Curriculum in Information Assurance

Earning the GCIA requires 15 credit hours of classes which engage the student in the study of telecommunications technology; trends, both technical and regulatory, in the industry; and management and security of telecommunications systems.

CNSSI and NSTISSI Certifications

All courses are mapped to federal certifications offered through the Committee for Network Security Systems (CNSS) and National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Instruction (NSTISSI). The table below shows which classes that must be completed to earn a specific CNSS or NSTISSI certificate. For example, earning NSTISSI 4011 requires successful completion of TCOM 5123 and TCOM 5223.

Course	NSTISSI 4011	CNSSI 4012	CNSSI 4013	CNSSI 4014	NSTISSI 4015	CNSSI 4016
TCOM 5012
TCOM 5123
TCOM 5223
TCOM 5233
TCOM 5243
TCOM 5253
TCOM 5273

Course Descriptions

TCOM 5012 Telecommunications LaboratoryPrerequisite: TCOM 5123-Telecommunications Systems: The Upper Layers, or concurrent enrollment in TCOM 5123 and instructor consent. This hands-on course will familiarize students with the hardware used to move voice, data, and video traffic.

TCOM 5123 Telecommunications Systems: The Upper Layers
Applied technical coverage of selected topics from the upper layers of the OSI model. The emphasis is on the Network and Transport layers, using TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and Mete, as well as security issues and other multi-layer protocol suites. Other topics include flow control, RSVP, encryption, compression, and LAN/WAN applications.

TCOM 5223 Information Assurance
A broad investigation of the elements of information assurance and security with an emphasis on the management impact to corporations and businesses engaged in the information services and e-commerce. Students should come away from the course with the ability to advise management on the risks and mitigation for all types of threats to information and privacy.

TCOM 5233 Applied Information Systems Security
This course investigates the various technical aspects of attacking, and of guarding against attacks and failures in various types of information systems. Course content may vary but will generally include computer, network, and data protection technologies (e.g., firewalls, packet filters, proxy servers, user authentication and validation techniques, encryption, backup methodologies, system and component redundancies, etc). Various threats and attack methods will be examined.

TCOM 5243 Information Technology Forensics
This course teaches students how to review networks and systems to determine their level of security and propose changes to enhance that security without significantly impeding usability or a prohibitive increase in cost. The course further teaches students to investigate system breaches and crimes that have been committed on IT platforms.

TCOM 5253 Information Technology Risk Analysis and Mitigation
This course looks at factors of risk analysis in IT and how management can plan to achieve a certain level of risk. It also reviews how different factors of risk can be mitigated through intervening procedures or technologies.

TCOM 5273 Legal & Ethical Issues in Information Assurance
This course reviews the current status of information systems law in regard to rights of privacy, freedom of information, confidentiality, work product protection, copyright, security, legal liability, and a range of additional legal and information policy topics. We will investigate the legal difficulties that technological innovations are causing in all of these areas. Legal options for dealing with the conflicts caused by technological change and likely adaptations of the law over time in response to societal changes will be explored.

Certificates, Concentrations, Emphasis and
Degrees in Info Assurance Management

There are a number of options for students and working professionals wanting to obtain or enhance current skills in information security. Two degree programs in Spears School of Business allow students to concentrate and emphasize informtion assurance courses: the Master of Science in Telecommunications Management and the Master of Science in Management and Information Systems. Other degree programs at OSU include Computer Science from the College of Arts and Sciences and Electrical and Computer Engineering from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

In addition, Oklahoma State University's technical branch campus in Okmulgee, Oklahoma has established a Bachelor of Technology in Information Assurance and Forensics degree, a technology intensive, application focused baccalaureate degree.

Information Assurance and Associated Program Links
Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
Master of Science in Management and Information Systems
Bachelor of Technology in Information Assurance and Forensics
Computer Science Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Curriculum Supporting Sites
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
SANS Institute
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
The National Information Assurance Training and Education Center

Updated: July 1, 2009

Center for Telecommunications and Network Security © 2006