Core300 LevelSecond SemesterCybersecurity
CSC306
Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Course Description
Cybersecurity Fundamentals covers the core concepts defenders and attackers both need to understand: threat modeling, common vulnerability classes, and the basic cryptographic tools used to protect systems. Labs run in an isolated environment built specifically for safe, hands-on security practice.
Learning Outcomes
- Build a basic threat model for a given system.
- Identify common vulnerability classes and their typical mitigations.
- Explain core cryptographic primitives and what guarantees they provide.
- Apply basic secure coding practices to reduce a program's attack surface.
Weekly Topics
Examines security mindset & threat modeling from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend common vulnerability classes, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on web application security with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Focuses on common mistakes and misconceptions around network security basics, using student work from the previous assignment as material.
Introduces cryptographic primitives and immediately puts it to use in a small design or implementation task.
Situates authentication & access control within the broader arc of the course, showing how it connects to what comes next.
Uses a guest dataset or scenario to explore mid-semester review in a setting closer to professional practice.
Introduces malware fundamentals through short lectures and worked examples, building the vocabulary the rest of the course relies on.
Works through incident response basics in a lab-driven session, with guided exercises students complete and discuss in small groups.
Covers secure coding practices in depth, connecting the underlying theory to a concrete example the class builds together.
Examines security policy & compliance overview from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend capture-the-flag exercise, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on revision with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Assessment
Assignments — 20%
Practical Work — 30%
Mid-Semester — 15%
Final Examination — 35%
Prerequisite Map
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