MIT9316 Cybersecurity and the Human Factor
Unit Code
MIT9316
Level
Postgraduate
Campus
Sydney
Prerequisites
None
Credit Points
10
Subject Description
MIT9316 Cybersecurity and the Human Factor provides students the knowledge of how human behaviour influences security and emphasise the importance of education, awareness, and the development of practices that mitigate risks stemming from human actions. Students gain insights on how human factors remains a pivotal aspect of cybersecurity while technology and sophisticated defences play vital roles in safeguarding information. The subject explores on how human errors, insider threats, and social engineering tactics exploit psychological and behavioural vulnerabilities, often undermining even the most advanced technological protections. The lectures and real-world case studies enable students to gain understanding and addressing the human elements for creating robust security strategies.
Course Level
Level 2
Subject Type
☒ Specialisation (MIT Cybersecurity)
☒ Elective (MIT)
Study Mode: Face to face on site
Study Load: Full-time
Learning Topics
- Human behaviour and human-centred cybersecurity design
- Security awareness and training
- Types of threats and authentication and access control
- Human-centred incident response and organisational culture
- Cybersecurity ethics
Subject Learning Outcomes
- Contextualised and understand the human factors of cybersecurity risk.
- Interpret key strategies to mitigate the human factors that underlie cybersecurity risk.
- Design a comprehensive cybersecurity risk Security Awareness campaign.
- Critique and revise operational procedures including incident response strategies that minimise the possibility of and the impact of human factors aspects of cybersecurity risk.
Assessment
AIIHE uses a variety of assessment tools to guide and assess each student’s achievement of the subject learning outcomes. In this subject, students undertake practical skills assessments students will demonstrate their knowledge and skills in running cyber-attacks that target human errors and practice topic content studied in class, individual report students will be given a scenario that describes the corporate infrastructure, services, equipment, and roles and responsibilities, and individual report and presentation students will work in groups to solve a case study and present their work. These tasks assess the knowledge, applied skills, critical analysis, communication and collaborative capabilities relevant to the subject.
Summary of Assessment
- Students must attempt all assessment tasks, and achieve an overall mark of at least 50%, to pass this subject.
- Assessment in this subject is consistent with and informed by the AIIHE Assessment Policy and Procedure.
| Assessment Type | Due Date | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1: Practical Skills Assessments | Week 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11 | 30% (6 x 5%) |
| Assessment 2: Individual Report | Week 8 | 25% |
| Assessment 3: Individual Report and Presentation | Week 12, 13 | 45% |
Learning Resources
AIIHE will update the topic coverage of the subject and the available relevant learning resources at the time of subject delivery. In the interim, AIIHE provides the following indicative list of relevant reference material. AIIHE also subscribes to eLearning Resources through the Canvas portal, and where relevant material is available, AIIHE will seek to source reference material from this system for staff and student access.
Prescribed Reading
- Atansuyi, N. (2023). Human Factors and Cybersecurity: Navigating the Intersection. Amazon.
- Moallem, A. (2018). Human-Computer Interaction and cybersecurity handbook. CRC Press.
Texts and References
- Holt, T.J. (2019). The human factor of cybercrime. Routledge.
- Bossomaier, T., D'Alessandro, S., Bradbury, R. (2019). Human dimensions of cybersecurity. CRC Press.