Important General Class Information

Office Hours: I do not have standard office hours, I generally will be in one of the labs working on projects for my classes, if you need additional assistance, please contact me and we can arrange to work in the lab.

All class materials will be available weekly stevetodd.coursesites.com -> Your first assignment for this class is to send me an e-mail at my primary e-mail address, include your name and Class in the subject line. In return I will e-mail you a link to the class site.

All assignments and quizzes and unit exams, mid-terms, and final exams will be available on this site.. This will allow you to see your grade on the assignment or quiz at that time. You will also be afforded feedback after
the assignment closes that will assist you in understanding what incorrect responses you gave.

Course Description:

This course provides an overview of security challenges and strategies of counter measures in the information systems environment. Topics include definitions of terms, concepts, elements and goals incorporating industry standards and practices with a focus on availability, vulnerability, integrity and confidentiality aspects of information systems.

This class is not terribly difficult, but it will be difficult if you make it that way, and you must really try, to not pass my class with a decent grade, however, I will take into consideration attendance in class, which will affect your overall class grade and lab grades.

I expect each one of you to participate in the Lab portion of the class; you will gain the most knowledge from that experience. I will ask to see the results of your lab experience, and at times I will come and visit with you and discuss parts of the labs. I do expect you to complete the lab portion of the class completely.

Each and every one of you begin the quarter with a grade of 100%, how well you maintain this grade is entirely up to you. I require that you attend 90% of all class and lab meetings to maintain a satisfactory participation grade; if you choose to arrive late and/or depart early you will be penalized for this. Please ensure that you sign in on both attendance sheets during the class, additionally I will observe who is and is not in class during the first and last half hours of class, if you are not physically in class during those times, I may at my option count you as being absent. If you miss class you cannot make up classroom (Theory) time and will be marked down for the associated labs, you may also have to lead a discussion about the previous weeks lesson as well..

Please complete and turn in all assignments when due. I will not accept late turn-in of class work, especially during the final week of class, you must complete or turn in the assignment when due, otherwise you will receive a Zero for that assignment. I will return assignments to you after grading, please keep them if you think you may question a grade at a later time.

How are you evaluated in this class;

Grading Criteria
Your Final grade Is based on the following weighted categories:

Lab Exercises
20% → Lab assignments (10 total), including supplemental labs, are due at the end of each lab session. Please e-mail to me a word document with a cover sheet and screenshots of your lab assignments (we can discus this as needed)
Assignments
25% → Assignments are typically going to written assignments that will be e-mailed to me hen completed. I will give you both individual and group assignments during this course. You are responsible for completing all assignments on time and submitting them as scheduled.

Discussion
4% → Each week during the class meetings we will be having discussions about various topics having to do with forensics. I expect each of you to participate in these discussions, if you fail to participate (which means that if you can’t answer a question asked or add something meaningful to the discussion) you will be given less than full credit for this activity.

Project
21%→ You will be assigned an individual project in which you will be required to locate, investigate and document the evidence as well as submit an accurate report reflecting that information.

Final Exam
30% → The final exam is an inclusive examination meaning that it covers all of the information presented during his class quarter. It will be in the form of a multiple choice exam and will be closed book with no reference materials allowed.

Anyone found cheating or using reference materials will get a grade of 0% (Zero), there are no exceptions to this rule. If you fail to take the final exam you may receive a grade of 0% (Zero) for the entire class. I expect you to be in class on time ready to take the final exam and you will have a maximum of 2 hours to complete the exam.

Assignment Total: 100%

Grade guarantee: Course letter grades may be higher (but will not be lower) than indicated by the following scale:

Not every student is an A student and will not receive an A just because you feel you deserve it, if you have not measured up appropriately you will receive the grade that I believe is warranted for the amount of effort that you put into completing the assignment.

A grade of F will also be awarded if the final exam is not taken. It is not my policy to “Give” grades, I expect you to earn the grade that you attain. To do otherwise is an injustice to you and your classmates and all students attending or graduating from this school. Everyone in my class starts with a grade of 100% regardless of past performance, how well you maintain that grade is entirely up to you.

I will provide you with a grade report every three weeks at a minimum, but will try to maintain a current picture of what your grade is. Please do not ask me what assignments you may owe to me, you should be responsible enough to keep track of them. I do not share class grades with other classes or classmates. You may share that information among yourselves, but I will not share it. And if I am asked to provide your grade, I will do so at first chance, but please do me the courtesy of not “shoulder surfing”. I am quite particular about an individual’s right to privacy.

Policies
Course Work and Late Work Policy: You will be given an assignment every week which will cover the information that we covered during our class that week.. If you need to leave the class early, you will need to figure out how to complete the assignment or accept the zero that will result from not completing the assignment(s).. Attendance Policy: Make a commitment to yourself to attend every class. The worst thing about missing a class is falling behind because you missed a week’s worth of material and labs. Missing class is not an acceptable excuse for missing any lecture material or assignments given during that time.

Any work missed, must be made up on your time and within one week from the day that you missed. Also you should know that if you are receiving Federal Student Aid, the guidelines state that if you miss 3 classes in a row, 21 days, no matter what the reason, you will be withdrawn from the class. If you miss more than three consecutive classes, You will be dropped from the course enrollment unless prior arrangements have been made and agreed to with myself, Mr. Cormier and Mr. Bethke, yes you have to make the arrangements with all three of us.

There is a direct correlation between consistent attendance and grades. Each student is expected to attend all classes and to be on time for each class. Class begins promptly at the time listed above. When you are late to class I will reduce your grade by 5 points for every 15 minutes of class missed. In addition, if you leave class early without discussing this with me, you will automatically receive a Zero (0) for that class and will be marked absent from that class. Also you should know that if you are receiving Federal Student Aid, the guidelines state that if you miss 3 classes in a row, 21 days, no matter what the reason, you will be withdrawn from the class.

a. I assign exercises, and labs on a weekly basis and other assignments as noted in the class syllabus. I may also assign projects to teams from your class that may encompass a variety of topics. If you are not present when assigned, you will need to contact members of your class to obtain the needed information. Being absent from class is no reason to not complete assignments on time and turn them in as required, as everything is available for each class in the dropbox, if you fail to complete an assignment it will be all on you. If you do not turn in the assignment when due you will receive a grade of Zero, unless we have discussed it prior to the date due. You will need to turn in all assignments as noted. If they are to be e-mailed to me as an attachment, please do so. If it is to be done in class please do so. If you do not complete a quiz when required, you will receive a grade of zero for that assignment.

b. Lab assignments are meant for you to be able to practice the lessons learned and experience them as well, ensure that you bring your hard drive to each class as well as all books needed (Class book and Lab book). When I lead you through a lab, please ensure you are ready to participate, if not I will not be repeating the exercises.

Please pay attention and participate during the class, Please do not wear or use ear-buds / headphones or watch videos or streaming sports during the theory portion of the class if you do, I will assume that you are not paying attention to the class and it will constitute not attending the class in my opinion and may result in your being marked absent.

Plan ahead and notify me, the Teacher, prior to justifiable absences, or if a bona fide emergency prevented you from attending class, please contact me on my cell phone or via text or e-mail as messages left at the front desk with the receptionist will not get to me for approximately 24 hours; if you are hospitalized and cannot contact me please have a family member make contact with the school, Department chair or dean. If you are absent from class and have not notified me, you will be called by a member of the staff during or at the conclusion of class to find out why you missed the class meeting. If you do not contact me, please call the main number and leave a message with or for Jennifer Long explaining the nature of your missed attendance, she will then notify me and if you do not sign in on both attendance sheets she will be calling you in regards to missed attendance. If you contact me via phone (voice-mail or text) or e-mail please include your name and which class you are in, in the message so that I know who I am
dealing with.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

ITT Technical Institute and especially myself, works to promote an atmosphere conducive to intellectual fulfillment by maintaining the highest possible standards of academic integrity. For that reason, neither the school nor I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is any form of giving, taking, or prescribing of information or material with intent to gain an unfair advantage in an academic setting. Forms of dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and aiding others to cheat or plagiarize.

Cheating is defined as – Copying another student’s answers while completing any class assignment or during in-class and take-home examinations; Using notes, books, or unauthorized aids during an examination; Discussing answers during an in-class examination; Submitting another student’s work as one’s own; and Stealing another student’s work. This includes using another persons word document and labeling it as your own, make the time and take the effort to do your own work, do not steal from classmates. And if you permit someone else to use your document then you are just as guilty and you will both receive a zero for that assignment.

Plagiarism is defined as – Submitting a paper or answer in which the language, ideas, or thoughts are identical to published or unpublished material from another source without correctly giving credit to that source.

Any student engaging in academic dishonesty will be subject to disciplinary action by the school, which may include: Receiving a grade of zero (0) on that assignment; Receiving a failing grade for the course; Termination from one or more courses the student is taking; Suspension and/or expulsion from ITT Technical Institute. Please do not bring food into the classrooms or labs. If you do so, I will ask you to leave the classroom with the item or dispose of the item if you so choose. You may have water with a closable or “sport top” in the class/lab and this is a school policy, and I will enforce this policy. Keep in mind that this campus is now a “Smoke Free” and smoking is not permitted anywhere on the campus property including the parking lots. If you must smoke, please utilize a “public” area such as the sidewalk out in front of the campus. I endeavor to return all papers and quizzes to you for review purposes, though sometimes I do get overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork that is generated by each class (which is GOOD) I will generally try to return the items within one week.

Class Conduct:

Read your book!
Do expect to be called upon in class and be prepared to explain your answers Do your assignments!
Do not cheat! There is no need to cheat in my classes.
Please respect others and their opinions
No cell phone conversations in class (this also applies to text messaging and playing ‘on-line games”, also turn off the ringer for your phone during the class period). Turn in assignments on time

Do not talk when the instructor (or student who has the floor) is talking If you walk in late, please do not disrupt the class
Please Do not engage in horseplay or excessive, and distracting conversations during class Clean up after yourself when leaving; please push in all chairs and dispose of your trash. Please do not utilize your laptop/notebook computers or DVD players or PSP in class to watch movies or play games. It becomes too disruptive.

Assignments: I assign assignments to re-enforce the lesson covered. The assignments are due on the date noted. You will be completing the assignments and turning them in at the next class meeting. If you fail to complete the assignment or quiz when required, you will receive a grade of zero. I will not accept any written assignments more than two weeks late and that assignment will result in a grade of Zero.

Reading and Study: Reading and study at home are important. If you fail to study you are likely to be a study in failure. Taking notes is also a great idea, I highly recommend it. Choosing to be in the IT field means that you must read and comprehend what you read and remember what you read, so please make an effort to do so.

Labs: The majority of the labs in this class are provided to you, if there are problems with them make note of the problem and advise me. Do not let it stop you from completing the task. Some labs require previous labs to be completed and build upon them, so it is important that you attend every lab session as well. I will also ask you to show me what you have done on a lab before I will sign it off as completed, so be prepared to do so. While in lab, Do not surf the web, or do shopping or research for things other than our class, if you are doing this or playing games, I will reduce your total lab score by 30 points per incident. Additionally, you may work on other classes (i.e. on-line classes) that you have during our class time without my permission, as long as you have completed the assigned labs.

If you wish to listen to music in the lab, you may do so as long as you utilize a head-set and that the music/and or lyrics are not offensive to others, including me. We also will most likely be sharing our lab space with other classes, please be respectful of them and their teacher, if there are conflicts with others, please let me know immediately so that I may take care of the problem.

Extra Credit and Free Passes: I do not offer extra credit, especially to those that do not complete assignments as required or when required, so please do not ask for extra credit assignments. If you have been attending each and every class and complete all assignments when required to do so, you may be eligible for a “Free Pass” but that is at my discretion and is applied to lowest weekly grades to help you in attaining the best possible grade in the class.

Course Schedule: See the attached Syllabus for plan of Lectures and Labs.
Expect each class period to last for 4 ½ hours and will include a 10 minute break as needed, and a 20 minute break. All class materials will be available online in the class dropbox. You need to send me an e-mail during the first class meeting and I will then send you an invitation for the class dropbox so that you may obtain those class materials.

Please Note: I, the Instructor have a right to, and will deviate from Syllabus as necessary. I also will be teaching from more than one book during the quarter, and you may not have direct access to the book. You may also access most of my supplemental books – the virtual library.

STUDENT SYLLABUS

Course Description

This course serves to expose you to the various tools and techniques that are utilized as a forensic investigator in IT security environments.

Major Instructional Areas

1. Information Systems Security fundamentals
2. Seven domains of a typical Information Technology (IT) infrastructure
3. Risks, threats, and vulnerabilities found in a typical IT infrastructure
4. Security countermeasures for combating risks, threats, and vulnerabilities commonly found in an IT infrastructure
5. (ISC)2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP®) Common Body of Knowledge – SSCP® domains
6. Six domains of the CompTIA Security+ certification

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Explain the concepts of information systems security as applied to an IT
infrastructure.
2. Describe how malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities impact an IT infrastructure.
3. Explain the role of access controls in implementing a security policy.
4. Explain the role of operations and administration in effective implementation of security policy.
5. Explain the importance of security audits, testing, and monitoring to effective security policy.
6. Describe the principles of risk management, common response techniques, and issues related to recovery of IT systems.
7. Explain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security.
8. Analyze the importance of network principles and architecture to security operations.
9. Explain the means attackers use to compromise systems and networks and defenses used by organizations.
10. Apply international and domestic information security standards and compliance laws to realworld implementation in both the private and public sector.

Student Textbook Package

Kim, David, and Michael G. Solomon. Fundamentals of Information Systems Security. 1st ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett, 2010.

Printed NT2580 Student Lab Manual

References and Resources

ITT Tech Virtual Library – I encourage you to create a customized bookshelf in the Virtual Library with books that interest you that support this course. In Particular look at Linux for Dummies it is a great book to use with this class.

ITT Tech Virtual Library:

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Recommended Resources

Books, Professional Journals

Please use the following author’s names, book/article titles and/or keywords to search in the ITT Tech Virtual Library for supplementary information to augment your learning in this subject:

Books – Books24X7
CRCnetBASE
Periodicals – ProQuest
EbscoHost Reference
School of Information Technology

Sandy Bacik
Building an Effective Information Security Policy Architecture (Chapter 3) Michael Howard, et al
The Security Development Lifecycle: SDL: A Process for Developing Demonstrably More Secure Software (Chapter 1)
Maura A. van der Linden
Testing Code Security (Chapters 5 and 8)
Thomas R. Peltier
Information Security Risk Analysis, 2nd ed. (Chapter 2)
John Wylder
Strategic Information Security (Chapter 13)
Eric A. Fisch, et al
Secure Computers and Networks; analysis, design, and implementation (Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14 and 15)
William Stepka
“Profiling Hackers: The Science of Criminal Profiling as Applied to the World of Hacking”, Security Management, Mar 2010, Vol. 54 Issue 3, (Page 80)
Xin Luo, et al
“Awareness Education as the Key to Ransomware Prevention”, Information Systems Security, Jul/Aug 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 4, (Pages 95-202), (AN
26520074) Avinash W. Kadam
“Information Security Policy Development and Implementation”, Information Systems Security, Sep/Oct 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 5, (Pages 246-256), (AN 27625696) Peter O. Okenyi, et al
“On the Anatomy of Human Hacking”, Information Systems Security, Nov 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 6, (Pages 302-314), (AN 27979547)
Patricia A. Bonner
“Quick Reference to HIPAA Compliance”, Benefits Quarterly, 2010 First Quarter, Vol. 26 Issue 1, (Page 58), (AN 47616062)
Chris Nowell
“Regulatory Compliance – the Wonderful World of FISMA”, Information Systems Security, Sep/Oct 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 5, (Pages 278-280), (AN 27625693) Mimi Herrmann
“Security Strategy: From Soup to Nuts”, Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective, Jan 2009, Vol. 18 Issue 1, (Pages 26-32), (AN 36353502)
Ryan Sherstobitoff, et al
“You Installed Internet Security on Your Network: Is Your Company Safe?” Information Systems Security, Jul/Aug 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 4, (Pages 188-194), (AN 26520075)

Professional Associations

The following is a list of vendor neutral professional organizations and their respective certifications:

CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC Certifications http://www.isaca.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010). CISSP® and SSCP® Information Systems Security Certifications http://www.isc2.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010). CSIH Certification http://www.cert.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010). FISMA Training and Certification http://www.fismacenter.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010). SANS GIAC Certifications http://www.sans.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010). Security + Certification http://www.comptia.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010).

The following is a list of vendor-specific professional certifications:

CCSP Certification http://www.cisco.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010). Check Point Firewall Specialist Certifications http://www.checkpoint.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010). MSCE Security Certification http://www.microsoft.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010). RSA Training and Certifications http://www.rsa.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010). Symantec Security Specialist Certifications http://www.symantec.com/ (accessed May 26, 2010).

Other References

CVE List http://cve.mitre.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010).
National Cyber Alert System (accessed May 26, 2010). National Vulnerability Database http://nvd.nist.gov/ (accessed May 26, 2010). SANS Top 20 Threats/Vulnerabilities http://www.sans.org/top-cyber-security-risks/?ref=top20 (accessed May 26, 2010). CERT® Coordination Center http://www.cert.org/ (accessed May 26, 2010). US Computer Emergency Readiness Team http://www.us-cert.gov/ (accessed May 26, 2010). US Department of Homeland Security http://www.dhs.gov/ (accessed May 26, 2010). US National Institute of Standards & Technology http://www.nist.gov/ (accessed May 26, 2010).