Cybercrime
The aim of this module is to provide students with a critical understanding of criminological and sociological approaches to crime and deviance on the Internet (or ‘cybercrime’). Students will explore the range of links between crime, deviance, ‘information communication technologies’ (ICTs), and ICT users. The module will enable students advance their knowledge of ‘cybercrime’ through the study of criminological and sociological literature, and cybercrime case studies organised into specific topics, including cyber-stalking, online offences against children, and cyberterrorism. Such topics will enable key concepts and theories in this area to be used by students in a critical and imaginative manner. Finally, the module will help students understand how ICT users, the IT industry, criminal justice professionals, and policy makers become entangled in attempts to define and regulate networked ICT use within broader society.
Digital Forensics
This module aims to develop technical investigative skills with regard to the gathering of information from compromised systems. The module covers skills and technologies that you will require in order to gather information and draw inferences from that data regarding the attack as it occurred or as it unfolds. You will develop the skills required to apply the knowledge in order to carry out an investigation in a range of situations and on differing devices.
Information System Risk Management
The focus of this module lies on the current Information System Risk Management processes and best practices. For security staff to be effective it is important that they have a firm understanding of risk management strategies. Such an awareness enables them to analyse business threats and the risks they pose within well-known frameworks and take countermeasures to those threats equal with the level of risk they carry.
This module will identify key frameworks, international standards and best practices involved in Risk Assessment, Business Impact Analysis, Asset Identification and Risk Management.
The ultimate aim is to develop your critical appreciation for importance of Information Risk Management in the Information Systems Security arena.
Information System Security Management
This module focuses on the current Information security technologies and best practices. The module gives the students a wide appreciation of security within information technology, taking them through security technologies, access control systems, business continuity, disaster recovery and information security within the context of legal and ethical frameworks. The module will particularly focus on the impact security has in the corporate environment and how to effectively apply security in a networked environment.
Introduction to Law
The aim of the module is to give you a basic working knowledge of relevant legal systems, sources, institutions and personnel.
Topics to be covered include:
- Demystifying legal culture
- Introducing legal materials
- Where to find the legal material – Introducing legal research methods online and in libraries
- An introduction to the German legal system, covering historical development and court hierarchy
- European Law
- Human Rights Law
- International Law
- Cyber Law
Network and Systems Security
With more and more companies and institutions relying on systems connected to the public Internet, Internet systems security has become a major concern. The goal of this module is to provide an introduction to the process of networked system security. More specifically, this module reviews network and system security issues and threats, and gives a broad view of network and system security services and mechanisms, whose understanding is essential in the design and implementation of security strategies for a networked environment
Penetration testing
This module aims to furnish students with the skills and understanding to test IT infrastructures for vulnerabilities to malicious attack. The purpose is to enable students to understand the attack process in order for them to be able to develop IT infrastructures more able to withstand attack. The students will be given first hand practical experience of using tools and techniques to carry out such an attack in order to better understand it.
MSc Dissertation
A large part of the Master’s involves completing a dissertation project. This starts with you selecting a project by December in the first term of study. This piece of work will involve writing 20-30,000 words and consist of around 600 hours of work.
This is a self-study module that is designed to provide the foundation of the main dissertation, at a level considered to be publishable quality. On completion of this module, students are expected to be able to make value judgement relating to technologies and applications, and to justify these to peers and academic staff.
The topic of the project will vary from student to student, but will be at a level commensurate with the weight and level of the module. Students will refine, extend, and perfect their own scientific reflection and practice. The project also offers students the opportunity to apply their technical skills and knowledge on current world-class research problems and to develop expert knowledge of a specific area.
Programme structure
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases, changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
