Chapter 1 — Studying information security at Pennick | Bachelor's Information security

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Chapter 1 — Studying information security at Pennick

Lesson map

Lesson 01 published. Map, example, EX001.

flowchart TD
  N0["Learning outcomes"]
  N1["1.1 The student and the course"]
  N2["1.2 The case organisation"]
  N3["1.3 How the course is organised"]
  N4["1.4 Study habits"]
  N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
  N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
  EX --> Q["Exercise EX001"]

Logical drawing

flowchart LR
  N0["Learning outcomes"]
  N1["1.1 The student and the course"]
  N2["1.2 The case organisation"]
  N3["1.3 How the course is organised"]
  N4["1.4 Study habits"]
  N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX001"]

[Learning outcomes]
    |
    v
[1.1 The student and the course]
    |
    v
[1.2 The case organisation]
    |
    v
[1.3 How the course is organised]
    |
    v
[1.4 Study habits]
    |
    v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX001]

Learning outcomes

You will (1) describe what a bachelor's course in information security covers; (2) introduce the running case; (3) plan study habits for a four-year course.

1.1 The student and the course

Aisha Rahimi begins a four-year bachelor's degree in information security at the fictional Pennick University. Her personal tutor is Dr. Neil Carrow, who teaches the first-year foundations module. The course covers how organisations protect information: the technology involved, the people who use it, the rules that govern it and the ways security is measured. Dr. Carrow explains that security is not only a technical subject, and that graduates must explain risks clearly to managers who are not specialists. Aisha chose the course after a relative was defrauded online.

1.2 The case organisation

Throughout the course, Aisha works with the fictional Ashfield Credit Union, a member-owned savings and loans organisation with about 140 staff, four branches and roughly 35,000 members. Ashfield holds savings balances, loan records, identity documents and payment details. A breach would harm members directly and damage trust in a small organisation that depends on its local reputation. Dr. Carrow arranged the partnership so that students can see how each topic applies to a real type of organisation, using synthetic data in all exercises. Each module uses it.

1.3 How the course is organised

The first year builds foundations: computers, networks, programming, statistics, writing, law and ethics. The second year introduces security governance, risk, access control and cryptography. The third year covers operational security: vulnerabilities, configuration, monitoring, incidents, backups, suppliers and measurement. The final year includes change management, a group project, a placement, research methods and a dissertation. Aisha notes that each year builds on the last, so gaps left early become harder to fill later on. She prints the module map and pins it above her desk, marking which modules depend on which earlier ones.

1.4 Study habits

Dr. Carrow advises Aisha to keep a learning journal recording one security idea each week and how it applies to Ashfield. He also recommends reading primary sources, such as standards and well-known papers, rather than relying only on summaries. Aisha sets aside two hours each Friday for review. She learns that security changes quickly, so the habit of checking current sources and their editions matters as much as remembering any single fact. Her first journal entry describes why a small credit union is an attractive target for fraudsters who expect weaker defences than in large banks.

Worked example

Aisha begins the course, meets the Ashfield case, maps the four years of study and sets a weekly review habit.

Synthetic case. Pennick, Ashfield and all people are synthetic.

Errors and limits

Treating security as purely technical ignores people, rules and measurement.

Exercises

EX001 — Case size. How many members does Ashfield have? Rubric: 3 = roughly 35,000;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
EX002 — Final year. What does the final year include? Rubric: 3 = change management, group project, placement, research and dissertation;; 2 = most;; 1 = few;; 0 = none.
EX003 — Weekly habit. What journal habit does Dr. Carrow advise? Rubric: 3 = one security idea each week applied to Ashfield;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.

Continue studying — lesson 01 (chapter 01 of 40)

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