ISA 650 Syllabus

Instructor:

Raymond J. Curts, PhD

Office Hours: One Hour Prior to Class

Engineering Building, Room= 5323 / 5353 / 5355

rcurts@gmu.edu

Logistics:

Course Dates: 22 January through 14 May 2013=

Location: Planetary Hall, Room 120

Meeting Day: = Thursdays

Meeting Time: 7:20 PM – 10:00 PM

Reference #: Section 001= - CRN 14154

Administrative Support:

= Computer Science Department Office

= Engineering Building

= Room 4300

= 703-993-1530

Course Description:

ISA 650 Fed= eral IT Security Policy (3:3:0)

Focuses on security policy and its management for information systems having national and international connectivity. Issues include legal, international, cultural, and local factors. Students are expected to participate regular= ly in presenting material, in discussion of recent security issues, and by writing short papers on major current issues.

Prerequisite(s): ISA 522 or ISA 562.

This course provides insight into the Federal Information Security Framew= ork including noteworthy legislation, regulations and compliance issues, as w= ell as commonalities and significant differences between departments and agen= cies within the Federal Executive Branch (FEB). The course will be presented as formal lectures complimented by gr= oup discussion. Each topic will be addressed as part of the larger Federal IT Security structure.

Textbooks:

Required Reading: No specific readings prescribed. Stud= ents will research class topics as appropriate.

Recommended Reading: <= i>Various government regulations, directives, instructions and web sites.

Schedule:

The course schedule will fo= llow the outline below; however, it may be rearranged as the term progresses to allow for weather closures and one or two guest lecturers from industry as time p= ermits. Homework is assigned throughout the sem= ester as indicated. Additional homework,= not listed here, may be assigned from time to time. There is no textbook for this course. Students are encouraged to consult the recommended readings and Blac= kboard links for additional information. = All readings are from web accessible documents unless otherwise indicated.

Lecture	Date	Topic	Assignments
1	01/24/13	Introduction to FEB and = the Federal Information Security Environment
2	01/31/13	Executive Office of the President (EoP)	EoP= Article
3	02/07/13	Department of Defense (D= oD)	DoD Article
4	02/14/13	Intelligence Community (= IC)	IC Article
5	02/21/13	National Institute of St= andards (NIST)	NIST Article<= /span>
6	02/28/13	Other Federal Government= & Quasi-Government Agencies	Quasi-Gov. Article<= /o:p>
7	03/07/13	Compliance, Review &= Paper Guidelines	Compliance Article<= /o:p>
	03/14/1= 3	Spring Break – No Cla= ss
	03/21/1= 3	Mid-Term Exam	=
8	03/28/13	Federal Enterprise Archi= tecture (FEA) & Implications for IT Security	FEA Article
9	04/04/13	Federal Information Secu= rity Framework	Framework Article
10	04/11/13	Specific Compliance / Certification and Accreditation (C&A)	C&A Article
11	04/18/13	Implementation and Conti= ngency Planning	Planning Article
12	04/25/13	Review Student Research Presentations<= o:p>	Research Paper Due<= span style=3D'color:black'>
13	05/02/1= 3	Student Research Presentations
	05/09/13	Final Exam

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend each class, to comp= lete any required preparatory work (including assignments – see schedule above) = and to participate actively in lectures, discussions and exercises. As members of the academic community, a= ll students are expected to contribute to class discussions regardless of their proficiency with the subject matter.

Students are expected to ma= ke prior arrangements with the instructor if they know in advance that they will mis= s a class and to consult with the instructor as soon as possible if they miss a= ny class without prior notice.

Departmental policy requires students to take exams at the scheduled time and place, unless there are tr= uly compelling circumstances supported by appropriate documentation. Except in such circumstances, failure to attend a scheduled exam may result in a score of zero (0) for that exam.

= ;

Classroom Conduct

Students are expected to be punctual, alert, and prepared for each class. Be consid= erate of other students, i.e., be quiet for the duration of the class period, exc= ept when you have something to contribute to the entire class. Please feel free to ask questions and /= or offer pertinent comments in class. If you are confused, more than likely, someone else is too. If you need extra help, please schedule = an appointment with the instructor. Cell phones have no place in class; either leave them behind or turn them off prior to entering the classroom. In addition, GMU policy prohibits food in classrooms.

Communications

Communication with the inst= ructor on issues relating to an individual student should be conducted using GMU emai= l, or in person, not the public forums on Blackboard. GMU email is the preferred method for communicating with the instructor (rcurts= @gmu.edu). Email messages from the instructor to a= ll class members will be sent to students' GMU email addresses – if you use another email account as your primary address, you should forward your GMU email to that account.

Registered students will be= given access to a section of Blackboard for this course. Blackboard will be used as the primary mechanism (outside of lectures) to disseminate course information, including this syllabus, schedules, announcements, lecture slides, homework, other assignments and scores for homework, the project and exams.

Lecture slides are compleme= nts to the lecture process, not substitutes for it - access to lecture slides will= be provided in Blackboard as a courtesy to students provided acceptable attend= ance is maintained.

All course materials (lectu= re slides, assignment specifications, etc.) are published on Blackboard in Ado= be® Portable Document Format (PDF). Th= is allows users of most computing platforms to view and print these files. Microsoft^® Office, MS Visio,= or a compatible set of applications is required for assignments.

The Discussion section of Blackboard is provided for the use of students. The instructo= r will NOT monitor Blackboard = discussions on a regular basis. However, GMU e= mail will be answered promptly, usually within 24 hrs.

= ;

Policies & The University Honor Code

The homework and all other assignments in this course represent individual work. As always the GMU Honor Code hol= ds. Stated in English, do the work yourself.= If you need help, see the instructor. The most frequent violations of the university honor code and policies include but are not limited to:

v&nb= sp; Copying or sharing a file / homework or any portion of a file / homework from anoth= er student.

v&nb= sp; Sharing or allowing another student to copy your files / homework or any portion of= a file / homework.

v&nb= sp; Duplicating or distributing unauthorized copies of copyrighted software programs, lectu= res, publications or other materials.

v&nb= sp; Unauthorized access or use of university computers, computer systems, or computer networ= ks.

v&nb= sp; Creating, sending or distributing electronic chain letters or Spam.

v&nb= sp; Using a disk containing a virus in a computer lab or computer system, or distribu= ting the virus on the computer network.

v&nb= sp; Using the university computers, computer system, or computer network to view or d= istribute profanity or objectionable material.

See: http:/= /oai.gmu.edu/honor-code/

Homework / Discussion Topics

= ;

Homework for this course wi= ll be independent research oriented. Stu= dents are required to supplement the lecture materials with recent literature. Prior to each lecture, students = are expected to find recent literature that is related to the material covered = by the lecture and / or associated text material and provide a synopsis of the article(s) to the class during the class period as indicated on the schedule. Synopses are to be prese= nted during each class period for group discussion. Literature synopses will be graded upon their relevance to the discu= ssed lecture or text material, quality of the publication from which they are dr= awn, presentation quality (summary, key points, conclusions) and degree of stude= nt understanding of the information presented (determined through question and answer discussions). All synopsis presentations must be accompanied by a one page (maximum) summary which wil= l be uploaded to Blackboard prior to class. Summaries should include the article reference citation, an brief article summary, discussion of key points, and the student’s personal assessment and conclusions, in the format provided. Research that indicates new advances in technology, major changes in government policy and / or the impacts of tech= nology / federal policy on the Federal IT or IT Security environment is encouraged= .

= ;

Homework is submitted through Blackboard and is d= ue before class on the date specified. <= /span>All homework materials (charts, diagrams, text, etc.) may be generated in MS Of= fice and / or Office compatible software as appropriate, and uploaded to Blackbo= ard. Be sure to include your name in the = header of all homework assignments. T= he instructor teaches multiple sections. Therefo= re, in order to ensure that homework is properly credited all homework files sh= all use the following naming convention:

ISA 650 001 S13 L?? Username.xxxx

Where “?” represents the two digit lecture number, “Username” is your student email / = Blackboard ID and “xxxx” represents the type of document (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .zipx, etc.). If your submission requires multiple files, combining them into a single Zip file for upload is recommended. For example, homework= number one, submitted by a student named John Smith, using a Zip format would be labeled:

ISA 650 001 S13 L01 JSmith.zip.

            = All homework is required to be submitted on time in order to receive credit. Except in VERY EXTRAORDINARY circumstan= ces,

LATE HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

            All homework assignments are completed by the student and presented to the instructor as partial fulfillment of course requirements. As such the instructor and the Universi= ty reserve the right to use student coursework as classroom examples for this class, future courses / classes, and other educational purposes as appropri= ate.

Research Paper

Students shall be arranged = into groups; the number and size of the groups depends upon enrollment. Each group shall prepare an 8 - 1= 0 page research paper on a topic assigned by the instructor. Research papers shall be double spaced = with 1” margins and Times New Roman 12 point font. Page limits are exclusive of title page, table of contents, abstract, index, bibliography and other such ancillary material. It is the responsibility of the individ= ual group / students to analyze the topic and provide a meaningful summary, discussio= n, conclusions, recommendations and, where appropriate, propose effective information technology-based solutions. Keep in mind that finding fault is easy – and, it has been done nume= rous times before by many researchers. = The hard (and more interesting) part is developing a workable solution.

Research papers are intende= d to be an in-depth look at some issue relevant to course material. As such they should provide insight well beyond what has been discussed in class, journals, newspapers, magazines, w= eb sites, blogs or other media. Resea= rch papers are NOT to be a summary nor a restatement of previously covered ground. On the contrary, they should add to the body of knowledge in the area of Federal IT Policy or some closely related issue as assigned.

Class Presentation=

Each group shall pre= pare a short classroom presentation summarizing their research paper. Classroom presentations shall include approximately 10 - 15 slides and a 20 - 30 =          minute synopsis of the research paper followed by 10 - 15 minutes for quest= ions and answers. Actual length of the presentation depends upon the number of groups / enrollment. Each member of the group must participate in the presentation. S= tudents should be prepared to field questions as time permits. Presentations will be graded on the deg= ree to which a systematic approach to problem solving was followed and on the exte= nt to which the conclusions and proposed solutions were researched and substantiated. The instructor’s gr= ading will be supplemented by peer grading.

If you are concerned or confused about= some aspect of this project,

discuss it with the instructor

WELL = BEFORE

it is due and in time to make adjustments as necessary.

As with homework, all resea= rch papers and classroom presentations are completed by the student and present= ed to the instructor as partial fulfillment of course requirements. As such the instructor and the Universi= ty reserve the right to use student coursework as classroom examples for this class, future courses / classes, and other educational purposes as appropri= ate.

Exams

In accordance with Department policy, students who arrive more than 15 minutes late for any exam will not be permitted to take the exam and will automatically receive a grade of zero for the exam. Makeup exams are very rarely given. Requests for a delayed exam due to multi= ple tests (>2) in one day will ONLY= be considered if proper forms are completed and in the instructor's hands w= ell before the scheduled exam date.

Exams are intended to test = the students’ knowledge of the materials discussed in the readings and lectures. Consequently, although e= ach test may include one or two short answer and / or essay questions, they will consist mostly of True/False, Multiple Choice, Multiple Response and Matchi= ng type questions that can be graded on Scantron Forms. Be sure to bring the appropriate Scantron (dark green, #882 E or ES) to class on exam day. Other Scantron forms cannot be read pro= perly by the department Scantron reader, and exam papers will not be graded by ha= nd. Scantron forms will be required for all exams. The students are solely responsible to provide their own Scantron forms.   Only the Scantron forms will be used in scoring the exams.

Grad= ing

Grades will be awarded in accordance with the GMU Graduate Grading System as follows:

Numeric Grade

Grade

Quality Points

Pass / Fail=

97%

-

100%

A+

4

Satisfactory / Passing

93%

-

96%

A

4

Satisfactory / Passing

90%

-

92%

A-

3.67

Satisfactory / Passing

87%

-

89%

B+

3.33

Satisfactory / Passing

83%

-

86%

B

3

Satisfactory / Passing

80%

-

82%

B-

2.67

Satisfactory* / Passing

70%

-

79%

C

2

Unsatisfactory / Passing

0%

-

69%

F

0

Unsatisfactory / Failing

=

= * Although = a B- is a satisfactory grade for a course, students must maintain a 3.00 average in their degree program and present a 3.00 GPA on the courses listed on the graduation application.

Raw scores may be adjusted (i.e., a curve may be applied) by the inst= ructor to calculate final grades. Grades = will be assigned as follows:

15% - Homework / Quizzes / Participation

20% - Mid Term Exam

20% - Final Exam

25% - Research Paper

20% - Research Presentation

Note that homework, quizzes and class participation= account for 15% of your grade. Failure to = submit homework on time, skipping class, or failing to participate in classroom discussions and exercises will have a significant negative impact on your f= inal grade.

If you have any questions or concerns related to= any aspect of this course and/or related requirements, discuss them with the Instructor

BE= FORE they = become an issue.

Numeric Grade	Grade	Quality Points	Pass / Fail=
97%	-	100%	A+	4	Satisfactory / Passing
93%	-	96%	A	4	Satisfactory / Passing
90%	-	92%	A-	3.67	Satisfactory / Passing
87%	-	89%	B+	3.33	Satisfactory / Passing
83%	-	86%	B	3	Satisfactory / Passing
80%	-	82%	B-	2.67	Satisfactory* / Passing
70%	-	79%	C	2	Unsatisfactory / Passing
0%	-	69%	F	0	Unsatisfactory / Failing