Certificate IV in
Cyber Security

Intake Dates & Course Length

Career Outcomes

Entry Requirements

Applying

Pathways & Accreditation

Fees & Finance Options

Course Structure

Semester 1




VU23217Recognise The Need For Cyber Security In An Organisation

60.0 hours



This unit introduces common security frameworks and the importance of recognising the threats, risks and vulnerabilities to cyber security in an organisation. Some threats to an organisation include networks, machines, applications, data, users and infrastructure.

The unit addresses common cyber security attack mechanisms and an introduction to threat management as well as security issues surrounding Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The unit also includes the implementation of tools and systems an organisation can use for protection against cyber-attacks.

Throughout this unit student will:

• Identify the need for cyber security for an organisation.
• Investigate common and emerging cyber security attacks, and techniques.
• Investigate methods to protect personal data and privacy.
• Examine methods used to protect an organisation’s data.
• Investigate current Cyber Security Frameworks (CSF).

The relevance to industry is highlighted as the sophistication of cyber security attacks increase so does the knowledge and mitigation strategies required for an organisation. This unit helps student get a baseline understanding of the key frameworks adopted by organisations to keep secure and in an ever change technology landscape.

BSBINS401Analyse And Present Research Information

40.0 hours



This unit supports students collect, organise, analyse and present information using available systems and sources. This includes identifying research requirements and sources of information, evaluating the quality and reliability of the information, and preparing and producing reports.

Throughout the unit students will:

• Identify and confirm research strategy
• Collect and store research information
• Analyse and synthesise research information
• Present research information

The relevance to industry is that it provides learners with the skills and knowledge necessary to collect, analyse, and present data and information effectively, which is a critical part of many IT roles. By completing this unit, learners will be able to improve their analytical and research skills, and develop their ability to present information in a clear and concise manner. These skills are highly valued in the IT and cyber security industry, where data analysis and effective communication are essential for success. This unit can help students to advance their careers and improve their employability in the IT and cyber Security industry.

VU23214Configure And Secure Networked End Points

60.0 hours



This unit introduces how to configure an operating system on a personal computer, adding security, setting user level passwords and privileges to limit and identify user access. These key security principles are all required to increase protection of the end point from cyber security attacks.

The unit also provides an overview of internet of things (IoT) devices, an introduction to computer networking virtualisation and base level Linux commands.

Throughout this unit students will

• Identify the role of personal computers and other computing devices in cyber security.
• Undertake preventative maintenance and base level troubleshooting procedures .
• Configure and use a computer operating system and relevant applications.
• Define principles of safe software upgrade security practises
• Configure and use virtualised images.
• Identify key concepts in networking personal computers.
• Connect devices to networks.
• Demonstrate base level Linux commands.

The relevance to industry is highlighted in as endpoints of a network are the entry and exit points where data and devices connect to the network. Securing these endpoints is important because they can be vulnerable to security threats such as malware, viruses, and unauthorised access.

ICTPRG435Write Scripts For Software Applications

40.0 hours



This unit develops students’ skills to plan, design and build scripts, using a scripting language to construct highly interactive and automated software products to solves business needs. This unit is taught in the python scripting language.

Throughout this unit students will:

• Specify software application requirements.
• Determine script requirements.
• Design and build scripts.
• Finalise scripts.

This unit is highly relevant to IT industry skills as python is one of the most popular cyber security scripting languages in the world, with widespread use in the IT industry. By completing this unit, students will be able to develop software scripts using Python, which is highly valued in the IT industry. Python is used extensively in a wide range of industries, and Python developers are in high demand. Python programming skills can be applied to a wide range of applications, making them highly transferable across different technology industries and job roles.

VU23213Utilise Basic Network Concepts And Protocols Required In Cyber Security

80.0 hours



This unit covers how data travels around networks and the internet, it includes the function and operation of protocols and protocol models such as Open System Interconnection (OSI) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite and devices that facilitate data transfer. The exposure to these protocols is at an introductory level in this unit.

Throughout this unit students will

• Outline key network security concepts.
• Define key features of the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
• Define services, standards and protocols that facilitate security and the functional operation of a network.
• Implement and demonstrate the function and operation of key networking devices.
• Implement the components of a network security laboratory and testing environment.
• Present current examples of cyber network attacks and resources.

In the IT and cyber security industry, networks are essential for the communication and transfer of data between devices and systems. However, networks are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and cybercriminals can exploit vulnerabilities in networks to steal data, disrupt operations, and cause damage to businesses and organizations.

By completing this unit, students will be able to utilise basic network concepts and protocols required in cybersecurity, which is highly valued in the IT and cyber security industry. This unit can help individuals to advance their careers and improve their employability in the IT industry, particularly in roles that require expertise in cyber security, such as cyber security analysts, network security engineers, and security operations centre (SOC) analysts. With the growing importance of cyber security in the IT industry, completing this unit can be an excellent way for students to enhance their IT industry skills and increase their employability in the job market.

VU23223Apply Cyber Security Legislation, Privacy And Ethical Practices

30.0 hours



This unit introduces knowledge required to identify the current Australian cyber security legislation and to be cognisance of the interdependence between the key regulators.

It requires the ability to apply the current cyber security privacy policies and procedures for an organisation. The unit also includes the ethical practices required for students to conduct themselves professionally both privately and when working for an organisation.

Throughout the unit students will:

• Review the cyber security legislative and regulatory landscape for Australian organisations
• Examine an organisations policies and procedures for compliance with relevant standards
• Review the ethical practises and procedures for an organisation

The relevance to industry is highlighted by students gaining an understanding of the audit process by assessing and preparing a written report on the level of compliance or non-compliance which is important to an organisation in its requirements to be in adhering to current legislative instruments and reporting duties. Students will also be able to identify unethical behaviour by ICT/cyber security technicians within an organisation or privately and explain the potential impact of the behaviour.

ICTCLD401Configure Cloud Services

60.0 hours



This unit develops students skills to configure core cloud services including compute, storage, databases and autoscaling according to business needs and workload.

Throughout this unit will:

• Select and secure access to cloud environment
• Deploy virtual network
• Set up automatic scaling
• Finalise virtual network infrastructure

This unit is highly relevant to IT industry skills as cloud computing has become an essential part of modern technology, and businesses are increasingly relying on cloud computing solutions to streamline their operations. By completing this unit, students will be able to design cloud computing solutions that meet industry standards and business requirements. They will be able to apply their skills to design cloud computing solutions for a wide range of settings and purposes, including business, education, and government. These skills are highly valued in the IT industry, where cloud computing has become a standard practice. This unit can help students to advance their careers and improve their employability in the IT and cyber security industry, particularly in roles that require expertise in cloud computing, such as cloud architects, cloud engineers, and cloud consultants.

VU23215Test Concepts And Procedures For Cyber Security

60.0 hours



This unit introduces the use of testing procedures for computer systems in an organisation. The unit examines common threats, ethical hacking principles, and an introduction to penetration testing, social engineering security issues, enumeration, port scanning, foot printing, traffic sniffers and wireless local area network (WLAN) vulnerabilities and also includes treatment of intrusions.

This unit also discusses the ability to apply layer testing frameworks and tools as well as network testing and monitoring tools.

Throughout this unit students will:

• Identify typical cyber security application layer testing methodologies and tools.
• Use networking security testing methodologies, tools and commands.
• Implement the laboratory testing environment.
• Identify common threats and mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrate ethical hacking principles and procedures.
• Identify security vulnerabilities of WLANs.
• Demonstrate basic scripting for a cyber security environment.

The relevance to industry is highlighted by proving an introduction to penetration testing methodologies and activities, with a focus on current tools and local network based attacks.

This provides opportunities to build solid foundations for Penetration Tester career pathways. The technical based skills development in this unit with focuses on Linux usage, command line interfaces and scripting languages will prepare students for further penetration testing subjects. The practical usage of virtualised testing environments using industry standard software gives student the opportunities to work through complex scenarios and ideas around migration of common threats.

VU23221Evaluate And Test An Incident Response Plan For An Enterprise

40.0 hours



This unit requires students to examine an organisation’s existing incident response plan (IRP) and expand it as necessary to deal with incidents new and emerging threats.

The unit requires the ability to form a team, clarify roles, interpret an incident response plan (IRP), use red, blue and purple teams to test the IRP, implement an incident, evaluate the IRP for its effectiveness and if required make improvements.

Throughout this unit students will:

• Form an incident response team
• Define red, blue and purple team tasks
• Plan the implementation of the organisation’s incident response plan (IRP)
• Implement the IRP for prescribed incidents
• Evaluate the IRP

The relevance to industry is highlighted by student gaining an understanding that no organisation, either a start-up or a medium scale organisation has the privilege to assume that the adversaries would not be interested in them. Even if they are not the targets, they can be victims if they have not taken appropriate steps to be prepared in case of an Incident. This unit will advance your knowledge in the following.

Students gain an understanding of the roles associated with an Incident Response Team

to create an Incident Response Plan documentation for an organisation in accordance with the Incident Response Plan template as devised by the ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre). Student gain practical awareness in relation to the training strategy associated with Incident Response Teams: Role of Red Teams, Blue Teams and Purple teams.




Semester 2




VU23225Investigate Windows Security Features

40.0 hours



This unit investigates the fundamentals of Windows security features. It requires the ability to comprehend the basic architecture of Windows, identify security features such as log files, instrumentation and how a basic attack might occur. The unit investigates tools to collect security data centrally and query it to identify potential threats.

In this unit students will:

• Examine the structure of the Windows Operating System
• Examine System Administration tools
• Investigate tools used to examine basic Windows attacks
• Investigate the function and role of a Security Operation Centre (SOC) and Security Information Event Management (SIEM) tool
• Examine methods to collect data from multiple end points into a SIEM tool
• Implement mitigation strategies for threats

The relevance to industry is highlighted by the need for cyber security analysis to investigate basic attacks within an organisation. This analysis of data can be used to develop organisation wide security awareness decisions and mitigations strategies for whole of business defences. Students will discover different types of security monitoring tools and develop the right approach for an organisation based on its needs.

VU23218Implement Network Security Infrastructure For An Organisation

80.0 hours



This unit explains the key features that make up the network security for an organisation. Students will investigate threats and mitigation techniques, network security models, administration protection and user access methods, introduction to firewall setup and configuration, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection systems (IPS/IDS) and software used to protect an organisation, examine proxy server vulnerabilities, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), security vulnerabilities and the application of Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s) and cryptography fundamentals.

Throughout the unit student will:

• Examine the different models of security solutions for an organisation.
• Investigate methods used to authenticate users to a network.
• Investigate the operation and role of software tools to monitor traffic and security in an organisation.
• Prepare and implement a firewall.
• Investigate intrusion prevention and intrusion detection systems (IPS/IDS).
• Examine proxy server vulnerability issues.
• Investigate wireless security access and common vulnerabilities.
• Demonstrate the fundamental operation of cryptographic systems.
• Demonstrate the fundamentals of Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s).

The relevance to industry is highlighted by the training involved within this unit exposed the student to the security challenges that are faced within enterprise networking environment. Understanding how these security implementations and solutions operate, allow for a greater understanding of the troubleshooting process, designing secure and resilient infrastructure.


Prerequisites: VU23213 - Utilise basic network concepts and protocols required in cyber security

VU23219Manage The Security Infrastructure For An Organisation

80.0 hours



This unit discusses how to manage the security infrastructure for an organisation. It includes assessing risk, implementing appropriate controls, monitoring their effectiveness and compiling reports for future audit purposes.

This unit requires students to monitor and evaluate the physical security infrastructure of the organisation, and implement a security infrastructure maintenance program.

Throughout the unit students will:

• Identify the key features from information and security policies for an organisation.
• Determine risk category for the security infrastructure.
• Identify the physical security vulnerabilities of the organisation’s security infrastructure.
• Implement appropriate security system controls for managing the risk.
• Monitor security infrastructure tools and procedures.
• Promote cyber security awareness in the organisation.
• Implement cyber hygiene principles.

The relevance to industry is highlighted by students having an understanding and contributing to GRC initiatives (Governance, Risk and Compliance) that will lead to the following industry alignment and pathways:

• Effective implementation of security policies helps organisations to reduce risk. Every organisation that collects data has a role to play in secures infrastructure and data management.
• Enhance and improve an organisation’s compliance with government standards, legislation, and laws.
• Implement and manage Change Management process in organisations to secure infrastructure, access management and reduce redundancies.
• Increase security awareness of businesses, employees, and their clients.

BSBWHS309Contribute Effectively To Whs Communication And Consultation Processes

30.0 hours



This unit supports students contribute to work health and safety (WHS) communication and consultation in the workplace. It involves communicating WHS information to required personnel, and taking appropriate follow-up action to assist in ensuring that communication and consultation processes are effective and conducive to others in the workplace who raise WHS issues.

Throughout this unit students will:

• Participate in establishing consultation processes
• Contribute to WHS consultation
• Consult and communicate effectively with required personnel
• Raise WHS issues with required personnel

The relevance to industry is highlighted by how it provides learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify hazards and assess risks in a variety of work environments. By completing this unit, learners will be able to contribute to a safer workplace and demonstrate their commitment to workplace health and safety. This can help individuals to advance their careers and improve their employability, as employers are increasingly looking for workers with strong health and safety knowledge and skills.

VU23222Expose Website Security Vulnerabilties

40.0 hours



This unit develops the skills required to maintain the security of an organisation’s web infrastructure by utilising the outcomes of the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). In this unit students apply penetration testing tools to determine the vulnerabilities of a web site, assess the vulnerabilities and report to appropriate personnel.

Throughout this unit students will:

• Explain the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and web server architectures.
• Identify web site content.
• Install web application proxy testing tools.
• Use current frameworks that identify common software vulnerabilities.
• Report web application vulnerabilities.

The relevance to industry is highlighted by enabling student to develop their skills in web penetration testing concepts. Students use common frameworks like OWASP to establishes understanding of security in the web stack which lays the groundwork for a career in Application or Website Security.

VU23220Develop And Carry Out A Cyber Security Industry Project

100.0 hours



This unit supports students to develop and undertake a project that simulates a real cyber security industry environment. The project may include using a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) sandbox or equivalent laboratory environment. This environment allows the participant to demonstrate configuring and testing of firewalls, implementing Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS) and evaluating and identifying any traffic anomalies. The use of Red & Blue teaming exercises to identify security breaches and apply mitigation strategies to minimise further risk are included as part of the project.

Throughout the unit students will:

• Establish a project team.
• Determine context of business need or problem (project).
• Support the project plan development.
• Evaluate the suitability of the gathered resources.
• Implement the project design.
• Support project completion and handover.

The relevance to industry is highlighted by having students working as part of a team of solution consultants to identify threats and suggest remedies to support holistic security enhancements. Students gain exposure to business processes and professional practices. Students also gain an understanding of the Cyber Security Analyst roles including activities and CSOC working environments. This unit uses practical application risk assessments for realistic client facing roles and provides students essential communication skills both in written and verbal presentation formats.


Prerequisites: VU23213 - Utilise basic network concepts and protocols required in cyber security. VU23215 - Test concepts and procedures for cyber security

ICTICT443Work Collaboratively In The Ict Industry

30.0 hours



This unit builds the students ability to work collaboratively in virtual Information and Communications (ICT) team environments to achieve organisational objectives. It includes contributing to performance and capability within teams, participating in team activities, exchanging knowledge and skills and providing support to team members.

Throughout the unit students will:

• Identify team protocols requirements for working collaboratively in a virtual environment
• Develop protocols to work collaboratively in a virtual environment
• Review compliance with protocols to work collaboratively in a virtual environment

The relevance to industry is that it demonstrates that IT projects are often complex and require collaboration among team members to achieve success. By completing this unit, students will be able to work effectively as part of a team in the IT industry. They will be able to communicate effectively, solve problems collaboratively, and resolve conflicts constructively. These skills are highly valued in the IT industry, where successful project delivery requires a collaborative effort. This unit can help students to advance their careers and improve their employability in the IT and cyber security industry, particularly in roles that require effective teamwork, such as project managers, team leaders, and security analysts.