MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTYOF BUSINESS SIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND MARKETING SCIENCES

MODULE OUTLINE FOR INFORMATION SECURITY: MIM737

A. INTRODUCTION

Computer Security Concepts

Computer Security Defined
Computer Security Objectives
Need for Security
Key Computer Security Terminology

B. THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK

Programming management (application and system programmers)

Security problems
Security measures
Software development aids
Security Administration
Conducting a security program
Major security threats and remedial measures
Controls of last resort

Operations Management
Computer operations
Data preparation

C. APPLICATION CONTROL FRAMEWORK

1. Boundary controls
Access controls – functions of an Access control mechanism, object resources, action privileges,
implementing an ACM, dynamics of authorization
Cryptographic controls – private key and public key cryptosystems, transposition ciphers, substituition
ciphers and product ciphers, choosing a cipher system, key management – key generation,key
distribution, key installation.
Digital signatures – secret messages, signed messages, signed, secret messages

2. Input Controls
Data and Instruction Input – data capture methods, data preparation methods, input devices, data codes,
data coding errors, types of codes, check digits, instruction input, data input validation checks, designing
data input validation program, handling of errors
Validation and Error Control – lexical validation, syntactic validation, semantic validation
Communication Controls
 Component failure
Subversive threats – passive and active threats
Controls over component failure
Treatment of line errors
Error detection – loop checks, redundancy checks, parity checks
Error correction – error correcting codes, retransmission
Improving network reliability
Controls over subversive threats – link encryption, end to end encryption, message authentication codes,
message sequence numbers, request-response mechanism
Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, secure email,

3. Processing Controls
Processor controls – real memory controls, error detection and correction, access controls, operating
system integrity, nature of a secure operating system, functional requirements, design approaches,
operating system integrity threats.
Application software controls – validation checks

4. Output Controls - Inference controls

5. Security policies

6. Legal, Privacy and ethical issues in information security

7. Introduction to computer forensics

SOME TEXTS TO CONSIDER

1. Michael E Whitman and Herbert J Mattered, “Principles of Information Security”, Vikas

Publishing House, 2003.

2. Ron Weber, “Information Systems Control and Audit”, Pearson Education, 2004.

3. CISA Review Manual, ISACA publications

4. Hunton, J.E., Bryant, S.M., and Bagranoff, N.A., Core Concepts of Information Technology Auditing,
John Wiley & Sons, 2004

5. Champlain, J.J., Security of Information Systems, John Wiley, 2003