Cambridge Technicals Level 3 (2016) Lesson Element Unit 3: Software Controls Used With

Lesson Element

Unit 3: Cyber Security

Software controls used with digital systems

Instructions and answers for tutors

These instructions cover the learner activity section which can be found on page 4. This Lesson Element supports Cambridge Technicals in IT Level 3 in IT.

When distributing the activity section to the learners either as a printed copy or as a Word file you will need to remove the tutor instructions section.

The activity

In this Lesson Element the learners are tasked with recommending software controls that an organisation should use to secure their data. They can present their work in the form of a user guide for staff at the organisation.

Suggested timings

· Activity 1: 5 minutes

· Activity 2: 30 Minutes

· Activity 3: 5 Minutes

· Activity 4: 5 Minutes

· Activity 5: 5 Minutes

· Activity 6: 10 Minutes

· Activity 7: 15 Minutes

· Activity 8: 15 Minutes

Activity 1

Begin by introducing your learners to the term software controls. Your explanation should make reference to software that can be applied to protect software, for example anti-malware, firewalls and patches. You should also make reference to procedures that should be followed to prevent software from being compromised, such as password management.

Ask your learners to make notes and to ask you any questions that they might have regarding your explanation.

Activity 2

Show the learners the following short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kq1bBxUqLM

This video produced by CompTIA, presents a short introduction (4 minutes) to anti-malware software.

Activity 3

Show the learners the following video (30 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqnE_sDzSk

This video presents an overview of firewalls and network security.

Activity 4

Show the learners the following short video (2 minutes). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT_aSqHq3hU

This video produced by CompTIA, presents a short introduction to operating system security and settings.

Activity 5

Show the learners the following short video (4 minutes). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDCgSbrKKGc

This video produced by CompTIA, presents a short introduction to patch management.

Activity 6

Show the learners the following short video (4 minutes). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu3CNkaoVmI

This video produced by CompTIA, presents a short introduction to managing password policies.

Activity 7

Ask the learners to consider a well-known organisation, it might be a bank, a supermarket, a car manufacturer, etc. Ask them to recommend software controls that the organisation should use to protect their data. They need to make reference to the data that needs to be protected and details of the software controls that they recommend.

Direct your learners to refer to the following resources:

http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/

The above website discusses the importance of patching, vulnerabilities and malware protection.to prevent against an attack to software.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/threat/threats.aspx

The above web pages produced by Microsoft discuss the importance of malware protection.

http://www.sans.org/critical-security-controls/control/5

The above web site discusses the importance of malware and of securing application software.

Activity 8

Ask your learners to create a user guide for staff at the organisation. They should also document all the sources of information that they use in a detailed report.

Unit 3: Cyber Security

Learner Activity

Software controls used with digital systems

In this Lesson Element you are going to recommend software controls that an organisation should use to secure their data and present your information in the form of a user guide for staff at the organisation.

Activity 1

In this task you are going to focus on the term software controls.

You need to be aware that there are a number of different software methods that can be applied to protect software, example, anti-malware, firewalls and patches.

You also need to be aware that there are procedures that should be followed to prevent software from being compromised, for example, password management procedures.