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Networks and Security – (M.Sc.)
Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University Business School and the Department of Computer Science
| Location: | Liverpool / United Kingdom / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 12 months | Start Date: | January, September |
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| Credits (ECTS): | 180 | ||
| Languages: | English | ||
Location of Liverpool Hope University
In 1984, John Gage and Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems said, “The network is the computer”-one of the most memorable phrases of the information age. By making computing resources available to machines on a network, allowing them to exchange information from different locations, and by using them as collaborative team to work on a specific task has allowed networked computers to instigate the information age.
Networks form the basis of the Internet, make powerful distributed computing possible and are the basis for grid and cloud computing. Network computers are used in organisations at all scales ranging from schools and small businesses up to multi-national companies and governments. If the information transmitted on such networks becomes compromised this can have disastrous consequences.
Cyber-attack and countering this with cyber-security is being increasingly being recognised as vital by big businesses and governments; as such it is a ”hot” area of employment. This course equips student with the increasingly diverse range of cyber skills business and government needs. This includes virus defence, anti-eavesdropping techniques, counter measures to cyber-attack and denial of service attack, anti-Trojan horse techniques and disaster avoidance and recovery policies.
Creating and managing robust cryptosystems is not only a serious academic discipline; it has practical implications in countering cyber-threats. Students taking this course will learn the history, theory and practical skills in order to secure networks of all types and at all levels; by doing so they will gain the cyber-skills urgently being sought by businesses and governments.
Future Career Opportunities
There is strong predicted growth in for jobs in cyber security. The UK in particular has difficultly recruiting qualified people, and industry experts believe that the number of jobs will increase, whilst the number of people applying to the IT sector as a whole is decreasing. MSc Networks and Security graduates will be well placed to fill this need.
Contents
The programme consists of 8 taught modules (4 compulsory, 4 elective) and a dissertation (final research project) totalling 180 credits. You will be assessed for each module. Assessment methods will vary and may include practical work, reports, presentations, examinations, a research proposal and research dissertation.
Modules
* Networks and Operating Systems (compulsory 15 credits): The Networks part of the module examines the science underpinning computer communications. Topics of interest will include the underlying physical media, the way data is represented, how errors in transmission can be detected and dealt with, the way information is routed over a large network, and the details of some actual network applications. The Operating Systems part of the module aims to understand the construction and operation of a simple operating system, to discuss the principal problems to be overcome by an operating system, and structured ways of solving those problems.
* Information and Computer Security (compulsory 15 credits): This module analyses risks to networks and the steps needed to select and deploy the appropriate countermeasures to reduce exposure to physical and network threats. It also imparts the skills and knowledge needed to identify and counter some fundamental security risks and requirements, including Internet security threats and measures (for example, audit trails, IP sniffing/spoofing) and how to implement security policies and procedures.
* Cryptosystems: algorithms, cryptography and cryptanalysis (compulsory 15 credits): This module examines the algorithms and techniques needed to implement a particular form of encryption and decryption in order to secure an information system. Cryptography will study a range of issues including: authentication - the process of proving one’s identity; privacy/confidentiality - ensuring that no one can read the message except the intended receiver; integrity - assuring the receiver that the received message has not been altered in any way from the original; non-repudiation - a mechanism to prove that the sender really sent this message.
* Research Methods (compulsory 15 credits): This module will expose students to the established techniques of research and enquiry that are used to extend, create and interpret knowledge in computer science. This involves the ability to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in computer science, and propose possible alternative directions for further work. Underpinning this module is the desire to educate the student so that they are able to deal with complex issues at the forefront of the academic discipline of computer science in a manner, based on sound judgements, that is both systematic and creative; and be able to communicate conclusions clearly to both specialists and non-specialists.
* Mobile Computing (elective 15 credits): Students will examine mobile phone OSs (Android) and Windows Phone 7. Students will learn how to develop software for these devices using JavaFX for mobile and C#/Silverlight for Mobile. Particular reference will be made to the challenges of creating new types of software application and the role mobile computing has in the “5th wave of computing”. It is envisaged that knowledge taught on this module will be particularly useful for the rapidly increasing mobile phone software market.
* Embedded Computing and Robotics (elective 15 credits): For the Embedded Computing part of this module students will examine PIC, AVR (Android) and ARM processors. These low power devices are used in billions of devices that few relatively few computer professionals know how to program, yet about 98% of new CPUs produced each year are embedded (there are now more ARM chips than people in the world). This module will pay particular reference to these processors low energy requirements and consequently both their use in green computing and in novel parallel processing systems. Robotics is a subject that is gaining popularity not only in industry but also in other areas of society such as in the home, in schools and in hospitals. This section of the module will examine the Robotics Operating System and robotic programming languages (such as Urbi). Students on this course will have the opportunity to use a number of devices and get an insight into the technologies used in this fledgling industry.
* Cloud and Web Services (elective 15 credits): Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, Serviceoriented architecture and utility computing that companies such as Microsoft (Azure), Amazon (Elastic Compute) and Google (appEngine) are amassing massive amounts of resources and R&D to develop. These companies see this technology as supporting a fundamentally new business model, and each of company sees this technology as a “game changer”. Students on this module will study Web Services and Azure as well as Google’s AppEngine. Students will not only develop novel applications but understand and utilise this new technology/business model.
* Computer Innovation (elective 15 credits): Students on this module will examine the particular research interests of a number of lecturers in the Computer Science Department. Lecturers in the department will deliver guest lectures that discuss their particular research area. This gives a valuable insight into the breath and focus of the research in the department and will therefore be useful in helping the forming the choice of subject addressed by the student’s research dissertation. Topics include bio-inspired computing, spiking neural networks, cloud based mobile systems, data mining systems, intelligent agents, computer grid systems etc.
* E-Business (elective 15 credits): E-business encompasses, and is more than, e-commerce. Students will examine e-commerce technology (such as the internet and World Wide Web based technologies) and will also examine the strategic focus with an emphasis on the functions that occur using these electronic capabilities by examining their possible revenue streams. This will also involve the practical application of knowledge management systems in order to deliver businesses using e-commerce technologies.
* Human Computer Interaction (elective 15 credits): Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers and is the most multi-disciplinary module available in the MSc Computer Science. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study. This allows the student to draw upon many different areas of computer science as well as communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology. Students will also examine techniques in computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, and development environments.
Students studying this module focus on improving the interactions between users and computers by making computers more usable and receptive to the user’s needs, and specifically study:
* methodologies and processes for designing interfaces (i.e., given a task and a class of users, design the best possible interface within given constraints, optimizing for a desired property such as learning ability or efficiency of use);
* methods for implementing interfaces (e.g. software toolkits and libraries; efficient algorithms);
* techniques for evaluating and comparing interfaces;
* developing new interfaces and interaction techniques;
* developing descriptive and predictive models and theories of interaction.
IELTS
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
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Register Now!Requirements
* Normally an undergraduate degree (2nd class or above) in a relevant subject area (Computer Science, Information Technology or an Engineering Discipline).
* Industrial experience or other qualifications may also be considered where appropriate.
* The programme is taught in English. Students whose first language is not English are normally required to have an IELTS 6.5 (including reading 6, writing 6), TOEFL paper based 560, TOEFL ibt 83 or other equivalent recognised English language qualification.
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| IELTS Band: | 6.0 |
| Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): | Grade C (Score: 60) |
| TOEFL Paper-based: | 560 |
| TOEFL Internet-based: | 83 |
Accreditation
Liverpool Hope University is a recognised body with degree awarding powers as sworn in by the UK Government.
Quality of UK universities is measured through the official Government agencies, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) which consistently judged Liverpool Hope University to be of highest quality.
Liverpool Hope University's Business School, that was ranked top quality, having secured a maximum excellent rating (24 out of 24) in the UK Governments QAA inspection.
In the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which is the official evaluation of the quality of research undertaken within UK higher education institutions, subject areas of Theology & Religious Studies, and Social Work & Social Policy, included work which ranked as of 4-star ‘world leading’. The subject areas of Computer Science and Informatics, Psychology, Education, English, and Music included work which ranked as 3-star ‘internationally recognised’, as was Politics and International Studies (including submissions from Business) and Drama ranked as 2*. For information on Liverpool Hope University’s RAE submission, go to
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