Course Syllabus
Welcome to CS406: Information Security
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Learn the principles of information security to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. Discuss the modes of threats and attacks on information systems, threat mitigation, cryptography, user identification and authentication, access control, privacy laws, and more.
Course Introduction
The first network was invented in the late 1960s with the birth of ARPAnet, a project launched by the US Department of Defense (DoD). That network advanced into what is now known as the Internet and has grown into a global phenomenon to become an integral part of our daily lives. The Internet connects the world on a social, business, and governmental level. So much information is stored and transferred online that the Internet has become a target for criminals. Any devices connected to the Internet must be protected from unauthorized disclosure using tools prescribed by the discipline of information security.
This course covers information security principles, an area of study that engages in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. Information security continues to grow with advancements in technology – as technology advances, so do threats, attacks, and our efforts to mitigate them. In this course, we discuss the modes of threats and attacks on information systems. We also discuss an important area of threat mitigation that saw rapid development in the twentieth century: cryptography. Information security is concerned with user identification and authentication, and access control based on individual or group privileges. The basic access control models and the fundamentals of identification and authentication methods are included in this course.
Without networks, our focus would primarily be on controlling unauthorized physical access. Instead, networks are the way we keep data in motion, making information security a more complex task. We discuss methods to design secure networks using firewalls, tunneling, and encryption, and we describe some tools to secure networks, such as honeypots, network sniffers, and packet capturing. Operating systems that connect to a network must be hardened to prevent unauthorized disclosure. Methods and tools such as patching, logging, antivirus, and antimalware tools are discussed.
The last topic in this course is global privacy laws. When unauthorized disclosure or a breach of information occurs, there are adverse effects and penalties placed on individuals or organizations, depending on the area of jurisdiction. Laws are diverse and vary greatly throughout the world, and we are still trying to develop laws that will protect privacy globally.
In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of information security, security threats, modes of attack, and cryptographic models. Access control, identification, and authentication are also addressed. Network security and operating system (OS) hardening are explained along with intrusion detection and prevention. The course concludes with global privacy laws.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Information Security
- Unit 2: Threats and Attack Modes
- Unit 3: Cryptographic Models
- Unit 4: Access Control
- Unit 5: Identification and Authentication
- Unit 6: Network Security
- Unit 7: Operating System (OS) Security
- Unit 8: Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems
- Unit 9: Privacy Laws, Penalties, and Privacy Issues
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the fundamental principles of information security;
- Identify major information security threats and their modes of attack;
- Describe cryptographic models and how they are used to provide security;
- Explain the principles of access control models such as discretionary, mandatory, role, and rule-based;
- Illustrate methods of identification and authentication such as passwords, pins, biometrics, and tokens;
- Describe network security methods including network designs, firewalls, wireless encryption methods, tunneling, and network protection tools;
- Describe operating system (OS) hardening, malware protection, firewalls, and security tools;
- Explain intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and the advantages and disadvantages of each system; and
- Synthesize current privacy laws and the implications of violations on organizations.
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.
Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.
Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.
There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.
You can see all of these assessments at this link.
Continuing Education Credits
The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 4.6 CEUs.
Tips for Success
CS406: Information Security is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.
Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
- Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.
To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.
For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.
Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App
You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.