols needed to set a system for making secure transactions. The syllabus also covers malware and attacks, the threat ecosystem, phishing, pharming and data theft, the AAA of security, firewalls and defence, and intrusion detection systems.
Cyber Intelligence and Operations
This module gives students a framework to reason about cyber security in order both to anticipate incidents, and to deal with their occurrence. It will provide you with the ability to evaluate the situational awareness of an organisation to the key indicators of its cyber well-being. Through the module, you will be able to constructively contribute to the development of a cyber-security incident response plan.
Cyber-Physical Systems
Much attention relating to cyber security is focused on the digital aspects of cyber systems; all data tends to be represented as pure, abstract, ones and zeros. In reality, all these abstract ones and zeros need a physical representation in order to have an effect. The overall aim of this module is to enable the cyber security specialist to have a meaningful conversation with practising engineers concerning the security of cyber-physical systems.
Enterprise Cyber Security
This module is effectively a capstone module for MSc Cyber Security Engineering, drawing together many aspects of the course. It has been developed in collaboration with a commercial partner of international standing to address key strategic cyber security issues from the perspective of an organisation's Chief Information Security Officer.
Information Risk Management and Governance
Business continuity and resilience in the face of a cyberattack is crucial. You will learn how to establish and maintain an information risk management framework in order to guarantee that security and assurance strategies are aligned with business objectives and are consistent with legal and regulatory obligations.
Cryptosystems and Data Protection
To understand data-centric protection, data-leakage threats and vulnerabilities, and key prevention and detection technologies, you will be shown the technology and concepts behind data protection. This module focuses on the use of encryption technology to provide authorisation and access control systems, and in particular the numerous cryptosystems and protocols that allow us to keep communications private.
Industrial Espionage and Counterfeiting
You will be examining the motivations for industrial espionage and the various methods of attack on the physical security of an organisation, its electronic infrastructures and its staff and suppliers. Learning to analyse and mitigate potential attacks through industrial espionage, and understanding counterfeiting attacks, during this module you will design countermeasures and will carry out risk management processes in both industrial espionage and counterfeiting.
Digital Forensics
Cyber-crime affects all walks of life and transcends personal, social and business domains. This module investigate the core techniques currently used for the purpose of data retrieval, evidence preparation, crime scene management and intelligence extraction. You will get an overview of international digital forensic investigation infrastructures and put legal procedures into context.