Course Name: System Security Practitioner (SSCP)
 Term and Session:
Course ID: CET2688C
 Reference Number:

Faculty Contact Information

Instructor Name: Victor Arenas
BC Online Phone: 954-201-6165
Email: Please use the D2L email tool. Use my BC email ONLY. Iif you are unable to access the course, email: varenas@broward.edu
Online Office Hours: https://calendly.com/professorarenas
BC Safety Phone #: 954-201-HELP (4357)

Course Description

This course will provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the Internationally accepted common body of knowledge encompassing seven (7) security domains including Access Controls; Security Operations & Administration; Risk Identification, Monitoring and Analysis; Incident Response and Recovery; Cryptography; Network and Communications Security; and Systems and Application Security.

Practice will also be provided to thoroughly prepare students for the SSCP certification exam offered by (ISC)2.

General Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

  • Understand underlying principles of access control systems and how to implement, manage and secure those systems, including internetwork trust architectures, federated identity management, identity management lifecycle, and various access control frameworks.
  • Identify information assets and document policies, standards, procedures and guidelines that ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability.
  • Identify, evaluate and prioritize potential threats and the systematic application of resources to monitor, manage and mitigate those threats. Includes risk management concepts, assessment activities, and monitoring terminology, techniques and systems.
  • Properly implement and exercise incident handling processes and procedures that provide rapid and consistent approach to addressing security incidents, supporting forensic investigations, Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP).
  • Understand common cryptographic concepts, methodologies, and technologies, including legal and regulatory requirements, key management concepts, public key infrastructure, and the implementation and use of secure protocols.
  • Understand network architecture, transmission methods, transport formats, control devices, and security measures used to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information transmitted over communication networks.
  • Explore common attack vectors and associated countermeasures, including impact of virtualization, mobile devices, cloud computing, and Big Data vulnerabilities, configuration and security.

Prerequisites and Corequisites

There are no prerequisites/co-requisites for this course.

Methods of Instruction

This is a 4-credit hour fully online course with a proctored final exam: (ISC)2 certification exam. In this class, you will engage in structured online activities. See the course schedule for a detailed description of activities. This course uses the uCertify platform.  You will work in uCertify to review content and complete Exercises. There are no on-campus meetings. Students are responsible for regularly reviewing the course schedule and completing all required assignments. To proceed through this course, you will should log on to BC Online and use the link in this course to access uCertify.  This way you will see all course announcements, the course calendar, your grades, and any e-mails from your instructor.

Textbook and Materials

Required Text (Access Code)

Title: Systems Security Certified Practioner
Author(s): Official Study Guide

 

Books for online courses are available at the Central Campus bookstore:
A. Hugh Adams Central Campus Bookstore
Admissions and Student Service Center – Bldg. 19
Tel: (954) 201-6830
Fax: (954) 201-6895

Other Resources:

Students will need to use Linkedin Learning  for some of the assignments in this course.

Class Activities

Read and refer to this section regularly. It will tell you what assignments you should complete, and how to complete them. Deadlines for assignments, assessments, discussions, quizzes, tests, and all other graded and non-graded activities are posted in the course schedule. Submitting work late will be permitted only under extenuating circumstances and only with prior notification and documentation (original funeral notice, original doctor note, etc.).

Discussions

Respond to the discussion question and then react to at least 2 posts from fellow students. Your main post must be at least 100 words in length, and it must thoughtfully address the question asked. Include examples and links resources if appropriate. Please make your original post early. However you must make the initial post prior to the due date. Initial posts made on the due date will lose points for being late.

Use the general discussion thread to post questions that might be of interest to all students such as questions about assignments, tests, etc. Feel free to respond to other students with thoughtful responses. Proofread the content of your posts before making them public; proper grammar and sentence structure are expected. Remember that the discussion tool is public – all enrolled students will be able to view posts and responses. Please follow proper netiquette. Grades for discussion postings will be posted within five working days after the discussion has closed. If you need general information and support for the discussion tool visit the discussion tutorial page.

Assignments

Assignments may be submitted only during the availability dates as specified in your syllabus. The submission of an assignment is the sole responsibility of the student. Students should not leave assignment preparation until the last minute and must plan their workloads so as to be able to meet the deadlines. Assignments submitted after the due date and time will only be accepted if prior arrangements have been made with the instructor. Assignments should not be mailed, faxed or emailed directly to your instructor unless otherwise directed. You should keep an electronic copy of all assignments. Grades for assignments will be posted within five working days of the closing date of the assignment. If you need general information and support with assignments visit the assignment tutorial page.

Assessments

Assessments may be taken only during the availability dates as specified in the course schedule. The submission of an assessment is the sole responsibility of the student. Please allow ample time to complete assessments and be observant of the time limit. Make sure you have a solid internet connection. Most online quiz and exam grades will be available after finishing the quiz or exam. If you need general information and support with assessments visit the assessment tutorial page.

It is at the discretion of the instructor to offer a make-up exam. Make-up exams will only be considered under extenuating circumstances, and with prior notification and documentation (original funeral notice, original doctor note, etc.). Scheduling conflicting appointments and vacations are not valid reasons for requesting a make-up exam.

Students will have the choice to take either the Proctored Final Exam here in D2L using Proctortrack OR taking the OPTIONAL Final Proctored (ISC)2 Certification Exam.

Proctored Final Exam

A student taking a proctored Exams and/or Quizzes will do so using Proctortrack. Proctortrack is a free service that allows you the student to take an exam from a remote location using his/her own webcam and microphone while being proctored.

How It Works

  1. Review Proctortrack’s technical requirements page to make sure your computer, webcam, and microphone meet the minimum requirements.
  2. Complete the Proctortrack onboarding during the orientation period. Directions on completing the onboarding can be found in the Proctortrack module in the course.

Notify your instructor at the beginning of the course if you have questions, or have documentation requiring special accommodations for exams.

OPTIONAL Final Proctored (ISC)2 Certification Exam

You will take your OPTIONAL final exam in a Pearson VUE testing center. There is a Pearson VUE testing center on Central Campus.

Please notify your instructor at the beginning of the course if you have documentation requiring special accommodations for exams, as you must make an accommodation request directly with Pearson VUE, and it takes some time (https://home.pearsonvue.com/test-taker/Test-accommodations.aspx). You can visit the (ISC)2 site to find out more information, and see an overview of a (ISC)2 exam as well as other helpful tips by clicking here.

Class Schedule

See it in D2L

Grades

How your Grade will be Determined

Assessment

Percent of Final Grade

Course Overview Module (3 grades)

 5%

Lesson Quizzes and Practice Exams (7 grades)

 15%

Discussions (8 grades)

 20%

Lesson Exercises  (7 grades)

 10%

Online Training SSCP Certificates (7 grades)

 20%

Kaplan IT Practice Exam (1 grade)

 10%

Proctored Final Exam (1 grade)

 20%

OPTIONAL: Students may sit for the (ISC)2 SSCP Certification Exam. (ISC)2 does not offer vouchers. Students choosing this option must pay for the exam, and depending on your results can submit for reimbursement. A passing score will be reimbursed at 100%, a failing score will be reimbursed at 50%.

Passing score results in an Automatic A for the course, a failing score will result in a grade of 70 and will be weighted as 20% in the final grade calculation.

This is completely optional, students are not required to sit for the Certification Exam as part of this course.

Total

 100%

Grading Scale

Grades

Percentage

Grade = A

90-100+%

Grade = B

80-89%

Grade = C

70-79%

Grade = D

60-69%

Grade = F

59%-0%

Policies and Procedures

You are responsible for being familiar with all BC Online policies and procedures related to your activity in this course.

Attendance and Participation

Attendance

During the first week of class, you must complete the designated activity in the course to verify attendance. Typically the Syllabus Quiz from the online orientation is the designated activity. Simply logging into the course will not satisfy your attendance during this time. As with an on-campus course, students who are reported for non-attendance in an online course who are withdrawn are still responsible for paying for the course. If you do not complete the requirements of the first week of class, you should drop the course by the official drop/add deadline or expect to pay for the course.

Participation

Regular, active, and meaningful participation in online learning activities is an important component of this class and is essential to your success. Logging into the class does not count towards participation and attendance.  You must actively participate in class activities by completing discussions, assignments, and assessments.  It is recommended to check your email, the announcements, and class discussions regularly. Your day of last attendance is based on the last day you completed a documented class activity.
The following are academically related activities for the purpose of participation and attendance:

  • Participation in a graded discussion board,
  • Assessment attempt,
  • Assignment submission, and
  • Initiating contact with your instructor to ask a class-related question via D2L email

Ongoing communication with the instructor is critical to your class success.

Student Initiated Withdrawals

If you are concerned about your ability to succeed in this class, it is important to make an online appointment to speak with your instructor and an academic advisor as soon as possible. It is important for you to understand the financial and academic consequences that may result from class withdrawal.

Academic Honesty

Upon gaining access to access to D2L you are expected to keep your username and password confidential. Sharing access or passwords to D2L is considered a breach of the academic honesty policy and could result in you being removed from your class. When you log-in to D2L, you do so with the understanding and agreement that you will produce your own work, complete class assignments and discussions yourself, and to take class exams, tests or quizzes without the assistance of others.

Your academic work must be the result of your own thought, research, or self-expression. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to the following: cheating, plagiarism, unacceptable collaboration, falsification of data, aiding and abetting dishonesty, unauthorized or malicious interference, hacking computer property or software, and online disturbances. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct Policy and the Student Code of Conduct section located in the Student Handbook for more information.

All required class activities are subject to submission to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.

Types of Academic Dishonesty:

  • Cheating: Is defined as obtaining or attempting to obtain, or aiding another to obtain credit for work by dishonest or deceptive means.
  • Plagiarism: The use of words or ideas of the original creator without attribution as if they were your own. Plagiarism ranges from copying someone else’s work verbatim and elaborating on or altering someone else’s work.
  • Self-Plagiarism: Submitting or reusing parts of a previous paper without referencing source it was first submitted.  This includes retaking a course and turning in previously submitted papers and data.
  • Unacceptable Collaboration: Using answers, solutions, or ideas that are the results of collaboration without citing the fact of the collaboration is improper.
  • Falsification of Data: Making up or falsifying information and data. Examples include making up or altering data for an experiment or citing reference to sources you did not actually use.
  • Pay Services: Employing an assignment writing service or having another write the paper for you.
  • Enabling: Aiding and abetting another student in an act of academic dishonesty. Examples include giving someone a paper to copy and allowing someone access to your account.
  • Unauthorized or malicious interferences: If one person deliberately interferes with the work or activities of another person on purpose to cause the other harm or irreparable damages.

Academic honesty violations are considered a breach of policy and may result in academic penalties (zero points on the assignment/test in question, and/or a failing grade for the class), disciplinary action, and/or referral to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Student Grievance

Procedures for student grievances are found in the student handbook.  In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is your obligation to make an effort to resolve the matter with your instructor.  If the matter is not resolved with your instructor, then you may contact academic affairs associate dean.

Communication and Faculty Response

Communication

Use the D2L email tool only for private, personal, one-to-one communication with a specific individual, or groups of individuals. Do not send class related emails to the instructor’s BC email address.  In the event that the class communication tools are unavailable for more than 24 hours, the instructor will communicate with students (if necessary) via their BC email address.

Faculty Response

Class emails will be answered within 24 hours. It is recommended that you post class-related questions in the discussion area. Other students may have the same questions as you or may even be able to answer your questions. If you need information related to a test or assignment, plan ahead and submit your questions in advance of the due date.

Netiquette

In all online communication, it is expected that all students will follow rules of online “netiquette”. Netiquette is a set of rules for polite online behavior that all members of this class are expected to follow.  Review some of the general netiquette rules.

Individuals who violate the netiquette policy or engage in disruptive online behaviors such as flaming (posting disrespectful or hostile comments), posting inappropriate comments, or shouting (posting messages using all capitals) may have their class access privileges revoked and/or they may be referred to the Student Dean. Students who continue to engage in unacceptable online behavior even after being warned, may be permanently denied access to the class and/or may receive an F for the class.

Please don’t use email short hand like ROTFLO (rolling on the floor laughing out loud) or BTW (by the way) – not everyone knows what these abbreviations mean. If you want to use emoticons (smileys) to convey feelings, please stick with the basics happy 🙂 sad 🙁 or wink ;-). Others are less well known and are subject to different interpretations. The idea is to be clear in your communications.

Privacy Notice

Broward College is committed to the privacy of all students. In accordance with institutional policy and the U.S. Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Broward College protects the privacy of student education records. The college does not release private records of individual students, such as grades and class schedules, without prior written consent of the student. However, privacy and public records obligations of the college are governed by applicable Florida statutes and U.S. federal laws.

Course access records, quiz scores grades, email postings, discussion postings, file submissions, and chat room conversations are stored. This is a good reason to make sure that your communications adhere to proper netiquette. Please refer to the student handbook for more information.

Critical Event Procedures

The health, safety and welfare of our faculty, staff, and students are of utmost importance, and we want to ensure that students are aware of the steps Broward College takes in preparing for an emergency event or severe weather. The BC Alert system uses a layered approach to communication, reaching out to the College community with emails, text messages, phone calls and postings to the web. In addition to the information that will be available through BC Alert, there are several hotlines that will be updated with College status information in the event of a storm or other emergency:

Emergency Hotline:  954-201-4900

In the event of a school closing due to weather or other major event that might impact class schedules, the instructor will post an announcement and/or send an email indicating what changes, if any, the event will have on the course schedule and due dates.

Changes to the Syllabus

The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the class syllabus. The syllabus is a guide and every attempt is made to provide an accurate overview of the class. However, circumstances and events may make it necessary for the instructor to modify the syllabus during the semester which may depend on the progress, needs, and experiences of the students. Changes to the syllabus will be made with advance notice. In the event that changes become necessary, students will be notified through class email, the discussion board, and/or the announcements tool.

Disability Services

If you need academic accommodations and/or disability services support, you must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS). It is your responsibility to contact the ODS to document disability prior to receiving services. You must notify the instructor that you have registered with the ODS and provide the instructor a copy of the ODS letter. Your documentation and any related communication with your instructor remain strictly confidential.

Technical Resources

When taking any online course, you should know how to use an internet browser, a word processing program, send and receive e-mail, and download and upload files.  Some online courses use additional software. Refer to the Class Schedule and Assignments section below for additional details.  Although the help desk strives to assist our students in the best way possible they cannot be held responsible for class hardware and/or software purchases that are found to be unsatisfactory, insufficient, defective, misused, or incompatible with current system setups.
Visit the technical requirements page for a complete list of system and software requirements.

Help Desk

For year-round, 24 hour technical assistance, please visit the 24/7 Help Desk page.