Sergeant's Website Intro to Cybersecurity

Introduction to Cybersecurity

CSCI 2370 Fall 2024

Instructor Information

Name	:	Terry Sergeant	Office Hours*
E-Mail	:	tsergeant@hsutx.edu	MW	8:30–10:30; 1:30-2:30
Office	:	AH 104	TTh	8:30–10:30
Phone	:	325-660-7802
Web Site	:	https://josephus.sergeantservices.com

NOTE: Office hours and office space are valid for Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13 of the semester. For the other weeks office hours will be held online by appointment.

Summary

Description	:	Students will learn an overview of the many facets of information security including secure network and host configuration, compromise detection, best practices on an individual and organizational level, risk mitigation and management, and secure wireless network configuration. This course includes a significant amount of hands-on work in a virtual lab environment and, among other topics, targets the popular Security+ certification.
Prerequisites	:	CSCI 1320 or CSCI 1370
Textbook(s)	:	None required.

Course Objectives

Students who satisfactorily complete this course will (hopefully) be able to:

Know risks associated with personal computing and device use and be able to mitigate those risks.
Understand principles of securing a network (wired or wireless) and be able to configure a network accordingly.
Be able to assess risk in terms of personal and business impact.
Be able to deploy and configure various network devices in a secure way.
Utilize software to detect compromise and to identify areas of concern within an organization’s network.
Recognize the ethical responsibility inherent in knowledge gained through this course.

Grading

Your grade in the course will be earned / calculated as follows:

Online Checkins		10%
Homework Assignments		15%
Weekly Quizzes		15%
Ascend Labs		20%
Ascend Practice Quizzes/Exams		20%
Final Exam		20%

A	$\rightarrow$	90	–	100
B	$\rightarrow$	80	–	89
C	$\rightarrow$	70	–	79
D	$\rightarrow$	60	–	69
F	$\rightarrow$	0	–	59

Homework assignments and Ascend work (labs and practice quizzes/exams) is considered late if it is not submitted at or before the beginning of the class period on the day it is due. Late work will receive a 30% point penalty and must be completed within a week or the original due date. Work that misses the one week deadline will receive a grade of 0 (unless there are extenuating circumstances).

Online Check-ins

Each Monday there will be set times for online check-ins in which you will meet synchronously via Teams with the instructor (and other students). The check-ins are mandatory and will vary in length (but never more than 50 minutes). You should be prepared to meet online for the entire session. A typical check-in will involve discussion of the upcoming week's work and a question and answer time. You will receive up to 5 points for each check-in event. To receive all 5 points at a check-in you must do all of the following:

Connect to the CY Teams Meeting Room (https://josephus.sergeantservices.com/meeting_room/cy) before the start of the session (11:55am).
Participate appropriately in the session with your camera on and remain engaged until the session is dismissed by the instructor.

You will lose a point for each minute you are not present (not to exceed 5 deductions in a check-in session). Each student will be given 5 extra points to cover any single missed check-in.

Homework Assignments

Homework assignments will be weekly and due at the beginning of class each Thursday. Homework assignments should represent your own, independent work and should not involve collaboration of any kind unless specifically asked to do so in the assignment.

Weekly Quizzes

Most weeks there will be a quiz at the beginning of class on Thursday. Quizzes will be taken in Canvas and you'll need to have a laptop computer with you in class to be able to complete it. Quizzes must be taken at the prescribed time or else will receive a grade of zero.

Each student will be given 10 extra points for this portion of the grade at the end of the semester which will cover any single missed quiz. If you know in advance you will be absent for a quiz, notifiy the instructor prior to the start of class to discuss options for taking the quiz early.

Ascend Learning Materials

We will spend 12 weeks of this course working through the Ascend learning materials for the Security+ exam. A portion of your grade is based on your successful completion of these materials as described below.

Ascend Labs

The laboratory exercises provide substantial hands-on experience in working with concepts introduced in the learning materials. You will turn in a screen shot of the virtual lab environment at some point during the final few steps of your work on each lab. Grades for lab work will be based on completion and acceptable submission of screen shots. Lab work is subject to the same late penalties as other assignments.

Ascend Practice Quizzes/Exams

There are quizzes intermingled with course topics in the Ascend learning environment. You will take each quiz. There is also a practice midterm and practice final exam. You will be given an opportunity to take each practice quiz/exam two times in order to improve your grade if your first attempt is unsatisfactory. Late penalties apply.

Final Exam

The final exam will take place at the scheduled time during finals week. Exams will never be collaborative in nature so receiving any form of assistance from anyone other than the instructor is a violation of the academic integrity policy. You may only use study aids during the exam if they are expressly allowed by the instructor for that particular exam.

Students with Disabilities

An individual with a disability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a “person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” Any student with a documented disability may choose to seek accommodations. Eligible students seeking accommodation should contact the Director of Undergraduate Advising and Disabilities as soon as possible in the academic term (preferably during the first two weeks of a long semester) for which they are seeking accommodations. The director will prepare letters to appropriate faculty members concerning specific, reasonable academic adjustments for the student. The student is responsible for delivering accommodation letters and conferring with faculty members. Please refer to the most recent version of the Undergraduate Catalog for the complete policy. (Carol Krueger, Director of Undergraduate Advising and Disabilities, Office: Sandefer Memorial, 1st floor Academic Advising Center, Phone: 325-670-5867, Email: disabilityservices@hsutx.edu)

Student Support

Peer-to-peer academic support (tutoring) is available for all undergraduate HSU students. The Academic Center for Enrichment (ACE) is open for virtual tutoring sessions via Zoom. To access instructions or make an appointment, open the ACE course on your Canvas dashboard. For additional information regarding academic support, contact the Advising Center at 325-670-1480 or tutoring@hsutx.edu.

In addition, all full or part-time students are eligible to receive free, confidential, and voluntary counseling services at HSU. Services include consultation, evaluation, counseling, and crisis support services for students facing issues impacting their overall well-being. To obtain any of these services, students may call The Office of Counseling Services at (325) 671-2272, email counseling@hsutx.edu, or begin the intake process by completing our online forms at:https://www.hsutx.edu/intake.

Academic Integrity

Violations of academic integrity have been described to some degree in other sections of this syllabus.

Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be handled in accordance with university policies outlined in Undergraduate Catalog and in the Student Handbook. The current catalog prescribes that “no student who has violated the Academic Integrity Policy will be allowed to graduate from Hardin-Simmons University with honors.” Penalties will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor and typically range from failure on the assignment to failure of the course. A general rule-of-thumb is that a first offense (if not too major) will result in a zero on the assignment and a second offense will result in an F for the course. The current catalog states that an F earned in this way cannot be replaced by retaking the course.

Computer Account Use

The instructor may occasionally use email to communicate with the class as a whole or with individuals. When contacting you for this course the instructor will use your HSU email account. You are expected to check your HSU email account at least once per day and you will be held responsible for any content distributed in this way.

Attendance

Regarding class attendance, the Undergraduate Catalog states:

Accordingly, absence from more than 25 percent of class meetings and/or laboratory sessions scheduled for a course (including absences because of athletic participation) is regarded as excessive, and a grade of F may be assigned as deemed appropriate by the professor.