Griffith College Dublin

Griffith College Dublin in association with QCC Information Security Training offer a wide range of Information Security Courses that count as credits towards the Certificate and Diploma in Information Security awarded by Royal Holloway University of London. These courses are now delivered at Griffith College, South Circular Road, Dublin 8. This web page describes a number of Information Security Training Courses that are offered individually and are open for all to attend. Anyone may attend as many or as few as they wish. However, each course can also count towards an academic qualification for those who choose to apply and follow a suitable programme of courses.
The electronic handling of information is one of the defining technologies of our age. Enormous volumes of information are routinely stored and transmitted worldwide - indeed, most aspects of our daily lives would come to a halt should the information infrastructure fail. However, with the benefits deriving from the ability to automatically manage so much information, come major threats to businesses, governments and individuals. These threats include possible fraud through information manipulation, deliberate damage to stored and transmitted information, and blackmail associated with the threat of damage. The field of Information Security, namely the study of countermeasures to these real and serious threats, has grown up very rapidly in recent years. The subject embraces a range of technologies such as cryptography, computer security, and fraud detection, and also includes the study of how security can best be managed.

This Certificate and Diploma are designed to introduce the technical, legal and commercial aspects of Information Security. Students of the course come from a variety of backgrounds, although the programme has been particularly designed for those in employment. The Certificate and Diploma are intended as a foundation for a professional career as well as for postgraduate research in Information Security. Graduates of the qualifications are expected to find employment in both industry and commerce as security experts, and the need for such experts is likely to be high for the foreseeable future.

What is the Certificate and Diploma in Information Security?

Griffith College Dublin in association with QCC Information Security and Royal Holloway University of London offer a wide range of information security training courses that count as credits towards acknowledged professional academic qualifications.  These courses are now delivered at Griffith College Dublin.   The training for the Certificate & Diploma is administered by QCC Information Security Training Ltd.  The training offers courses as individual 'one-off' modules held in small to moderate size classes.  Students have all the advantages of approved academic training taken with a wide range of subjects.

What Courses Are Available?

View the Royal Holloway Web-site at www.isg.rhul.ac.uk and look under PG Cert. & Dip. Programme - Courses, for the choice of courses currently available. More are added through the year.

Is there a Starting Date or are there University Terms?

Delegates/students can start the programme at any time. Courses can be taken in any order (although if this is a new subject we recommend beginning with the Managing Information Security Foundation Course).  We also recommend that the Foundation Course in Understanding Cryptography is taken before any of the option courses that have encryption as part of the subject.

This training programme, designed for part-time students, is meant to be flexible.

Can I Attend Courses Without Taking the University Degree?

Courses can be taken as individual training modules without any formal academic application.  They may count retrospectively (within four years) as credits towards the Certificate or Diploma in Information Security. Anybody can choose a course, complete a simple booking form and attend one of the many courses.  Completion of a course is always awarded by an Attendance Certificate which will be counted as a credit towards the academic qualifications.

What is The Certificate in Information Security?

The Certificate in Information Security is awarded by Royal Holloway University of London, it is approved by the Department of Education and is an industry acknowledged qualification.  Students who qualify may either accept this award, or take it as the credit towards undertaking the dissertation for the Diploma.  It is not possible to accept the Certificate and to use it as the credit for the Diploma.

How Many Courses are required to Qualify for the Certificate/Diploma?

Fifteen credits (or days) from the courses available are required to qualify for assessment for The Certificate in Information Security.   Of the 15 credits there are 7 that are in the compulsory foundation courses in the subjects of: Managing Information Security; Risk Assessment and Cryptography.

Are There Any Exams?

No, assessment is by three short course-work essays of approximately 3,000 words (5 pages) on course subjects to qualify for The Certificate. There are two compulsory essays related to the foundation courses and the third is from a wide choice of subjects.

What is The Diploma in Information Security?

The Diploma in Information Security (Dip. InfoSec) is a higher academic qualification awarded by Royal Holloway University of London and approved by the Department of Education and acknowledged by commerce and industry.  As a higher academic award it is a qualification of educational achievement, no continuity points are required to maintain its status.

Having achieved Certificate level students will normally progress to the dissertation which is usually a work-related information security topic of approximately 10,000 to 20,000 words or 30 - 40 typed pages (excluding diagrams) produced under the guidance and supervision of a tutor from the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London.  This supervision is normally carried out at distance by e-mail or post.  The project is required to be completed within 4 years of registration, although most students complete within a much shorter time period.

Registration for the Diploma requires a separate academic fee payable direct to Royal Holloway University of London.

Who Can Register for the Post-Graduate Certificate and Diploma?

Entry to the academic programme may be made at any time by completing an application form.  Admission to the academic qualification requires either relevant industrial or work experience or a second class degree.  Applications from students who possess appropriate professional or industrial experience and the motivation to succeed are strongly encouraged.  The application and marking fees are £250 each, plus VAT, making a total of £500 + VAT.

What is the Cost?

Prices for individual courses will be sent to you by e-mail at your request, and discounts are available for groups, and for purchasing a 15 day set of courses.    Payment may be made on a Course by Course basis.

Prices for training courses will not increase during your period of study - the price you pay at the start will remain the same throughout your period of study.

The cost of the Certificate and of marking course essays is covered in the University application fee.

For those students who move on to the Diploma, there is a cost of £2,000, payable direct to the University.

Who Teaches the Courses?

Tutors from the courses are chosen specifically for their subject area.  They comprise of a combination of tutors from the Royal Holloway Information Security Group and industry experts.

When Do I have to Apply for Registration?

Application for registration as a student of the University can be made at any time, before, during or after courses have been taken.

Certificate Essays

Purpose

The purpose of the Certificate Essays is to ensure that you, as a student, have an understanding of the subjects and modules that have been taught in the training programme administered by QCC InfoSec Training.  Once you have completed the requirements of the training programme and University enrolment you will be transferred to the administration of Royal Holloway, University of London. The Certificate essays are in essence coursework essays and the written material should be drawn from a combination of lecture notes, study notes and research. The essay is written in answer to a general question and each is intended to cover a specific information security topic. Marks are awarded for knowledge and competency in the subject, evaluation, application, organisation and presentation.

  The pass mark for the essays is an average of 50% with a minimum for each essay of 40%.  A Distinction is awarded for an overall mark of 70% or higher. The three essays are required to pass for the academic award of The Certificate in Information Security.

Application Form

Prior to the submission of essays three copies of an application form to enroll as a student of the University needs to be completed and returned to:

John Austen
Information Security Group (Mathematics)
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham
Surrey TW20 0EX

The cost of enrolment and the marking of essays is £500 plus VAT.  The invoice will be addressed to the person or organization shown on your course booking form, unless you indicate otherwise.  Payment is required before the Certificate essays are marked.  If you have previously paid this to QCC as part of your training fees, it will be paid on your behalf.

Submission

Three essays are required to be submitted.  Essays A and B are compulsory, the third is chosen from one of the options.  One essay should be submitted in the first instance in order that comments may be made back to you.  This first essay should be submitted by e-mail to: 'John.Austen@rhul.ac.uk', or alternatively by post to the address given above.  When some observations have been made on this essay, it, and the other two essays should be sent as an e-mail attachment together with two paper copies to John Austen, Information Security Group, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX.

Provided that an application form has been submitted and accepted by the University, essays may be submitted at any time during the training programme.

The time limit for the completion of either or both of the Certificate and/or Diploma is four years from the date of enrolment.

Format

Each essay should be typed and comprise of not more than 3,000 words and should typically be 5 or 6 pages of text in length.  Graphs, pictures and drawings are allowed in addition to the text length.

Each essay should have a cover sheet headed 'Royal Holloway University of London, Certificate and Diploma in Information Security, Essay on ('name of the subjects', e.g. Cryptography).  The cover sheet must have the name of the candidate together with the correspondence address, e-mail address (if available) and contact telephone number.  The Essay text should begin with the Question, and have an Introduction and a Conclusion.

The Certificate Award

All Certificate and Diploma students must fulfill the attendance training requirements of fifteen credits that make up the taught part of the programme.  Once assessment of the essays is complete you will be notified of the results by letter to the address given on your application form.  If you are successful you may elect to accept the award of The Certificate in Information Security and not progress to The Diploma, or you may progress to the Diploma.  Either The Certificate or The Diploma may be chosen as the academic award, students are not allowed to qualify for both awards

Certificate Essay Subjects

Essays A and B are compulsory.  The third essay should be chosen from ONE of the Options.

Compulsory Essays

Essay A - 'Cryptography'

Syllabus Topics:

Understanding Cryptography (main topic).  Optional topics: Key Management, P.K.I. and Digital Signatures.

Question

"Discuss some of the ways and give examples where Cryptography is useful to information security - and some of the problems associated with applying it".

Essay B - 'Managing Information Security'

Syllabus Topics:

Managing Information Security and Risk Assessment (main topics).  Optional topic: ISO17799.

Question

"Discuss and give examples of some of the ways in which threats to information assets should be managed"

Options

Essay C - 'Specifying Controls in Information Security'

Syllabus Topics:

Network Security (main topic).  Optional topics: Smart Cards, Securing Web Services, and Internet and Firewall security.

Question

"Discuss and give examples of some of the advantages in specifying controls when protecting information assets

Essay D - "Preparing to respond to Security Incidents"

Syllabus Topics:

Compliance - Information Security Law and Data Protection, Studies in CyberCrime, Incident Response and Computer Forensics.

Question:

"Discuss and give examples of some of the methods and responses available in preparing to deal with breaches of security"

Essay E - "Organisational safeguards in Information Security"

Syllabus Topics:

Business Continuity Planning, Security Awareness Programmes and ISO17799.

Question:

"Discuss and give examples of some organisational methodologies available to safeguard information assets"

Essay F - 'Planning and Designing Information Security'

Syllabus Topics:

Designing Security Architectures and PKI.

Question

"Discuss and give examples of the importance of architectures in information security"