Information Security - A Good Introduction

Are you interested in taking on a course in the next academic year bit are not too sure what you should do? Do you work in IT and want to challenge yourself to learn something new?

I have had the very great pleasure this year of being an Associate Lecturer on the UK Open University’s postgraduate Information Security module (M811). So I’d like to do some shameless pimping of this course because I think it is a great introduction to the subject.

The course covers information security from a range of angles that I think are appropriate for both the security person and non-security person. The course is broken down into a couple of blocks;

• ·      Block 1 – Introduction to Information Security. This gives a gentle introduction to the subject and covers information security imperatives and incentives and information asset identification (i.e. that all important identification of the information ‘crown jewels’ in an organisation and why it is so important to protect them on a prioritised and proportionate basis.
• ·      Block 2 – Information Security Risk assessment. This is where it really gets into the detail and covers risk assessment and threat & vulnerability impacts. It does all this while allowing you to focus both on your organisation and your home environment so is instantly relevant and provides immediate value.
• ·      Block 3 – Information Security Risk Management. This covers information security controls and compliance and explains how to establish an information security management system for an organisation.

What I really like about the way it is structured is that it splits each sub-module into four areas to help optimise your learning;

·      The Organisation Strand (where you learn about the relevant Information security standard, ISO27001 and how to ‘do’ risk assessment and risk management

·      The Personal Strand (where you will learn to protect your home assets)

·      The Research strand (where you cover exsiting academic knowledge in the area as a means of challenging assumptions)

·      The Practitioner Strand (to help you track developments and current issues in Information Security).

The course runs from November 2016 to April 2017. It has three assignments and an end-of-course assessment at the end (i.e. no formal exam). S

This module is one that can count towards a range of Open University qualifications or it can simply be taken on its own. So if you’re interested to understand what an information security function does all day or you just want to understand the subject a bit better, I’d highly recommend it.

If you want to find out more click here.