Admission requirements
This course is part of the minor Public Risk and Disaster. The course is taught at TU Delft by lecturers from TU Delft. The course can only be taken within the framework of participation in the minor PRD. This minor is a consistent package of courses designed to help you build your knowledge in a logical and connected way. It is not possible to follow single courses.
Description
In today's interconnected digital landscape, the repercussions of cybersecurity events extend far beyond their initial impact. The course "Researching Cascading Effects: Understanding the Ripple Effects of Cybersecurity Events" represents the culmination of the minor, designed to facilitate the knowledge obtained during their minor and major studies by forecasting and analyzing the consequences stemming from cyber incidents.
Throughout this course, students will be encouraged to dissect the multifaceted nature of cybersecurity events and their cascading effects on individuals, organizations, and societies at large. Students will learn to use a so-called multi-actor perspective to understand these events. By examining real-world case studies and theoretical frameworks, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the multi-actor nature of cybersecurity events and how exploited security vulnerabilities in a system may trigger a chain reaction of disruptions across various sectors.
The culmination of the course involves students crafting a project proposal, in which they apply their knowledge to predict potential cascading effects caused by a real cybersecurity incident which would result in/contribute to solutions to mitigate them.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, the student should be able to:
Analyze real cybersecurity incidents and their effects
Forecast potential cascading effects of real cybersecurity incidents on individuals, organizations, societies and ecosystems
Estimate the impact and probabilities of such events
Work and communicate effectively with students with other disciplinary backgrounds
Apply knowledge by proposing, designing and crafting a detailed project proposal in a multidisciplinary group
Timetable
The course schedule can be found at the TU Delft timetable. You can find the course schedule via ‘add timetable’ after logging in with your TU Delft credentials. Researching cascading effects has course code TBM027B.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Group meetings
Individual and small group assignments
Group discussions
Participation in lectures, discussions and exercises and an active attitude in groups is required in order to obtain a grade. All assignments/exercises have to be fulfilled.
Assessment method
- An individual literature review (summative assessment)
30% of the total grade
Grade must be 5.5 or higher
Resit is not possible
- A paper written in multidisciplinary groups of approximately 5 students (summative assessment)
50% of the total grade
Grade must be 5.5 or higher
A resit in block 3 is possible by rewriting the group report (at least 50% of the new text). When participating in the resit, a maximum grade of 6.0 can be obtained.
- Providing the evaluation of the peers
5% of the total grade
Pass/fail (0.5 points)
Resit is not possible
- Peer evaluation of contributions
15% of the total grade
Peers anonymously evaluate the contribution of each member of the group besides themselves
If a student has not provided evaluation, all other members are assigned with equal contribution
Student gets (1.5 points) x (contribution)
Resit is not possible
Example:
There are 3 students in a group: A, B, C
A and B provided the evaluation, C – did not | A | B | C | | - | 0.4 | 0.6 | | 0.3 | - | 0.7 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | - |
Contribution: A = 0.8, B = 0.9, C = 1.3
Points: A = 1.5 * 0.8=1.2, B = 1.5 * 0.9 = 1.35, C = 1.5 * 1.3 =1.95
In order to pass the course, the combined grade has to be at least 6.0 out of 10. For all courses of the minor PRD, final grades are rounded off to the nearest half point, except between 5 and 6. For grades between 5.0 and 6.0, a 5.5 and higher will be rounded up to a 6.0, and grades below 5.5 will be rounded down to 5.0. No final grades between 5.0 and 6.0 will be given. Maximum grade is 10.
If the final score is a passing grade, students are not allowed to retake to obtain a higher grade, unless given explicit permission by the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University).
This course is part of the minor Public Risk and Disaster. This minor needs to be completed in one academic year. It is not possible to retake courses that you have not passed during the following academic year. If you think an exception to this rule applies to you, please contact the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University).
No matter what academic institution a student comes from, the minor Public Risk and Disaster falls under the course and examinations regulation of the bachelor Security Studies of Leiden University. These course rules are further expanded on in the rules and regulations of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (Leiden University). This Board of Examiners is also the relevant body for disputes.
Reading list
The reading list will be made available via Brightspace.
For all six courses from the minor PRD – so both the courses offered by Leiden University as by TU Delft – the Brightspace platform from Leiden University will be used. So all study materials for this course can be found on the Brightspace platform from Leiden University.
Registration
To be announced by OSC staff.
Contact
Dr. Y. Zhauniarovich
E-mail: [Y.Zhauniarovich@tudelft.nl](mailto: Y.Zhauniarovich@tudelft.nl)
Room: B2.190 (building 31 TU Delft, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft)
Dr. M.L.C. de Bruijne
E-mail: [M.L.C.deBruijne@tudelft.nl](mailto: M.L.C.deBruijne@tudelft.nl )
Room: B2.080 (building 31 TU Delft, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft)
Remarks
All lectures, assignments, and communication for this course will be in English.
Lectures for this course take place at TU Delft (building 31 TU Delft, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft).
Course descriptions are synchronised between the study guides of Leiden University and TU Delft. However, this may take some time. For the latest description of this course, please check the corresponding page in the TU Delft study guide. Researching cascading effects has course code TBM027B.
Please be aware that the minor PRD needs to be completed in one academic year. It is not possible to retake courses that you have not passed during the following academic year. If you think an exception to this rule applies to you, please contact the board of examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs.