Unit Cybersecurity
Unit code
CMP71001
Assignment 2 Security consultation report and guideline.
Due Date
Learning 25th of September 2020 ,11:00 Pm
Outcomes
Graduate 3 – 6
Attributes 3, 4 & 5
Weight 30% of overall unit assessment
Suggestion This assignment is developmental and cumulative. You are strongly advised to start doing this assignment from the date it become available. Leaving your starting date to the week before the due date is a very poor strategy for success in the unit.
Marks A marking scheme will be posted on MySCU to help you direct your efforts successfully.
Task Description
You are hired by Southern Cross University as a cybersecurity consultant to work on a security program to address the contemporary and emerging risks from the cyber threats the university is facing. Your tasks are the following:
• Task 1: your team has identified webserver, student Information database, AI lab as the most critical assets for the university. You need to provide a risk assessment table (a template given) for these assets.
• Task 2: After the assessing the risk you suggest the university to replace the current password-based authentication scheme with a Certificate-Based Authentication. To justify your suggestion, explain the working principle of the Certificate-Based Authentication mechanism and discuss why the university should use the mechanism in this case by comparing it with the password-based authentication mechanism. Use figure when necessary to support your answers.
• Task 3: You have identified Spamming is among the top cybersecurity threats facing by the university. Use the Spam Act 2003 and available online resources to develop a guideline for the university students and staff to combat with the threat. The guideline will include the following:
o Definition of spam and its distinctive characteristics.
o At least three (3) real examples of spams showing the spam characteristics. o Instruction to the users of how to recognise and safely handle a spam.
o Instructions to the IT administrator of how to minimize the spam threat.
Assignment-2 guideline
Task 1: risk assessment
To complete this task, use the following guidelines: The most critical assets are Identified for you so you do not need to list more assets.
• Identify 3 potential vulnerabilities and associated threats for each asset. do a research and make sure the vulnerabilities and threats are specific and related to the asset.
• Assess the risk to the university’s information system using a semi-quantitative risk assessment approach and document the risk assessment table as shown in the example below
• Minimum of two controls are carefully chosen to mitigate each risk correctly • Top 3 risks should be highlighted
For this task the table should have following format for risk assessment table with the headings.
Asset Vulnerability & threat Impact Likelihood Risk Control(safeguard)
Student Info DB lack of proper access control could lead to unauthorised access by malicious
intruder/hacker 4 3 12(major) • proper privilege scheme like RBAC
• renaming/disabling the default admin user and password
• creating and implementing least privilege policy for
database users
You can use the suggested risk matrix as below.
Figure 1: sample risk matrix, obtained from https://www.project-risk-manager.com/blog/qualitative-and-quantitativerisk-analysis/
Task 2: Certificate-based Authentication
To complete this task, use the following guidelines:
• Perform necessary research to understand the working principle, pros and cons of the Certificate-based Authentication mechanism. Document all reference sources.(no more than 500 words)
• Explain the working principle of the Certificate-based Authentication mechanism. Compare the certificate-based authentication against the password-based authentication and highlight the features you think are useful for combating some of the threats from previous task. (no more than 500 words)
• Note that you are not allowed to cut and paste from online resources. Use your own words and figures. Acknowledge all reference sources.
Task 3: Anti-spam guideline
To complete this task, use the following guidelines:
• Read and understand Spam Act 2003. The Spam Act 2003 document is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00614. The Act will help you to define what type of electronic messages should be treated as spams, what are the distinctive characteristics of a spam and what act is considered as spamming?(no more than 200 words)
• Search for 3 representative examples of spams or use your own spams as examples. (no more than 200 words)
• Use samples from reputable online resources to help you with the development of spam handling instructions. The instructions should be clear, concise and precise.
(no more than 200 words)
Presentation:
The report must have a cover page, table of content, introduction and must follow proper formatting and referencing method. It Is important that you choose right choice of vocabulary and grammar.
Assignment-2 Marking Guide
Following table helps you to itemise exactly what tutors will be looking at in relation to marking your assignment. It contains a detailed breakdown of the marking criteria for this assignment. I strongly suggest you peruse this spreadsheet.
Criteria Marks Mark break
down
Task1 13.5
minimum 3 vulnerabilities& associated threats per asset identified 4.5
The risk is calculated correctly and top three risks are highlighted 4.5
two controls(safeguards) per risk are elaborated 4.5
Task 2 8.5
Clearly explains the working principle of the certificate-based authentication. Using a diagram 2.5
list pros and cons of Certificate based authentication (at least 3 Pros and 3 Cons) 2.5
Compare and contrast the certificate-based authentication and password-based authentication. 2.5
Quality of references 1
Task 3 6
Correctly identify the characteristics of a Spam and Spamming act. 2
Provide three representative examples of Spams 2
Spam handling policy 2
Presentation
The work should follow proper formatting, it must have a cover page, TOC and introduction. 2 2
Total 30
Submission Format and Instructions:
When you have completed the assignment, you are required to submit your assignment in the PDF/DOC format. The file will be named using the following convention:
filename = FirstInitialYourLastName_CMP71001_A2.pdf (i.e. FJones_CMP71001_A2.pdf)
The final work must be submitted to two links under assignment two folder on MySCU. One link Is for grading and one link Is for checking your work for similarity rate. the similarity rate must be below 20%.
Note to IBS students: Please check with your local lecturer/tutor the submission requirements for your assignments. Typically, they will be different from on-shore students of Southern Cross University.
Original work
It is a University requirement that a student’s work complies with the Academic Policy, Chapter 4.20 on Student Academic Integrity. It is a student’s responsibility to be familiar with the Policy.
Failure to comply with the Policy can have severe consequences in the form of University sanctions. For information on this Policy please refer to Chapter 4.20 on Student Academic Integrity at the following website:
http://www.scu.edu.au/governance/academicboard/policy/
As part of a University initiative to support the development of academic integrity, assessments may be checked for plagiarism, including through an electronic system, either internally or by a plagiarism checking service, and be held for future checking and matching purposes.
Retain duplicate copy
Before submitting the assignment, you are advised to retain electronic copies of original work. In the event of any uncertainty regarding the submission of assessment items, you may be requested to reproduce a final copy.
School Extension Policy
In general, I will NOT give extension unless where there are exceptional circumstances. Students wanting an extension must make a request at least 24 hours before the assessment item is due and the request must be received in writing by the unit assessor or designated academic. Extensions within 24 hours of submission or following the submission deadline will not be granted (unless supported by a doctor’s certificate or where there are exceptional circumstances – this will be at unit assessor’s discretion and will be considered on a case by case basis). Extensions will be for a maximum of 48 hours (longer extensions supported by a doctor’s certificate or alike to be considered on a case by case basis).
A penalty of 5% of the total available grade will accrue for each 24-hour period that an assessment item is submitted late. Therefore, an assessment item worth 20 marks will have 1 marks deducted for every 24-hour period and at the end of 20 days will receive 0 marks.
Students who fail to submit following the guidelines in this Unit Information Guide will be deemed to have not submitted the assessment item and the above penalty will be applied until the specified submission guidelines are followed.
Marks and Feedback
All assessment materials submitted during the semester will normally be marked and returned within two weeks of the required date of submission (provided that the assessment materials have been submitted by the due date).
Marks will be made available to each student via the MySCU Grade book.
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