COS30015 IT SECURITY ASSIGNMENT 1

RESEARCH REPORT
Submission Date: 8th Sep 2023, 17:00 pm

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
At a very high level, this assessment requires you to consider 1 of 8 provided cyber security topics,
review predetermined literature of that topic, and answer at least 5 questions from the viewpoint of
the topic you chose. When answering your chosen questions, you should seek to summarise and link
key information/viewpoints/approaches/challenges found across literature reviewed, not just
stating or repeating what has been written.

While you might not be an expert, you are encouraged to read outside of the provided literature and
broaden your general cyber knowledge where appropriate. For times where your knowledge fails
you, there is provided logic to help identify the right frame in which to consider the literature, but
also answer your selected questions.
There are two streams in which to complete this assignment, a standard assessment stream and a
high distinction (HD) assessment stream. The standard assessment stream outlines a base set of
tasks and rubric items to be completed, resulting in a possible mark between 0 to 79 out of 100. The
HD stream offers the possibility of a mark between 0 and 100 but requires additional tasks and
rubric items.

Cyber Security Topics

For either standard or HD streams, select a single topic from the following choices:

• Advanced Persistent Threat

• Software Vulnerability
• Phishing Activities
• Malware
• Biometric Authentication
• Cloud Security
• Mobile Security
• Encryption
Once you’ve selected your topic, consider the requirements given the steam of your choice.

Standard stream: After selecting your topic, you are required to read each paper. It’s strongly
encouraged that you keep track of information from your literature (in the HD stream there is a
provided Excel spreadsheet, you’re welcome to use this, but you are not required to submit it). Once
you have recorded/identified all relevant information, you are required to write a comprehensive
research report answering five specific questions. There is list of questions below.

HD: After selecting your topic and the amount of papers to review per the rubric, and record key
information in the provided excel spreadsheet which is also to be submitted. The better the
information you record, the better your result will be as you will have a more comprehensive
viewpoint of the literature landscape. Once you have recorded all relevant information, you are
required to write a research report answering 5 of the following questions which you select, and

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propose a novel idea, solution, or approach to improve this research topic, backed by identified gaps
in the literature. Your proposal must be evaluated against your reviewed research.

Questions

• What are the key research challenge themes being solved in this research space?
• What are the key issues which remain unsolved and why?
• What impact does data have in this challenge?
• Is there any impact to the result/methodology/or aims of the paper given a difference in
time?
• Could this task or these research challenges be achieved by a human analysist?
• Is there a suited machine learning technique which best suits this problem?
• How relevant is the data being used to real-world attacks?
• What important features exist in the data in solving the key research challenges, why are
these features so impactful?

Logic to Questions

• What are the key research challenge themes being solved in this research space?
o If most or a good number of papers have the same topic = key research theme
o Else if only a few have papers have a similar topic = either a new topic given publish
date, or not a key challenge given the sample literature
• What are the key issues which remain unsolved and why?
o If most or all papers are defining the same challenge = key challenge
o Else if only a few a papers or less refer to a problem = not likely a key problem
• What impact does data have in this challenge?
o If authors talk about the need for good data; or authors say only old data available
and it’s hard to get new data = likely data is constrained or difficult to get in a
realistic circumstance. Data would then have a real impact to provide a proper
representation of the challenge
o Or there are lots of datasets and they are produced often = data is available, but
changes often, there is a chance the use of historic data gives an outdated viewpoint
of the challenge
• Is there any impact to the result/methodology/or aims of the paper given a difference in
time?
o Note, data can drift. Data from 2014 might be outdated by 2018 and not
representative. A good research paper will consider this, the idea is using historical
data to detect unseen threats, not mixing the two together completely
o If the authors don’t consider the different time associated with data = negative
impact
o If the authors do consider that differences in time (for example data from 2014 has
2014 characteristics, and data collected in 2018 has 2018 characteristics) and
experiments cater to this difference = good impact
• Could this task or these research challenges be achieved by a human analysist?
o If thousands or hundreds of thousands, or millions of samples are being considered
by machine learning = likely not something a human can interpret or spend their
time focussing on
o If the literature specifically calls out it’s not something a human analyst can cope
with = not something a human can interpret or spend their time focussing on

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 o If you’re not sure here = consider if doing the thing the paper is trying to achieve is
possible in a day's work
• Is there a suited machine learning technique which best suits this problem?
o If there is a machine learning technique constantly being used = likely it’s the one
that suits the problem
o If the author discusses why the machine learning technique is used and references
its strengths and wide adoption = more confidence, it’s the right one
• How relevant is the data being used to real-world attacks?
o If attacks, challenges, threats in the data are representative of what you come
across in keeping up to date with real world cyber incidents = likely it’s relevant
o If the data is really old = there is a good chance it’s not that relevant
o If you’re unsure, but you think regardless of new or old data, you get the impression
that it’s useful because similar data is being used = it’s related to real world issues
but specific attacks are not that important here
• What important features exist in the data in solving the key research challenges, why are
these features so impactful?
o Note, features could be height and weight in a dataset about humans and
determining their age
o If a feature keep being used across literature = it’s important
o If an author proposes new features = they’re trying to introduce new ways to
improve the ability to combat the issue
o If a feature is the reason is determined malware for example = its impactful
o If the authors did feature analysis and specifically call a feature out to be good or
bad = that’s a good indication

Submissions are required to be uploaded to Canvas. For the HD stream, submit each file in the one
upload, not a zip file. HD submissions which fail to follow this will not be marked and potentially be
treated as late submissions. For each stream, elements which are common, such as the titles,
questions and references will be removed from the plagiarism calculations, overall, the maximum
Turnitin score accepted is no greater than 10.
To this point, lets confirm your tasks between streams.

For the standard assessment stream:

• You choose one topic area out of the list

• You choose 5 questions to answer
• Select X papers from the provided literature
• You read, review, and organise your literature to answer your questions
• You answer your questions from the perspective of providing key
information/viewpoints/approaches/challenges across your literature, not just stating what
has occurred
• To help you answer your questions, consult the provided logic, it’s there for you to
understand the questions and interpret them from a cyber security perspective
• Reference your literature throughout your 5 questions
• You complete your report to the specification and submit a single file

Completing this will receive a possible maximum score out of 79.

For the HD assessment stream

• Inform your tutor you’re attempting the HD assessment stream

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 • You choose one topic area out of the list
• You choose 5 questions to answer
• Select X papers from the provided literature
• You read, review, and organise your literature to answer your questions in the provided
spreadsheet (note you can add more columns/datapoints to the spreadsheet)
• You answer your questions from the perspective of providing key
information/viewpoints/approaches/challenges across your literature, not just stating what
has occurred
• To help you answer your questions, consult the provided logic, it’s there for you to
understand the questions and interpret them from a cyber security perspective
• In addition to the 5 questions, you are also required to propose a novel idea, solution, or
approach to improve this research topic, backed by identified gaps in the literature, and
evaluate your given solution to reviewed research
• Reference your literature throughout your 5 questions, and your proposal
• You complete your report to the specification and submit two files (report and spreadsheet)

You will be provided with:

• 1 x excel spreadsheet for your data collection (this is the document you record information
you find in your academic literature). Only the HD assessment stream is required to submit
this as part of the assessment
• 1 x Assignment and Project Cover Sheet
• 30 academic literatures for each topic

Documents you will submit

You will submit the following documents for your assessment:

• 1 x completed excel spreadsheet with a minimum of 15 academic papers reviewed

• 1x PDF document of your analysis and evaluation drawn from your spreadsheet as a
research report

Word count
• The spreadsheet do not count towards the word count
• The standard assessment stream has a wordcount of 2,500 words (5 x 500 per question)
• The HD stream has a word count of 4,250 words (5 x 750 words per question, 500 words for
your proposal)
• Also excluded from the word count is your overview statement
• You will be assessed on a wordcount correct or within +/- 10%

Advice
• It’s best to avoid quotes, so write without them
• If you change words around to get around Turnitin you still might receive 0 marks. It’s best
to write in your own words
• A Turnitin score of 10 is the maximum allowed
• Any submissions with photos to avoid detection will result in an instant 0
• Photos of others’ writing, tables will get 0
• Images used from others' work will get a mark of 0, best make your own diagrams
• Attend the lectures, how to complete the assignment will be discussed
• If you’re unsure, reach out to the teaching team, we’d rather know you understand how to
do the assessment

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References
All externally sourced information (i.e. not common knowledge or course material) must be cited.
Referencing conventions required for this unit is the IEEE referencing style. See
https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/IEEE-Reference-Guide.pdf

Helpful information on referencing can be found at

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/library/referencing/

Submission
Submissions should be made through https://swinburne.instructure.com/ (Canvas) before the due
date. Reports should be in commonly used PDF document format (.pdf) and should not exceed 15
pages in length.

• The first page should be a filled-in copy of the cover sheet available on Canvas.
• The second page must be a title page indicating:
o the unit code and title,
o title of the assignment,
o the topic,
o the authors (by name and student ID),
o the submission date/time,
o the due date/time.

Pages must be numbered starting with the first page AFTER the cover sheet and title page. A table of
contents is NOT to be used.

Appendices and a list of references will not be included in the page count.
Late submissions will be penalised by 10% per day (for 5 days maximum), submissions which are 5
days after the due date will not be allowed and 0 mark will be given.

Expectations of your submitted document

• Spreadsheet (HD Assessment Stream only)
o Articles entered and information entered it to the correct field
o If data is not available an explanation as to why a possible data point can’t be
collected
o If you are not collecting machine learning information for example, grey-out those
columns
o Indication of additional data columns you are collecting
o Potential colour scheme of correlated information
• Research Report Structure
o Assignment Coversheet
o Title page specified below
o Overview statement outlining your chosen topic area, how many papers you
reviewed, key aims of the selected literature and overall findings about key ways the
problems are solved
o Review of literature to provided questions
o (HD Only) Proposed Contribution

Review of additional literature if applicable

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Extensions
Please consult the university extension policy here:https://www.swinburne.edu.au/life-at-
swinburne/student-support-services/special-consideration-assistance/

The key takeaway is that situations that are:

• special situations can enable an extension, those which are not, taking a holiday and wanting
an extension, are not.
• Another key takeaway is the requirement of evidence. Medical and other supporting
evidence make the process much easier.

The two points listed cover circumstances which change over a semester and impacts directly to
assessments - If your situation falls under the "Adjustments available for specific circumstances"
then please reach out to us with your supporting documentation and that should be fine.
We will evaluate each case but the max which may be given, is 7 days. If you have ongoing issues
these should follow a more formal process which takes care of a broader situation.

If your situation falls under the "Special consideration eligibility for assessments" then again, please
reach out. These are clearly defined, and again, require evidence. Please again communicate with us
and your evidence.

A note about documentation. Should an unfortunate situation occur please know you can discuss
and provide evidence after the fact. If no evidence is provided, we will mark your assignment as a
late assignment.
Some of the situations we hear often are:

• I've been busy with other units

• I have/had to work last minute (note extra work over a period of time if not in the above
categories should be factored with your study needs and is not accepted)
• I didn't understand the assessment
• I've just been busy
• I didn't plan and am having to do everything last minute
• I didn’t understand, well tricky, so reach out now and seek advice, we will be talking about
this assessment lots so do join in

These do not fall within the range of granted extensions.

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Rubric
If you are attempting an HD result, you need to talk with your tutor and mark your title page as a HD
attempt.

Criteria / 12.5 – 7.5 7.5 - 0 14 – 5 5–0 Total Marks 100

Marks 0 – 100 ONLY 0 – 100 ONLY 0 – 79 ONLY 0 – 79 ONLY
Q1 Exemplary Moderate Moderate Basic attempt 14 (0 – 79)
attempt is attempt is attempt is is provided to 12.5 (0 - 100)
provided to provided to provided to answer the
answer the answer the answer the selected
selected selected selected question.
question. question. question.
Less than 5
Greater than Greater than 15 Greater than references are
20 references references are 10 references used without
are used used are used justification

Parallels are Parallels are Parallels are

drawn drawn between drawn
between different papers between
different different
papers 750 words +/- papers
10%
Techniques, 500 words +/-
data and 10%
challenges are
discussed

750 words +/-

10%
Q2 Exemplary Moderate Moderate Basic attempt 14 (0 – 79)
attempt is attempt is attempt is is provided to 12.5 (0 - 100)
provided to provided to provided to answer the
answer the answer the answer the selected
selected selected selected question.
question. question. question.
Less than 5
Greater than Greater than 15 Greater than references are
20 references references are 10 references used without
are used used are used justification

Parallels are Parallels are Parallels are

drawn drawn between drawn
between different papers between
different different
papers 750 words +/- papers
10%
Techniques, 500 words +/-
data and 10%

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 challenges are
discussed

750 words +/-

10%
Q3 Exemplary Moderate Moderate Basic attempt 14 (0 – 79)
attempt is attempt is attempt is is provided to 12.5 (0 - 100)
provided to provided to provided to answer the
answer the answer the answer the selected
selected selected selected question.
question. question. question.
Less than 5
Greater than Greater than 15 Greater than references are
20 references references are 10 references used without
are used used are used justification

Parallels are Parallels are Parallels are

drawn drawn between drawn
between different papers between
different different
papers 750 words +/- papers
10%
Techniques, 500 words +/-
data and 10%
challenges are
discussed

750 words +/-

10%
Q4 Exemplary Moderate Moderate Basic attempt 14 (0 – 79)
attempt is attempt is attempt is is provided to 12.5 (0 - 100)
provided to provided to provided to answer the
answer the answer the answer the selected
selected selected selected question.
question. question. question.
Less than 5
Greater than Greater than 15 Greater than references are
20 references references are 10 references used without
are used used are used justification

Parallels are Parallels are Parallels are

drawn drawn between drawn
between different papers between
different different
papers 750 words +/- papers
10%
Techniques, 500 words +/-
data and 10%
challenges are
discussed

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 750 words +/-
10%
Q5 Exemplary Moderate Moderate Basic attempt 14 (0 – 79)
attempt is attempt is attempt is is provided to 12.5 (0 - 100)
provided to provided to provided to answer the
answer the answer the answer the selected
selected selected selected question.
question. question. question.
Less than 5
Greater than Greater than 15 Greater than references are
20 references references are 10 references used without
are used used are used justification

Parallels are Parallels are Parallels are

drawn drawn between drawn
between different papers between
different different
papers 750 words +/- papers
10%
Techniques, 500 words +/-
data and 10%
challenges are
discussed
along with
additional
data collected

750 words +/-

10%
Novel Novelty will be An attempt at NA NA 12.5 (0 - 100)
Proposal marked based novelty is made only
on the ability
to understand Relative
multiple connection
factors such as between
key research research and the
challenges, proposed idea
data used,
appropriate 500 words +/-
methods to 10%
solve the
challenge,
evidence that
gaps exist and
that the work
is not
incremental
but new

500 words +/-

10%

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Justification Justification Moderate NA NA 12.5 (0 - 100)
will be marked justification is only
based on the attempted
ability to
identify The proposed
relevant gaps solution can be
within the accepted, but is
research lacking in
domain and definition to
how the solve the actual
proposed problem
work actually
solved the
issues. Broad
claims will
likely attract
less marks
Spreadsheet 20+ reviews (0 15 - 20 (0 - 79) NA NA 12.5 (0 - 100)
Completed – 100) papers reviewed only
with at least
Additional Concise notes
data collected are made
from all
papers, Information is
identified as recorded clearly
extra
Summary colour
Detailed scheme is used
information per data column
collected can with a legend to
be observed show data which
falls into the
Information same theme
key and
consistent
note taking
observed

Summary
colour scheme
is used per
data column
with a legend
to show data
which falls into
the same
theme
5-3 3-2 3-2 2-0 Total marks

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Language Writing is of a Academic Academic Writing is 3 (0 – 79)
and word high standard, language used, language used, coherent but 5 (0 - 100)
count academic proofed, logical proofed, logical has minor
language used, grammatical
proofed, Wordcount Wordcount errors or
logical correct or within correct or discussion
+/- 10% within +/- 10% inconsistency
Discussions
flows well Wordcount
correct or
Wordcount within +/- 10%
correct or
within +/- 10%
References Additional Correct Correct Some 3 (0 – 79)
appropriate referencing style referencing references 5 (0 - 100)
references and conventions style and have been
have been followed conventions used correctly,
identified followed some
inconsistencies
Formatting Extra attention The report and The report and Basic 3 (0 – 79)
has been given spreadsheet are spreadsheet formatting has 5 (0 - 100)
to the well formatted are well been applied
formatting formatted
using tools
such as LaTex

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