Dr Cate Jerram
10.34 Nexus 10
cate.jerram@adelaide.edu.au
#8313 4757

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Effectively communicate the differences between risk, threat, and vulnerabilities, how they inter-relate, and the principle means of recognising them.
2. Identify and communicate to clients the different types of risks and their nature, across the various core business functions and processes.
3. Demonstrate different methods of conducting risk analyses and impact assessments.
4. Detail the core requirements of an Information Risk Assurance process for an SME and for a corporation or large business.
5. Develop an Information Security Framework for a specified business.

Students onsite must bring earphones and/or the ability to connect with the online class (laptop or tablet or mobile phone).

Students will be researching and resourcing core materials so there is no required text.

This course is very much a research-based course, so there will be considerable online activity both in class and out. When possible, sessions will be recorded. However – occasionally recordings fail. As much of the content is acquired through team research, presentation, discussion, and sharing - for the most part, online recorded sessions will not be very satisfactory replacements for live attendance, whether on-site or online.

IRTC is run on heutagogical principles, and is very much a research-based course, so there will be considerable online activity both in class and out. This is a mixed cohort class. That means there will be students attending both onsite and online only (from many time zones) simultaneously. Reminder - onsite students must bring earphones to class. As classes are delivered simultaneously to students on campus in Adelaide and to students with only online access, many classes and sessions will be delivered online. On-campus students must check schedules and watch announcements for sessions and classes when the academic will be online only and not in the classroom. On such occasions on-campus students are free to attend the online sessions in the class lab which remains reserved for the class as scheduled, or join online.

• Information Risks Threats & Controls is taught in CONSULTANCY mode - students work in teams for real clients (usually an SME) and apply learning to produce real outcomes for their clients.
  
  • Integrity is essential. Clients entrust studens with vital information that could cause them harm if students are indiscreet or careless.
• Info Risks Threats & Controls will be taught in time blocks that will (usually) be comprised of research, workshop, discussion, and work on projects for real clients. 
• Each session will comprise workshop, research and problem-solving activities, and class discussion, and some sessions will also include presentation, peer review, and coaching.
• Each seminar is scheduled in a 3 hour block. The 3-hours will usually be broken into two or three sessions with 10-15 minute breaks between them.
• RTC is a mixed cohort class, in which onsite and online students participate together. Onsite students are required to bring earphones to class to enable communication with online students. All students are to be considerate of each other's time zones.
• This is a 'stacked' course with undergraduate and postgraduate students mingled in class and in projects. It is expected that as part of their learning and achievement, postgraduate students will mentor the undergraduate students.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.

• This means that students are expected to commit approximately 12 hour per week to this course (including class time and the research, collaboration, online, & study time outside of your regular classes).
• Students are required to attend all class sessions.
• Students are required to complete class preparation (posted in MyUni) before the start of class.
• A proportion of this course will be in team-mode. It is recognised that outside commitments can mean that team-work is challenging in terms of compatible scheduling, but much of the team work can be managed online, so full participation in out-of-class team work is expected.

A full schedule is provided on the course MyUni site. As this course is worked with SMB (Small Medium Business) clients, the schedule is flexible to work with the realities of client consultancy.

Core topics include:

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements

Frameworks, Policies, ISO, and Other Systems

Overview of Risk
Risk Analysis & Management Lexicon (concepts and definitions)
Risk Appetite & Risk Tolerance
Business Needs Analysis
Risk Assessment (methods & methodologies)
Risk Identification & Context
Threats & Vulnerabilities
Risk Assessment formulae
Risk Evaluation
Risk Response & Management
- Treating & Controlling Risk
Review & Monitor Risk Management
Documentation of Risk & Measures

Client interview protocols, schedules & skills
Site Visits and Analysis
Value chain and supply chain models.

Course Coordinators & Mentors mark & approve Team InfoSec Frameworks for distribution to clients.
After receiving approval, teams present their final InfoSec Framework & Documentation to their client organisation.

Students work with real clients in this course. It is therefore required that each student commits to professional attitudes and behaviour in dealing with clients, incuding meeting with clients, meeting deadlines, punctuality, and other such behaviours. 

It is also required that students NOT submit content to clients until approved by course coordinator or assigned mentor.


As this class has a mixed cohort (simultaneous on-site and online students),

• onsite students are expected to bring earphones or other means of being able to communicate with online classmates from the class lab;
• all cohorts are expected to make the extra effort required to communicate across technological and other challenges, including consideration for students in other time zones.

There is an extremely challenging administrative management load in this course, and students are required to carefully read provided instructions and course advice before contacting a course academic for information already supplied.
ie:
Before contacting a course academic with a question:

• Read the course outline.
• Read the assessment descriptions.
• Read the rubrics (all the cells).
• Read all announcements as they arrive.
• Check the FAQ section.
• Check past announcements.
• Check the Discussion Boards: Course Admin and Social.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Word Count / Time	Time Due	Learning Outcome
In-class Quiz	Quiz	15 (5 ea)	n/a	Weeks 4, 8 & 12	1  - 4
Client InfoSec Framework stage 1	Project Templates	20	tn	Week 4 class	1 - 4, 5
Client InfoSec Framework stage 2	Project Framework & Report	45	tbn	Week 12 class	1 - 4, 5
Reflective Journal	Analytical & Reflective Journal	20	13 entries, 300 – 800 words each	Week 13: Friday 12 noon.	1 - 5
Total		100%

This course has a strong focus on collaboration without collusion.

Collaboration (working with others, seeking help from others, helping others, using materials and sources from others - including publications, online material, classmates...) is encouraged so long as it is acknowledged.
Collusion (using other person’s work or help, unacknowledged, with or without their consent) is considered cheating, plagiarism, dishonourable, and deserving of a Fail grade.

Please collaborate. Acknowledge all collaboration and sources.
Do not cheat or collude.

In-class Quiz

Seminars in weeks 4, 8, and 12 will include a quiz on previous weeks’ material. Each quiz is worth 05% of final mark, totalling 15% of final grade.

Client InfoSec Framework

Each student will be a member of a team that will have a small business client for whom they will, over the course of the semester, develop an Information Security Framework. These will be developed in consultation with the course academics and the clients.

Stage 1 (Individual) (Due end of week 4)

Individual students research, locate, collate, design, select… appropriate templates and forms that will be the basis of the work they will present to their clients and academics. This task is undertaken – and often completed – before students know their team and/or their client.

Rubric available in MyUni.

Stage 2 (Team) (Due end of week 12)

Approximately week 5, students will be assigned their team and their client. From that time on, teams work together to analyse their clients needs, and design an appropriate Information Risk Management Framework for their client. Teams will document their processes. Documentation will be kept on the allocated team website. Appropriate components of the documentation will be used to create the Information Risk Management Framework and Report that are the final outcome for the client.

In week 12, the full FINAL DRAFT Information Security Framework and Report will be submitted and presented to the course academics for marking and feedback.

Reflective Journal

Students are provided a private website within the course MyUni site.

Students are to use their private site to make weekly entries into their Reflective Journal.

The site may also be used for keeping notes, etc.

Each week, students will be expected to write 300 – 800 words of analysis and reflection on that week’s learning in their journal (following the required format).

At the end of semester, they may polish their previous 12 entries, if they choose.

The journal must be included with a “week 13” FINAL SUMMARY reflection of two parts:  

[1] reflecting on the final events in polishing, submitting and presenting the final Information Security Framework & Report for and to their client, and

[2] reflecting & reviewing on the whole course/semester.

The final complete Journal (all 13 entries in order) is to be completed by 12 noon on the Friday of Week 13 and pasted into the submission portal.

All Rubrics are available in MyUni.

As clients are involved, it is critical that work is submitted in a timely fashion.
No student may submit their work to their client until approved by a course academic.