Students

ACCG3060 – Cyber Security Governance and Ethics

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Ali Amrollahi
ACCG3060@mq.edu.au
Unit Moderator
Mauricio Marrone
ACCG3060@mq.edu.au
Cissy Zhan
cissy.zhan@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ACCG250 or ACCG2050 or PICT201 or PICT2001
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Every person in an organisation is responsible for safe guarding customer data in this era of increasing cyber threats. This unit is designed for students to gain an understanding of the regulatory environment, governance (including cyber governance) and ethical issues relating to cyber security. The objective of the unit is for students to understand the governance and ethical issues in the constantly evolving cyber security environment created by new digital technologies.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explain the governance principles and ethical frameworks relevant to cyber security in a business context.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate well-reasoned judgement when critically analysing cyber security governance and ethical challenges.
  • ULO3: Evaluate how trade-offs between cyber security, cost/resources and business opportunities/competitive advantage intersect with risk tolerance, good corporate governance, and business ethics.
  • ULO4: Apply governance principles and ethical frameworks to develop solutions to a variety of governance and ethical challenges relating to cyber security in a range of business contexts.

General Assessment Information

Late Submission(s): Late assessment must also be submitted through Turnitin. No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission incurs a 20% penalty). Late submissions will not be accepted after solutions have been discussed and/or made available.   This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. Note: applications for Special Consideration Policy must be made within 5 (five) business days of the due date and time.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Critical assessment of new technologies 40% No 23:59 Friday of Week 13
Debate 10% No 23:59 Friday of Week 8
Report 40% No 23:59 Friday of Week 6
Class Participation 10% No Each week

Critical assessment of new technologies

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 23:59 Friday of Week 13
Weighting: 40%

Students will apply governance and ethical frameworks to critically assess a proposal to introduce disruptive technologies into a business. The report should cover both information security and ethical aspects of the new technology
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the governance principles and ethical frameworks relevant to cyber security in a business context.
  • Evaluate how trade-offs between cyber security, cost/resources and business opportunities/competitive advantage intersect with risk tolerance, good corporate governance, and business ethics.
  • Apply governance principles and ethical frameworks to develop solutions to a variety of governance and ethical challenges relating to cyber security in a range of business contexts.

Debate

Assessment Type 1: Debate
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 23:59 Friday of Week 8
Weighting: 10%

Students will debate a current cyber security business problem / challenge. Students will prepare a 6-10 minute video of their ethical, financial and legal arguments for- or against- the matter and upload their video to iLearn. Each student will then be randomly allocated to another (opposing) student’s video and have 24-hours to prepare a 3-5 minute rebuttal video which they will also upload to iLearn.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate well-reasoned judgement when critically analysing cyber security governance and ethical challenges.
  • Evaluate how trade-offs between cyber security, cost/resources and business opportunities/competitive advantage intersect with risk tolerance, good corporate governance, and business ethics.
  • Apply governance principles and ethical frameworks to develop solutions to a variety of governance and ethical challenges relating to cyber security in a range of business contexts.

Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 23:59 Friday of Week 6
Weighting: 40%

Students will write a report to the Senior Executive team on how contextual elements of a business, including human resources and organisational culture can contribute to an information security program. Students will be given a collection of internal corporate documents which they will have to analyse to determine the long-term security objectives. The students will prepare a written report which they upload to iLearn.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the governance principles and ethical frameworks relevant to cyber security in a business context.
  • Demonstrate well-reasoned judgement when critically analysing cyber security governance and ethical challenges.
  • Evaluate how trade-offs between cyber security, cost/resources and business opportunities/competitive advantage intersect with risk tolerance, good corporate governance, and business ethics.
  • Apply governance principles and ethical frameworks to develop solutions to a variety of governance and ethical challenges relating to cyber security in a range of business contexts.

Class Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: hours
Due: Each week
Weighting: 10%

Students are expected to actively participate in class discussions and activities. The quality of participation will be assessed by staff using the criteria outlined in the assessment guide.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate well-reasoned judgement when critically analysing cyber security governance and ethical challenges.
  • Evaluate how trade-offs between cyber security, cost/resources and business opportunities/competitive advantage intersect with risk tolerance, good corporate governance, and business ethics.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required Text:

Whitman, Michael E., and Herbert J. Mattord. Management of information security (6th Edition). Cengage, 2018.

Unit Web Page:

available on iLearn

Technology Used and Required:

Students will require access to a computer and to the Internet so as to undertake research and to prepare their answers for their assessment tasks. You will need a mobile phone with a camera or a GoPro (or equivalent) to record your debate videos.

Software: iLearn, VLC Media Player, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Internet Browser, Email Client Software, Adobe Premiere Pro can be used to edit videos.

Delivery format and other details:

The timetable for classes can be found on the University website at: http://timetables.mq.edu.au

Students must attend all tutorials.

Students must attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled and may not change tutorials without the prior permission of the course convenor.

Recommended Readings:

There are many cybersecurity sources of information online. A few worth looking at include:

  • SecurityAffairs: http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/
  • Krebs on Security: https://krebsonsecurity.com/

Other Course Materials:

Will be made available on iLearn

Unit Schedule

Week 1

Introduction

Week 2

Governance Frameworks and Standards (1)  

Week 3

Governance Frameworks and Standards (2) 

Week 4

Culture and People

Week 5

Information security policy

Week 6

Security program

Week 7

Analysing Cyber Risks

Week 8

Treating Cyber Risks

Week 9

Legal and Compliance

Week 10

Cybersecurity Ethics

Week 11

Security maintenance and technologies

Week 12

Current Issues and future trends in Cyber security 

Week 13

Review and Conclusion

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
14/02/2022 Staff info updated

Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook