Posted: February 5th, 2015

Synthesize a Solution to a Potential Real Life Scenario

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

 

 

 

Learning Outcomes tested (from module syllabus)	Assessment Criteria To achieve each outcome a student must demonstrate the ability to:
Protect network users from hostile applications and viruses	Produce written security policy(ies) for various scenarios
Reduce susceptibility to an attack during data transmission by deploying data encryption and decryption and other countermeasures.	Implement various security measures, e.g. ACL, encryption etc. in a simulated network environment.
Recommend necessary security features for a diverse range of security scenarios.	Design and configure appropriate software and/or hardware firewalls.

 

• Please submit the assignment parts in a suitable report folder– not in polypockets.
• This form (ALL PAGES) MUST be at the front of the paper submission. Assignments will not be accepted without this form as it is a requirement that you sign the disclosure regarding referencing convention.
• DO NOT put this form into Turnitin or it will match many similarities with other students’ submissions.

 

TASK DESCRIPTION

Synthesize a solution to a potential real life scenario

 

Scenario:

Universe Takeover Ltd (UTL) is a consultancy company based in Swansea. It specialises in Wildlife, Coastline and Geology studies. They have client globally and rely heavily on email and the Internet. Recently the company has been encountering numerous security issues and problems on their local area network (LAN). Figure 1 below is their LAN infrastructure.

 

From discussions with the company owner and figure 1 above, it was noted that UTL LAN infrastructure has no security countermeasures in place e.g. firewall, IDS/IPS, ACL, encryption, etc. in place to prevent the company from internal and external threats.

 

You are asked to:

 

State All Assumptions Made

 

Task 1 – Re-design and simulate the network using the latest packet tracer with wireshark or any other network simulating tools. The new implementation should include security countermeasures such as firewall, ACL, IPS/IDS, etc. and must be submitted on a CD or USB stick.

 

Task 2 – The Company relies heavily on Internet and Cloud Services, carryout online collaboration, video communication, allow Staff to bring their own devices to carry out their daily function and employ its own Web Developer. Research on one of the following topic that affects the company:

• Future trends in Internet Security

 

Written report – You must provide the Company Owner with a written report to:

• Evaluate and report findings on the importance for implementing security measures on their LAN based on task 1
• Evaluate and report findings on the security impact the chosen research topic from task 2 has on the company and produce a security policy to mitigate any risk to the company.
• must be submitted on Turnitin and to the Library.

 

See guidance section to complete the task.

 

GUIDANCE FOR Students IN THE COMPLETION OF TASKS

 

1. Research-informed Literature (15%)

Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set.   You should provide evidence that you have accessed a wide range of sources, which may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles, textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly.   Any sources you use should be current and up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list that is alphabetical at the end of your work. Please use a recognised referencing system.

 

Specific to this assignment: Your work must include articles published by peer reviewed journals, conference proceedings, books, and related website (e.g. IEEE, ACM, Science direct). Information from website such as how, wiki, forums, etc. will not be accepted.

 

Marks will be awarded for:

• Diversity of sources and materials used
• Key concepts discussed
• Appropriate summaries of articles and level of critical appraisal of literature
• Application of appropriate referencing conventions (9 marks allocated for proper and appropriate referencing)

 

 

 

2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject (15%)

Your work must demonstrate the growing extent of your knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain the theories, concepts, etc. meaningfully to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding; ideally each should be complete and detailed, with comprehensive coverage.

 

Specific to this assignment: On chosen topic, your work must demonstrate understanding of concepts and underlying principles. You should explain and analyse the scenarios you have derived for the company from your chosen topic in a meaningful way.   The security policy you create will be the blueprint that dictates your scenarios for the company.

 

This will be assessed by

• Depth of the research
• Strength of the statements
• Structure of the paper
• Following IEEE format

• Quality of the report

 

3. Analysis (30%)

Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking, evaluation and synthesis. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing What! but also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At all times, you must provide justification for your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments using data and concepts. Sound, valid conclusions are necessary and must be derived from the content of your work. There should be no new information presented within your conclusion. Alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed where relevant.

 

Specific to this assignment: Your work must demonstrate critical analysis and evaluation of chosen technologies. Your work must also justify your choice and provide evidence that your choice is better than other methods.

 

This will be assessed by the quality of your comments and conclusions, throughout the report:

• Innovative approach used in re-designing a complete countermeasure solution of the company LAN design and configuration
• Key observations and impact identified to support security measures for future growth of the network
• Observations are well thought through and discussed
• Organisation of ideas and evidence
• Analysis of the findings

 

 

4. Practical Application and Deployment (30%)

You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations or a particular context. How do they work in practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, some of which may be innovative and creative. This is likely to involve, for instance, the use of real world examples and cases, the application of a model within an organisation and/or benchmarking one organisation against others based on stated criteria. You should show awareness of the limitations of concepts and theories when applied in particular contexts.

 

Specific to this assignment: You must use software such as Packet Tracer, GNS3, etc, to demonstrate the network design you have adopted. The working design must be submitted on a CD or USB stick.

 

This will be assessed by a fully functional network model construction based on:

• The configuration changes made to the existing infrastructure (LAN/WAN technology use)

• The countermeasures employed for the new implementation
• Implementation of secured access and restricted access to the necessary site(s)
• Application used
• Protocol involved

 

 

5. Skills for Professional Practice (10%)

Your work must provide evidence of the attributes expected in professional practice. This includes demonstrating your individual initiative and/or collaborative working. You must communicate effectively in a suitable format, which may be written and/or oral, for example, essay, management report, presentation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.

 

Specific to this assignment: You must submit a report which should be approximately 2,500 words in length. The report should be presented in an academic way (IEEE/ACM format) and therefore must include an abstract, an introduction, a conclusion and a list of references. The report must be submitted via Turnitin as well.

 

This will be assessed based on the written and presentational quality of your report:

• Flow
• Professionalism
• Comprehension (grammar and spelling)
• Completeness and presentation of report

 

marking criteria and Student FEEDBACK

 

This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown. Lecturers will use the space provided to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit from development/improvement.

 

Common Assessment Criteria Applied	Marks available	Marks awarded
Research-informed Literature Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions.	15
Knowledge and Understanding of Subject Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.	15
Analysis Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation of ideas and evidence	30
Practical Application and Deployment Deployment of methods, materials, tools and techniques; application of concepts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.	30
Skills for Professional Practice Attributes in professional practice: individual and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media; presentation and organisation.	10

 

Assignment Mark (Assessment marks are subject to ratification at the Exam Board. These comments and marks are to give feedback on module work and are for guidance only until they are confirmed. )	Late Submission Penalties (tick if appropriate)		%
	Up to one-week late
	Over one week late

 

 

 

COMMON ASSESSMENT AND MARKING CRITERIA

 

	OUTRIGHT FAIL	UNSATISFACTORY	SATISFACTORY	GOOD	VERY GOOD	EXCELLENT	EXCEPTIONAL
Assessment Criteria	0-29%	30-39%*	40-49%	50-59%	60-69%	70-79%	80-100%
Research-informed Literature Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions	Little or no evidence of reading. Views and findings unsupported and non-authoritative. Referencing conventions largely ignored.	Poor evidence of reading and/or of reliance on inappropriate sources, and/or indiscriminate use of sources. Referencing conventions used inconsistently.	References to a limited range of mostly relevant sources. Some omissions and minor errors. Referencing conventions evident though not always applied consistently.	Inclusion of a range of research-informed literature, including sources retrieved independently. Referencing conventions mostly consistently applied.	Inclusion of a wide range of research-informed literature, including sources retrieved independently. Selection of relevant and credible sources. Very good use of referencing conventions, consistently applied.	A comprehensive range of research informed literature embedded in the work. Excellent selection of relevant and credible sources. High-level referencing skills, consistently applied.	Outstanding knowledge of research-informed literature embedded in the work. Outstanding selection of relevant and credible sources. High-level referencing skills consistently and professionally applied.
Knowledge and Understanding of Subject Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.	Major gaps in knowledge and understanding of material at this level. Substantial inaccuracies.	Gaps in knowledge, with only superficial understanding. Some significant inaccuracies.	Evidence of basic knowledge and understanding of the relevant concepts and underlying principles.	Knowledge is accurate with a good understanding of the field of study.	Knowledge is extensive. Exhibits understanding of the breadth and depth of established views.	Excellent knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and key theories. Clear awareness of challenges to established views and the limitations of the knowledge base.	Highly detailed knowledge and understanding of the main theories/concepts, and a critical awareness of the ambiguities and limitations of knowledge.
Analysis Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation of ideas and evidence	Unsubstantiated generalisations, made without use of any credible evidence. Lack of logic, leading to unsupportable/ missing conclusions. Lack of any attempt to analyse, synthesise or evaluate.	Some evidence of analytical intellectual skills, but for the most part descriptive. Ideas/findings sometimes illogical and contradictory. Generalised statements made with scant evidence. Conclusions lack relevance.	Evidence of some logical, analytical thinking and some attempts to synthesise, albeit with some weaknesses. Some evidence to support findings/ views, but evidence not consistently interpreted. Some relevant conclusions and recommendations, where relevant	Evidence of some logical, analytical thinking and synthesis. Can analyse new and/or abstract data and situations without guidance. An emerging awareness of different stances and ability to use evidence to support the argument. Valid conclusions and recommendations, where relevant	Sound, logical, analytical thinking; synthesis and evaluation. Ability to devise and sustain persuasive arguments, and to review the reliability, validity & significance of evidence. Ability to communicate ideas and evidence accurately and convincingly. Sound, convincing conclusions / recommendations.	Thoroughly logical work, supported by evaluated evidence. High quality analysis, developed independently or through effective collaboration. Ability to investigate contradictory information and identify reasons for contradictions. Strong, persuasive, conclusions, justifiable recommendations.	Exceptional work; judiciously selected and evaluated evidence. Very high quality analysis, developed independently or through effective collaboration. Ability to investigate contradictory information and identify reasons for contradictions. Highly persuasive conclusions
Practical Application and Deployment Effective deployment of appropriate methods, materials, tools and techniques; extent of skill demonstrated in the application of concepts to a variety of processes and/or contexts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.	Limited or no use of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques. Little or no appreciation of the context of the application.	Rudimentary application of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques but without consideration and competence. Flawed appreciation of the context of the application.	An adequate awareness and mostly appropriate application of well established methods, materials, tools and/or techniques. Basic appreciation of the context of the application.	A good and appropriate application of standard methods, materials, tools and/or techniques. Good appreciation of the context of the application, with some use of examples, where relevant.	A very good application of a range of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques. Very good consideration of the context of the application, with perceptive use of examples, where relevant. Evidence of some innovation and creativity.	An advanced application of a range of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques. The context of the application is well considered, with extensive use of relevant examples. Application and deployment extend beyond established conventions. Innovation and creativity evident throughout.	Outstanding levels of application and deployment skills. Assimilation and development of cutting edge processes and techniques.
Skills for Professional Practice Demonstrates attributes expected in professional practice including: individual initiative and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media to communicate (including written and oral); clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation.	Communication media is inappropriate or misapplied. Little or no evidence of autonomy in the completion of tasks. Work is poorly structured and/or largely incoherent.	Media is poorly designed and/or not suitable for the audience. Poor independent or collaborative initiative. Work lacks structure, organisation, and/or coherence	Can communicate in a suitable format but with some room for improvement. Can work as part of a team, but with limited involvement in group activities. Work lacks coherence in places and could be better structured.	Can communicate effectively in a suitable format, but may have minor errors. Can work effectively as part of a team, with clear contribution to group activities. Mostly coherent work and is in a suitable structure.	Can communicate well, confidently and consistently in a suitable format. Can work very well as part of a team, with very good contribution to group activities. Work is coherent and fluent and is well structured and organised.	Can communicate professionally and, confidently in a suitable format. Can work professionally within a team, showing leadership skills as appropriate, managing conflict and meeting obligations. Work is coherent, very fluent and is presented professionally.	Can communicate with an exceptionally high level of professionalism. Can work exceptionally well and professionally within a team, showing advanced leadership skills. Work is exceptionally coherent, very fluent and is presented professionally.

 

Student Self Evaluation Form
Student name:		Student P number:
Programme:		Year of programme
Assignment Title:

 

This section repeats in brief the common assessment criteria detailed on previous pages. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. Using these criteria, tick the box that best indicates the level of achievement you feel you have achieved with regard to each of them.

 

ommon Assessment Criteria Applied	Level of Achievement
	REFER			3rd		2:2		2:1	1st	1st
	OUTRIGHT FAIL	UNSATISFACTORY	SATISFACTORY		GOOD		VERY GOOD		EXCELLENT	EXCEPTIONAL
Research-informed Literature	0-29%	30-39%	40-49%		50-59%		60-69%		70-79%	80-100%
	o	o	o		o		o		o	o
Knowledge and Understanding of Subject	0-29%	30-39%	40-49%		50-59%		60-69%		70-79%	80-100%
	o	o	o		o		o		o	o
Analysis	0-29%	30-39%	40-49%		50-59%		60-69%		70-79%	80-100%
	o	o	o		o		o		o	o
Practical Application and Deployment	0-29%	30-39%	40-49%		50-59%		60-69%		70-79%	80-100%
	o	o	o		o		o		o	o
Skills for Professional Practice	0-29%	30-39%	40-49%		50-59%		60-69%		70-79%	80-100%
	o	o	o		o		o		o	o

PLEASE COMMENT ON AREAS IN WHICH YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE PERFORMED WELL	PLEASE COMMENT ON AREAS you feel that you need TO DEVELOP

 

Student’s Name		Date
Student’s Signature