UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

INSS735 Syllabus

Course Title Information Systems Security
Term TERM 2, 2006/2007
Education Center HEIDELBERG-GRAD
Faculty Member Scott Jarrow - sjarrow@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

Email Address: sjarrow@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
Mailing Address: PSC 3 Box 179 APO AE 09021

Consultation:

Meeting Dates
Weekends: 28 Oct;
4/5 & 18/19 Nov;
9/10 Dec
0900 - 1730

Office hours are thirty minutes before class starts and thirty minutes after the conclusion of class.

Required Texts and Readings:

Whitman, M.and Mattord, J.  (2003).  Principles of Information Security.  Boston, MA:  Thompson - Course Technology.

Supplementary Readings:

The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:


American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/library/.  The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available.  The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.

Recommended Journals:

Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended.  In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.

Course Description:

3 semester hours credit.  (Formerly INSS 635.)  Prerequisites: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530, INSS 620, INSS 630, or permission of the Program Director.  Explores security policies, models, and mechanics for secrecy, integrity, and availability.  Topics include operating systems models and mechanisms for mandatory and discretionary controls;  data models, concepts, and mechanisms for database security;  basic cryptography and its applications;  security in computer networks and distributed systems;  as well as control and prevention of viruses and other malicious programs.

Course Goals:

Upon completion of the course, participants should:
1. Understand the threats, vulnerabilities and risks with an information system infrastructure
2. Understand the security issues in network systems
3. Have a basic understanding of cryptography
4. Be familiar with cryptographic technologies including symmetric key cryptosystem and asymmetric key cryptosystem
5. Have a basic understanding of firewalls, routers and protocols in communication systems
6. Be familiar with Risk Management practices
7. Be able to distinguish between business continuity and disaster recovery
8. Develop an understanding of laws and ethics regarding information systems security

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Identify the resources of an information system that must be protected
2. Distinguish information security from operations and physical security
3. List potential security threats, vulnerabilities and risks of information systems, particularly on the network
4. Define and discuss the role of cryptography
5. Evaluate various data encryption methods
6. Identify various control mechanisms used to prevent, detect and correct error in an information system
7. Define the responsibilities of Security Administrators
8. Be able to develop a disaster recovery plan for an information system
9. Develop standards, guidelines and procedures to implement security policy in an information system

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:


 


    A     90% +


    B     80 – 89%


    C     70 – 79%


    F     Below 70%


 


Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion.  Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/.

Course Requirements:

Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.


 


In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:


 


10%  -  Participate in classroom discussions


25% - Complete Midterm written examination


25% - Complete Final written examination


30%  -  Formal Current Issues Paper, topic to be approved by professor in advance, and in-class presentation


10%  -  In-class presentation and conduct In-Class Case Exercise (ICE)

Description of Course Requirements:

The Midterm and Final Exams will be in-class exams.

The In-Class Case Exercise (ICE) is to be selected from a Chapter in the textbook by the students project team, and is subject to approval by the instructor. As indicated on the schedule, the Case Exercise is to be submitted to the instructor the first day of the course. After approval of the exercise, the student project team is to give a twenty to thirty minute instructional Powerpoint presentation of supporting material dealing with the proposed exercise. The presentation must give a background for the In-Class Case Exercise. During this presentation, it is expected that other students will propose additional aspects of the exercise to be considered in this team project. The student project team will then conduct the class through the In-Class Case Exercise over a one hour class period. When complete, the student project team will give a fifteen minute debriefing/evaluation of their ICE team project.

Participation and In-Class Work
There will be in-class exercises and discussion questions. You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.

The project for this course is a Current Issues Paper. (CIP)

The Current Issues Paper (CIP)



The CIP is divided into four sections, each with a different due date throughout the term.

You will complete each section separately and submit it separately to your Assignment Area on or before the due date. The due dates for each section of the CIP will be posted in the Syllabus/Schedule with reminders in each of the Weekly Conference units.

The description of the work to be done in each unit is explained below.

The total CIP is 300 points. CIP I is worth 30 points; CIP II is worth 60 points; CIP III is worth 60 points; and CIP IV is worth 150 points. Twenty percent of the points for each CIP (CIP-1 through CIP-4) are directly related to organization, grammar, verb tenses, pronoun use, spelling, punctuation, and writing competency and other requirements - including being submitted on time and following directions.

CIP-1
In today's world, IT and business professionals are concerned with the following issues (among others) in today's contemporary competitive environment.

1. The Efficacy of Firewalls
2. IDS Versus IPS: Which Security Is Best?
3. Best Practices in Network Security
4. Hackers, Malicious Code, and Trojans
5. Security Planning and Policy
6. Viruses and Worms: How to Defend Your Network
7. Spyware and SPAM: Best Approaches to a Persistent Problem
8. Corporate Insiders: How to Defend Against the Enemy Within
9. Cryptographic Security: An Applied Study of Encryption
10. To Catch A Thief: HoneyPots, Sniffers and New Technologies

Please select one of these leading IT issues to explore for your CIP. In no more than one page of text, explain your reason for selecting it.

Keep in mind that you will be spending the rest of this term researching your selected topic, so make sure you like your topic. Please be specific about the sub-topic on which you will be focusing.

Submit your choice and your reason(s) for your choice to me via your Assignment area under the tab "CIP-1."

CIP-2
Determine three critically important questions you would like to address regarding your topic for your CIP, with a minimum of two sub-questions under each main question, which will serve as a rough outline of your paper.

Submit your questions in Microsoft Word on a single page of paper with a cover sheet (as specified below).

Remember, include a cover page and follow all formatting requirements.

CIP-3
Using the UMUC databases and other sources of information, conduct a literature search on your selected marketing topic.

Submit a list of 10-15 references with clickable links (for me to easily access and review them) to your Assignment area under the tab "CIP-3."

CIP-3 should follow the formatting requirements in the Project Description. CIP-3 should include a cover page with formatting requirements. The reference page should be titled References. The title References is placed at the left margin of the page. Use APA style formatting.

To make a "clickable link" in Microsoft Word, copy and paste the link from your browser into the Microsoft Word document or type it. If typed, remember to press the Enter key for the link to turn "blue."

In one paragraph, you should explain why you have selected the references you have submitted.

It is best to give the exact source whether it is an article, a book, a newspaper article, or a special Web site.

If a reference is a Web site, you will generally need to give me the exact URL of the information you used.

Hint: Do not give me a search engine as a reference! For example, http://www.google.com is not a reference.

CIP-4
Start reading as much as you can about your topic and expand your thoughts as you read.

Start putting your thoughts in writing. In 4-6 pages, answer the three questions you submitted for CIP-2. Address arguments for and against your topic, if any. If you can think critically, try to now write critically.

Make sure your thoughts are cohesive and your paragraphs are clear by demonstrating one issue/thought/idea at a time and then moving on to the next.

However, since you have had plenty of time to work on your project, please make sure you incorporate all you have learned from this course to date and the skills you have developed throughout the session into your CIP-4 assignment.

When I grade CIP-4, I will look for critical thinking skills, logical and clear arguments, cohesive writing, proper citations and quoting, quality of references, flow of ideas and good transitions between paragraphs, grammatical-correct phrases, and - of course - no spelling errors.

Submit CIP-4 as a Microsoft Word attachment to your Assignment folder.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH CIP

1. WRITING QUALITY

Grammar, Verb Tenses, Pronoun Use, Spelling, Punctuation, and Writing Competency.

Remember: spell-check, then proof read. Better yet, have a friend or colleague read it before submitting it. Read it out loud to yourself.

Remember: there is not their, your is not you're, its is not it's, too is not to or two, site is not cite, and who should be used after an individual, not that. For example, "the person WHO made the speech" not "the person THAT made the speech."

Remember: In a professional paper one does not use contractions (doesn't, don't, etc.) and one does not use the personal you or your. Use the impersonal as I have in the previous sentence. It is more business-professional than saying, "Also in a professional paper you don't use contractions."

Remember: twenty percent of the grade for EACH CIP (CIP-1 through CIP-4) are directly related to organization, grammar, verb tenses, pronoun use, spelling, punctuation, and writing competency and other requirements.

2. REFERENCES

Use the APA format for your references. The CIP-3 assignment is a Reference List. (Reference List = same as a Bibliography)

In CIP-4 you will not need to re-submit the Reference List from CIP-2. However, you will need to correctly reference your sources within the body of your paper. Here is an example referencing a source within the text of a paper,

Mossman (2001) described the research design more clearly, "When developing a marketing proposal, one should always ........."

Marketing research is a requirement before any new product is introduced to the market." (Gomez and Breegle, 1999)

The references on the Reference List (CIP-2), must be Clickable links. I will check them. To make a link "live" (Clickable) in Microsoft Word, simple press the space bar or the enter key after typing it. If you are using a reference that is not from the Web, obviously you will not have a live link to it.

3. WORD PROCESSOR

Use Microsoft Word. If you do not have Microsoft Word, Save As a word document.
Use Page Setup in the Printer to configure it.
Use 1" margins top, bottom, left and right sides.
Use Times New Roman, size 12.
Use double spacing.
In all CIPs use appropriate headings and subheadings. Headings and subheadings should be placed at the left margin.
The first word of each new paragraph should be indented 1/2" from the margin. 1/2" on my Page Setup is 1 tab space.
For CIPs that are longer than 1 (one) page, number each page in the bottom right corner. The cover page should never be numbered.

4. COVER PAGE

Use a cover page for each submission. In the center of the page, in this order, double spaced, put:

Your Name

INSS 735

CIP #

Title of the CIP

Nothing else needs to be added to the cover page.

5. COMMENTS

Using the CIP system, following the above requirements, and getting frequent feedback will help you not only in this course, but in your other courses as well.

6. Rubrics that Will Be Employed to Grade Your CIP Paper

Course Schedule:

Class Dates, Assignments and Readings

28 OCT 06 (Saturday): Ch 1: Introduction to Information Security
Ch 2: The Need for Security
In-Class Case Exercise Practice Session (ICE) and student project team assignment
Current Issues Paper (CIP) 1 Due

04 NOV 06 (Saturday): Ch 3: Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues in Information Security
Ch 4: Risk Management: Identifying and Assessing Risk
In-Class Case Exercise (ICE)
Current Issues Paper (CIP) 2 Due

05 NOV 06 (Sunday): Ch 5: Risk Management: Accessing and Controlling Risk
6. Ch 6: Blueprint for Security
Midterm Exam (Chapters 1 through 6)


18 NOV 06 (Saturday): Ch 7: Planning for Continuity
Ch 8: Security Technology
In-Class Case Exercise (ICE)
Current Issues Paper (CIP) 3 Due

19 NOV 06 (Sunday): Ch 9: Physical Security
Ch 10: Implementing Security
In-Class Case Exercise (ICE)

09 DEC 06
Ch 11: Security and Personnel
Ch 12: Information Security Maintenance
In-Class Case Exercise (ICE)
Current Issues Paper (CIP) 4 Due - Research Paper Presentation

10 DEC 06
CIP-4 Research Paper Presentation
Review and Course Wrap-up
Final Exam (Chapters 7-12)

Academic Policies:

The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course.

Students with disabilities should contact the appropriate support office at UMUC-Europe. 

Jan Keller, Director of Student Services

UMUC-Europe, Heidelberg

Phone:  +49-6221-378299

Email:  edstudent_svc@ed.umuc.edu

Mailing Address:  Unit 29216, APO AE 09102 OR Im Bosseldorn 30, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany

Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Code of Civility

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:

Scott Jarrow has a broad background in teaching and in the field of high tech. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Basic Sciences in 1977 from the USAF Academy, with a Computer Science discipline. He began teaching at the undergraduate level in microcomputers and programming for Central Texas College at their Pacific Far East campus in 1987. He returned to the U.S. in 1989 and received a Masters degree in Management Information Systems from Bowie State University in 1991. He then returned overseas to Europe to teach for University of Maryland from 1991 to 1994 as an IFSM and CMIS lecturer in Germany and England. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as a defense contractor in the U.S. and in private industry for City and County governments as a systems analyst/systems engineer. He formed his own company and works independently in a variety of private business ventures from 2001 to the present. In 2002, he returned to Europe to teach for UMUC and Bowie State University. He will be completing his Information Assurance Graduate Certificate through UMUC in 2006. He has been teaching Computer Studies and Information Systems Management courses for the University of Maryland's European Division for over 7 years and currently serves as Assistant Professor in Computer Studies and Information Systems.


Last updated by Scott Jarrow: September 29, 2006, 10:43 pm
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule