Useful links
Unit of study_
COMP4618: Applied Cybersecurity
2025 unit information
Digital technologies permeate every part of our lives. The internet has created a more open society, allowing us to create, share and access information and knowledge freely. As more of the services we rely on are digitised and available to use over the web, the more our identity, productivity, access to information, connectivity, social connections and financial well-being depends on information security. Consequently, a deep understanding of both offensive and defensive security techniques is fast becoming essential knowledge for a career in computing. This course will provide in-depth knowledge of offensive security that will prepare the student for work in any technical field where they will are responsible for the development or maintenance of sensitive systems. The course begins by introducing the basic tools used by hackers, before highlighting the common weaknesses- and mitigations- for various levels of the technology stack, such as web applications, operating systems and corporate networks. Finally, students are provided practical insights into careers in information security in the areas of attack detection, prevention and defence. Students will develop the skills necessary to both gain access to test computers and to defend test networks from attack.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Engineering
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Computer Science |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
|
DATA3888 or COMP3888 or COMP3988 or CSEC3888 or SOFT3888 or ENGG3112 or SCPU3001 |
|---|---|
|
Corequisites:
?
|
None |
| Prohibitions:
?
|
COMP5618 or OCMP5618 |
| Assumed knowledge:
?
|
A major in a computer science area |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. present and discuss a security incident with security experts
- LO2. understand security measures to defend against malicious technical attacks leveled against connected systems
- LO3. understand the implementation of infrastructure to detect and defend against network-based attacks
- LO4. research information on security issues from the literature, and analyse a security incident use case
- LO5. demonstrate practical knowledge of penetration testing via hands-on experience with standard industry tools
- LO6. understand audit trails and identify where those should be implemented for use in incident response
- LO7. understand the software infrastructure for modern web-based, mobile, and cloud-hosted applications
- LO8. demonstrate knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of IT security and data privacy
- LO9. recognise and resolve weaknesses in commonly-used systems.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Semester 2 2025
|
Normal evening | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
|
Find your current year census dates
Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
