Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Angela Irwin angela.irwin@mq.edu.au Convenor Stephen McCombie stephen.mccombie@mq.edu.au Angela Irwin angela.irwin@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 4
Prerequisites	Prerequisites Admission to MCrim or MPICT or MCPICT or PGDipPICT or GradDipPICT or GradDipCPICT or PGCertPICT or GradCertPICT or GradCertCPICT or MPICTMIntSecSt or MCPICTMIntSecSt or MIntSecStud or GradDipIntSecStud or PGCertIntell or MInfoTech or MSecStrategicStud or MIntell or MCTerrorism or MCyberSec or GradDipSecStudCr or GradCertSecStudCr
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description Cyberspace is borderless and global. The emergence of modern technology and an information-based world has created new opportunities for criminals. This unit provides an overview of these new threats in terms of global security and the implications for law enforcement and national security responses. The course will analyse the processes of cyber terrorism and information cyber warfare through historical, operational and strategic perspectives. Topics like the role of the internet in radicalisation, extremism and recruitment, and the role of digital currency in money laundering and recruiting will be covered. Students will gain an understanding of various definitions of cyber terrorism and information warfare, and through an application of case studies will analyse and critique existing literature and understanding of these subject matters. They will also be able to analyse how nation states and non-nation state actors utilise the internet as an attack vector in information warfare to infiltrate digital systems to gain control of critical infrastructure. The unit is interactive and students are expected to actively participate in seminars and online discussion forums.

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:

Understand and differentiate characteristics and typologies of different crime threats and trends in the cyber space.
Analyse how nation-states and non-nation-states actors utilize the internet as an attack vector in information warfare to infiltrate digital systems and gain control of critical infrastructure, through the use of case studies.
Identify the value of the Internet as a vehicle to recruit, communicate, and fund terrorism.
Analyse the technical, social and political drivers of cyber terrorism and information warfare.
Develop the ability to conduct independent and collaborative research through written and oral presentations

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Engagement/Participation	20%	No	Weekly
Research Essay	50%	No	see Ilearn
Case Study	30%	No	See Ilearn

Engagement/Participation

Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

Internal students

Your participation in class should demonstrate that you have read, understood and reflected on course material and weekly readings. You should bring in related thoughts and material, readings or questions that occur to you throughout the discussion.

You are required to complete the core readings for each module, reflect upon the readings and to then share your reflections on the readings with course colleagues during the on-campus sessions.

Your discussions should advance the group's negotiation of ideas and meanings about the material. Some ways you can further discussions include:

expressing ideas or observations - where possible support them by more than personal opinion or anecdotal evidence;
making a connection between the current discussion and previous discussion, personal experience or readings;
commenting on or expanding another student’s statement;
posing a substantive question aimed at furthering the group’s understanding. of the topic.

A variety of different activities will occur each week and students should be prepared to fully participate in these activities. Students are also to actively engage with other students in class and challenge their input.

This task is to assess your comprehension of the weekly material and that you are engaging with the Unit.

A mark for the discussions will be awarded on the basis of:

Your participation in the discussions (40%)
The essence of your contributions (60%)

In assessing your contributions, the following categories will be used:

Level 1 - Discussions providing a single point of view;
Level 2 - Discussions which make reference to other contexts or course material;
Level 3 - Discussions which offer a critical reflection on theoretical perspectives and/or practical experiences.

External students

Your postings to the online discussion forums should demonstrate that you have read, understood and reflected on course material and weekly readings. You should bring in related thoughts and material, readings or questions that occur to you throughout the discussion. You are required to complete the core readings for each module, reflect upon the readings and share your reflections on the readings with course colleagues through online discussion forum questions. One question will be posted to the discussion forum each week. Responses to each question should be a minimum of 100 words in length.

Forum discussion question postings should advance the group's negotiation of ideas and meanings about the material. Some ways you can further discussions include:

expressing ideas or observations - where possible support them by more than personal opinion or anecdotal evidence;
making a connection between the current discussion and previous discussion, personal experience or readings;
commenting on or expanding another student’s statement;
posting a substantive question aimed at furthering the group’s understanding of the topic.

If citing course readings, in-text references are sufficient. For additional references (if applicable), please provide a bibliographic reference at the end of your post. For a posting to be counted for a given week, it must be entered by midnight on the Sunday of that week’s activity. If they are entered later than this, they will not be counted.

A mark for the discussions will be awarded on the basis of:

1. Your participation in the discussions (40%)

2. The essence of your contributions (60%)

In assessing your contributions, the following categories will be used:

Level 1 - Postings providing a single point of view;
Level 2 - Postings which make reference to other contexts or course material;
Level 3 - Postings which offer a critical reflection on theoretical perspectives and/or practical experiences.

Students who do not fully participate in at least 8 discussion forums will receive a marks of zero for this component of participation.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Identify the value of the Internet as a vehicle to recruit, communicate, and fund terrorism.
Develop the ability to conduct independent and collaborative research through written and oral presentations

Research Essay

Due: see Ilearn
Weighting: 50%

Due: See unit iLearn site Weighting: 50%

3,000 word research essay. Students will be required to do extensive, self-led research on a predefined topic related to cyber security practice or procedure. The research topic/question will be provided to students in week 3.

A detailed marking matrix is available to all enrolled students on the unit iLearn site. Marking criteria includes evaluation of understanding of cyber security concepts, arguments put forward and academic support for those arguments, written expression, referencing and structure and layout.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Understand and differentiate characteristics and typologies of different crime threats and trends in the cyber space.
Analyse the technical, social and political drivers of cyber terrorism and information warfare.
Develop the ability to conduct independent and collaborative research through written and oral presentations

Case Study

Due: See Ilearn
Weighting: 30%

Due: See unit iLearn site Weighting: 30%

The 2,000 word essay allows students to explore a cyber-terrorism/information warfare case study A detailed marking matrix is available to all enrolled students on the unit iLearn site. Marking criteria includes evaluation of understanding of key concepts, written expression, referencing, structure and layout.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Understand and differentiate characteristics and typologies of different crime threats and trends in the cyber space.
Analyse how nation-states and non-nation-states actors utilize the internet as an attack vector in information warfare to infiltrate digital systems and gain control of critical infrastructure, through the use of case studies.
Analyse the technical, social and political drivers of cyber terrorism and information warfare.
Develop the ability to conduct independent and collaborative research through written and oral presentations

Delivery and Resources

DELIVERY AND RESOURCES

UNIT REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

You should spend an average of 12 hours per week on this unit. This includes listening to lectures prior to seminar or tutorial, reading weekly required materials as detailed in iLearn, participating in Ilearn discussion forums and preparing assessments.
Internal students are expected to attend all seminar or tutorial sessions, and external students are expected to make significant contributions to on-line activities.
In most cases students are required to attempt and submit all major assessment tasks in order to pass the unit.

REQUIRED READINGS

The citations for all the required readings for this unit are available to enrolled students through the unit iLearn site, and at Macquarie University's library site. Electronic copies of required readings may be accessed through the library or will be made available by other means.

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Computer and internet access are essential for this unit. Basic computer skills and skills in word processing are also a requirement.
This unit has an online presence. Login is via: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/
Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient.
Information about IT used at Macquarie University is available at http://students.mq.edu.au/it_services/

SUBMITTING ASSESSMENT TASKS

All text-based assessment tasks are to be submitted, marked and returned electronically. This will only happen through the unit iLearn site.
Assessment tasks must be submitted as a MS word document by the due date.
Most assessment tasks will be subject to a 'TurnitIn' review as an automatic part of the submission process.
The granting of extensions is subject to the university’s Special Consideration Policy. Extensions will not be granted by unit conveners or tutors, but must be lodged through Special Consideration: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

WORD LIMITS FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS

Stated word limits include footnotes and footnoted references, but not bibliography, or title page.
Word limits can generally deviate by 10% either over or under the stated figure.
If the number of words exceeds the limit by more than 10%, then penalties will apply. These penalties are 5% of the awarded mark for every 100 words over the word limit. If a paper is 300 words over, for instance, it will lose 3 x 5% = 15% of the total mark awarded for the assignment. This percentage is taken off the total mark, i.e. if a paper was graded at a credit (65%) and was 300 words over, it would be reduced by 15 marks to a pass (50%).
The application of this penalty is at the discretion of the course convener.

REASSESSMENT OF ASSIGNMENTS DURING THE SEMESTER

Macquarie University operates a Grade Appeal Policy in cases where students feel their work was graded inappropriately: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
In accordance with the Grade Appeal Policy, individual works are not subject to regrading.

STAFF AVAILABILITY

Department staff will endeavour to answer student enquiries in a timely manner. However, emails or iLearn messages will not usually be answered over the weekend or public holiday period.
Students are encouraged to read the Unit Guide and look at instructions posted on the iLearn site before sending email requests to staff.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Appeals Policy
Academic Integrity Policy
Academic Progression Policy
Assessment Policy
Fitness to Practice Procedure
Grade Appeal Policy
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)

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

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

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

Results

Results shown in iLearn, 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.

Student Support

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

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

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.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.