INFO 3002 Ethical Hacking Principles and Practice

Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 301124

Coordinator Weisheng Si Opens in new window

Description This subject teaches students ethical hacking principles and skills with the ultimate goal of defence. It covers practical skills in different stages of ethical hacking, including reconnaissance on public information, port and vulnerability scanning, exploitation of vulnerabilities, post exploitation, and writing a comprehensive report to document detected vulnerabilities and proposed solutions. Students will not only practise with major tools in ethical hacking, but also learn the principles of how these tools work and hence how to defend against them. Students completing this subject can pursue careers such as ethical hackers, security architects or security analysts.

School Computer, Data & Math Sciences

Discipline Security Science

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 2 10cp

Check your fees via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 3 subject

Pre-requisite(s) COMP 2004 OR
COMP 2005 AND
COMP 2020 OR
COMP 2021

Assumed Knowledge

Students should have a solid understanding of computer networking (especially with the TCP/IP protocol suite), possess basic programming skills in developing computer applications and web applications, and command basic knowledge and skills in databases and operating systems.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Identify the differences between lawful and unlawful behaviour in conducting ethical hacking
2. Apply reconnaissance knowledge and tools to gather public information about systems and networks
3. Apply port scanning knowledge and tools to detect port status in target computers
4. Apply vulnerability scanning knowledge and tools to detect vulnerabilities in target computers
5. Apply exploitation knowledge and tools to verify and exploit the detected vulnerabilities
6. Apply post exploitation knowledge and tools to evaluate the severity of vulnerabilities
7. Detect and defend against social engineering techniques
8. Apply web penetration testing knowledge and tools to detect vulnerabilities in web applications
9. Compile a comprehensive ethical hacking report.

Subject Content

1. Introduction to ethical hacking: concepts, legal requirements, stages, and lab environment 
2. Reconnaissance based on public information, and its major tools. 
3. Port scanning, and its major tools. 
4. Vulnerability scanning, and its major tools 
5. Exploitation of vulnerabilities, and its major tools
6. Post exploitation, and its major tools 
7. Social Engineering, and its major tools. 
8. Web penetration testing, and its major tools. 

Assessment

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Type Length Percent Threshold Individual/Group Task
Quiz 12 quizzes with each quiz taking 20 minutes 20 N Individual
Practical 10 labs with each lab taking 2 hours 20 N Individual
Applied Project 2000 - 3000 words 20 N Individual
Final Exam One hour 40 N Individual

WSU Online Trimester 3

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Type Length Percent Threshold Individual/Group Task
Quiz 11 quizzes each containing 10 multiple-choice questions 15 N Individual
Practical 10 labs each requiring two hours of work 25 N Individual
Report 6-10 pages 20 N Individual
Final Exam 1 hour 40 N Individual

Teaching Periods

Sydney City Campus - Term 2 (2023)

Sydney City

On-site

Subject Contact Weisheng Si Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window

WSU Online TRI-3 (2023)

Wsu Online

Online

Subject Contact Rosalind Priestman Opens in new window

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Autumn (2024)

Penrith (Kingswood)

On-site

Subject Contact Weisheng Si Opens in new window

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Parramatta - Victoria Rd

On-site

Subject Contact Weisheng Si Opens in new window

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Sydney City Campus - Term 1 (2024)

Sydney City

On-site

Subject Contact Antoinette Cevenini Opens in new window

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WSU Online TRI-2 (2024)

Wsu Online

Online

Subject Contact Weisheng Si Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window

Sydney City Campus - Term 2 (2024)

Sydney City

On-site

Subject Contact Weisheng Si Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window

WSU Online TRI-3 (2024)

Wsu Online

Online

Subject Contact Rosalind Priestman Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window