New Course Outline of MIS Program

The two year degree program comprises of fifteen (15)  courses and the mini laboratory project. The course units are designed in such a way that the students get an insight into all aspects of computer security. Each course consists of at least two workshops covering 12 hours (6 hours each), 18 hours of lectures, 15 hours practical in-class and 15 hours personally on practical.

Semester 01

• Principles of Information Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS1201	Principles of Information Security	3	First

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Communicate knowledge of the concepts, models and terms commonly used in the area of IT security.
  • Understand the basic concepts and scientific thinking in information security.
  • Identify the current IT security issues.
  • Evaluate factors that influence the security of systems.

   

  Syllabus:

  Introduction to Information Security, Security Models and Policies, Program Security, Malicious Software, Operating System Security, Privacy and Privacy Enhancement Tools, Steganography, Social Engineering, Security Threats on Social networks

• Cryptographic Systems

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS1202	Cryptographic Systems	3	First

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand the basic concepts and scientific thinking in Cryptography.
  • Describe a number of Cryptographic algorithms and protocols.
  • Do security proofs for Cryptographic schemes.
  • Prove the security of Cryptographic protocols.

  Syllabus:

  Cryptography Overview, One-way Functions, Pseudo-Randomness, Hash Functions, Symmetric Encryption, Authentication Systems, Public-key Encryption Systems, Digital Signature Schemes, Interactive Proofs, Elliptic Curve Crypto Systems, Cryptographic Protocols such as Zero-knowledge Protocols and E-voting, Two-party Secure Computation, Multiparty Secure Computation and Chosen-ciphertext security, Quantum Cryptography

• Information Risk Management and Audit

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS1203	Information Risk Management	2	First

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand the interactions between security concerns, business objectives and organizational processes.
  • Have acquired profound knowledge about some of the existing models, analysis methods and tools for cryptographic protocols/access control/information flow: underlying assumptions, techniques, limitations, relationships.
  • Systematically apply methods and techniques to evaluate the security risk and ensure compliance with principles of governance.
  • Plan and implement a risk management strategy and security audit

  Syllabus:

  Operative Risk, Risk Tolerance and Risk Appetite, Risk Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment, Cost/benefit Analysis, Communicating Risk and Developing Risk Metrics, Identifying Risk Mitigations, Acceptance Criteria, Internal Control.

• Network Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS1204	Network Security	3	First

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand the security threats, mechanisms, protocols and services in computer networks.
  • Analyze and evaluate the implementation and functioning of network applications and decide on their suitability from the security point of view.
  • Design and implement applications that provide or use security services in computer networks.

  Syllabus:

  Digital Signatures, Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Trusted Third Party (TTP), Message Authentication, Network Authentication (Kerberos), Web Security Protocols such as SSL, Email Security Protocols, VPN Technology (IPSec), Security in IPV6 Networks, Firewalls, Security in Web Services, Intruder Detection and Prevention, DNS security

• Special Topics in Information Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS1205	Special Topics in Information Security	2	First

  Special Topics in Information Security course conducted under supervision of a senior lecturer, which results in special seminars on the latest topics in Information Security. Minimum of ten (10) and maximum of fifteen (15) seminars will be conducted under this course during the first and second semester. Students are expected to attend the seminars and produced log forms or summary reports individually.

 

Semester 02

• Database Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS2201	Database Security	3	Second

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand security threats with respect to Database applications.
  • Understand the concepts and security mechanisms/measures in protecting data.
  • Design and implement secure database applications/frameworks to suit different security requirements.

  Syllabus:

  Introduction to Database Security, Database Authentication, Discretionary Access Control, Role Based Access Control, Mandatory Access Control, Security threats with respect to SQL Injections, Database Inference, Virtual Private Databases (VPD), Security in Statistical Databases, Encryption Mechanisms in Databases, Database Auditing, Data mining.

• Digital Forensics

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS2202	Digital Forensics	3	Second

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Relate computer security methodologies to criminal methods
  • Apply the necessary methodologies to conduct a computer forensic examination.
  • Application of Linux operating system for forensics analysis of seized media.
  • Analyzer has hidden information from pictures and digital audio files utilizing stenography software.

  Syllabus:

  Types of Computer Crime, Computer Misuse, Data Protection, Criminal Damage, Software Piracy, Forgery, Pornography, Unsuitable Material, Cybercrime Methodologies, Computer Forensics Investigative Theory, Computer Forensics Processing Techniques, File System Forensics, Forensics Network Investigations, Linux for Forensics Analysis, Linux Forensics Tools, Forensics Investigation on Mobile Devices

• Security in Mobile and Wireless Networks

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS2203	Security in Mobile and Wireless Networks	3	Second

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand the types and characteristics of wireless networks, threats associated with wireless networks.
  • Understand the security mechanisms and protocols used in mobile and wireless networks.
  • Analyze the security of mobile and wireless networks and decide on its suitability for specific applications.
  • Design and implement security solutions for mobile and wireless networks.
  • Suggest improvements for the security of a wireless network.

  Syllabus:

  Overview of Technologies and Protocols, Security Threats and Problems, Overview and Analysis of Security features in the 802.11 Standard and Protocols such as WPA, RSN, EAP, RADIUS, Security in WPAN (802.15 / Bluetooth), Key Management Protocols:WPA/RSN, TKIP, AES–CCMP, Security in Ad Hoc Networks, Wireless Sensor Technologies, Cryptographic Algorithms, Security Protocols, Security in Wireless Wide Area Networks : GSM, 3G, UMTS , RFIDs and NFC Protocol, 6LoWPAN.

• Data Mining for Information Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS2204	Data Mining for Information Security	3	Second

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • identify and discuss applications of data mining and its role in information security including case studies where data mining was used successfully
  • describe and conduct data preparation and feature selection techniques used for data mining and the knowledge discovery process
  • describe the data modeling process, paradigms and algorithms for classification and prediction
  • implement and apply data mining for information discovery on a dataset using a data mining methodology
  • use and derive algorithms to build a selection of models for classification and prediction in an Information security task

  Syllabus:

  Introduction to data mining, Concepts and methods, Major data mining methods: Data generalization, characterization, association, classification, clustering, and outliers analysis techniques, Stream data processing and stream data mining, Data mining for intrusion detection, Privacy-preserving data mining, Protection of information security in data mining

 

Semester 03

Information and Coding Theory

Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
MIS3201	Information and Coding Theory	2	Third

Having completed this course the student will be able to:

• Understand the principles and applications of information theory in data compression, transmission, storage and processing.
• Analysis, design and optimization tool for wireless systems and networks, sensor networks, network information flow.

Syllabus:

Entropy: Entropy, Relative Entropy, Mutual Information, Chain Rules, Data Processing Inequality, The Asymptotic Equipartition Property, Entropy Rates for Stochastic Processes, Data Compression: the Kraft Inequality, Arithmetic Coding etc., Channel Capacity: Discrete Channels, Random Coding Bound and Converse, Gaussian Channels, Error Control Coding: Linear Block Codes and Their Properties, Hard-Decision Decoding, Cyclic codes, Homomorphic Encryption

Secure Software Systems

Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
MIS3202	Secure Software Systems	3	Third

Having completed this course the student will be able to:

• Understand the security features and functionality of the software application development frameworks.
• Apply application code review mechanisms to design and implement secure software applications.
• Analyze and evaluate the implementation and functioning of software systems and decide on its security properties.
• Apply contemporary formal mathematical modeling techniques to model and analyze the security of a software system.
• Use quality assurance activities and strategies that support early vulnerability detection and contribute to improving the development process.
• Implement cryptographic application by using Java JSA and JCA.

Syllabus:

Security Lifecycle: Models and Processes, Standards, Methods and Mechanisms, Software Threats and Vulnerabilities, Security of Modern Operating Systems, Secure Software Design Principles, Secure Coding Principles, Verification and Validation, Code Management and Documentation, Programing Languages Security, Hardware Systems for Security

Information Security Governance

Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
MIS3203	Information Security Governance	2	Third

Having completed this course the student will be able to:

• Understand and operate effectively within the context in which information security management is conducted
• Understand and apply the principles and philosophies which underlie successful information security governance
• Understand the interactions between information security concerns and business objectives and organizational processes
• Understand the issues in designing and implementing information security policies
• Estimate, plan and critically evaluate information security activities within the implementation of a project and operations

Syllabus:

Principles for information security practitioners, Information security management practices, with focus on governance, Business Model for Information Security (BMIS), with case studies, Threats, Compliance, Security Controls, Information security governance with case study, Security Policy, Industry best practices, Incident Management, Business Continuity, ISO27001, Cobit

Incident Management

Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
MIS3204	Incident Management	2	Third

Having completed this course the student will be able to:

• Critically analyze and assess the impact of computer security incidents
• Effectively build and coordinate response strategies for various types of computer security incidents
• Understand the complexity of and effectively respond to privileged and major events and incidents
• Obtain practical experience in the analysis of vulnerabilities and the coordination of vulnerability handling tasks
• Formulate effective advisories, alerts, and management briefings

Syllabus:

Types of Computer Security Incidents, responding to various types of malicious activity such as the use of rootkits, botnets and distributed denial of service attacks, responding to insider threats and attacks, handling major computer security events and incidents, Incident management concepts, Scope and charter of incident management, Incident management objectives, Incident management metrics and indicators, Defining incident management procedures, Incident management resources, incident response capability, Elements of an incident response plan, Developing response and recovery plans, Testing response and recovery plans, Executing response and recovery plans, Documenting events, Post incident reviews.

 

Semester 04

• Cyber Security and Law

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS4201	Cyber Security and Law	3	Fourth

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Understand the security issues and security solutions related to electronic commerce applications and the Internet transactions.
  • Describe how computers and other technologies are used to commit cyber crimes.
  • Discuss the social theories of computer-enabled abuse.
  • Describe the basic principles of the Sri Lankan legal system.
  • Explain the business challenges facing financial institutions with regard to information security law.
  • Understand the challenges with protecting children on the Internet and describe laws in place to protect children

  Syllabus:

  Building Secure E-Commerce Applications, Integrated Payment System, Electronic Commerce Payment Protocols such as ”SET Protocol”, Web application security, Cloud Security, Cyberwar, General Criminal Law Concepts, Intellectual Property Law, Electronic Signatures Law, Dispute Resolution on the Internet, Digital Criminal Law, Common Criminal Laws used in Cyberspace.

• Multimedia Security Technologies and Digital Rights Management

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS4202	Multimedia Security Technologies and Digital Rights Management	3	Fourth

  Having completed this course the student will be able to:

  • Identify the main forms of media storage and distribution mechanisms
  • Describe and assess technologies for protecting digital media rights
  • Use basic digital right management tools for enforcement of licensing
  • Know current and future trends of digital rights management.

  Syllabus:

  Overview of Multimedia Contents Dissemination and Digital Storage, Digital Rights Management Systems and Technical Trends, Steganography, Digital watermarking, Frequency Domain Based Watermarking, Video Watermarking, Multimedia Quality Measurements and Enhancements, Watermarking and their Vulnerabilities, Examples of Media Protection Schemes: CSS, CGMS, HDCP, Emerging DRM Standards

• Independent Studies in Information Security

  Course ID	Course Name	Credits	Semester
  MIS4203	Independent Studies in Information Security	5	Fourth

  Independent Studies in Information Security works completed under supervision of a senior lecturer, which results in laboratory reports or log forms. The mini project will be defined by the senior lecture and should implement within the given time. Students are expected to work as group as agreed with the lecturer and produced log forms or laboratory reports individually. Minimum of eight (8) and maximum of ten (10) mini projects will be given under this course.