Admission requirements
Mandatory course for students enrolled in the bachelor’s programme Security Studies.
This course is also open for inbound exchange students. Exchange students must be admitted by the FGGA International Office prior to the start of the course; priority will be given to direct exchange partners of FGGA. For more information about the application procedure for exchange students, please contact the FGGA International Office at international@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.
Description
Cyberspace has become an indispensable part of our economies, a critical driver for innovation, and an essential part of our social lives. Cyberspace connects individuals, organisations and nation states globally, and enables us to communicate, share information and engage in myriad (joint) activities in virtual space. It spans the globe and has obliterated borders, or so it seems. While cyberspace has brought a wealth of benefits and opportunities, it has also generated new risks and challenges, especially in relation to safety and security.
In this course students will get an overview of the biggest cybersecurity challenges states, organisations and individuals currently face. The course starts with an introduction to cyberspace: what is cyberspace, and what are the basic technical architectural elements and processes in/of this ecosystem? This is followed by a conceptualisation of cyberspace and cybersecurity. What do we mean by these concepts, and why are they worthy of academic study?
Next, students will learn about a number of different governance challenges for cyberspace. The course shows that cyber risks appear at various levels (local, national and international) and demand responses from governments, but also private companies, collectives and individuals. The course will focus on different key subfields in relation to cyber threats and cover the main actors that play a role in relation to these subfields. The following subfields will be discussed:
cyber crime
cyber warfare
cyber espionage
critical infrastructure protection
fake news and disinformation
Since cyber risks are often intentionally or inadvertently caused by humans, the course will place emphasis on the role of human behaviour, critically assessing the oft-heard claim that “human beings the weakest link” in the defence. Focus will be given on the motives of actors working in ‘the defence’.
Throughout, the course will address possible security strategies & tools at various levels (societal, organisational and individual level), which can be used to address particular risks and challenges, and it will provide benefits and shortcomings of all of them.
Course objectives
At the end of the course students are able to:
acquire basic knowledge and understanding of what cyberspace is, what cybersecurity is, and which key cybersecurity challenges are most important today.
acquire basic knowledge of the governance of the Internet.
identify actors and their behaviour in cyberspace.
identify intentional and accidental cyber threats, will have basic knowledge of the key cyber incidents of the past decades, and will be able to critically assess the impact of these incidents.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the e-guides you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
14 plenary lectures
4 course labs in smaller groups
Attendance of the course labs is mandatory. If you miss more than 1 course lab you fail the course and won’t obtain a final grade.
Total study load of 280 hours
Contact hours: 54
Self-study hours: 220
Examination: 6
Assessment method
Mid-term exam
30% of final grade
Grade must be compensated
Resit not possible
Final exam
70% of final grade
Grade must be 5.50 or higher
Resit of a fail is possible
Resit will take the same form
Optional bonus for final exam (if exam is 5.5 or higher) to be obtained during the course labs.
Students will also be permitted to resit the final exam (70%) if they have a calculated overall course grade lower than 5.50.
Transitional arrangements
Passed partial grades obtained in year 2020-2021 remain valid during year 2021-2022. Students who did not meet the course lab attendance requirements in 2020-2021 are required to attend the course labs in 2021-2022.
Reading list
A selection of books and articles will be announced on Brightspace.
Registration
Use uSis to register for this course. Registration for courses in uSis is possible from 15 December, 13.00h. Pay attention: registration for workgroups in uSis is possible from 15 December, 21.00h. Some courses and workgroups have a limited number of participants, so register on time (before the course starts). In uSis you can access your personal schedule and view your results.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in uSis you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
Access to Brightspace is necessary because the syllabus and other information about this course can be found here. Furthermore, announcements and modifications will be communicated via Brightspace. Students have the responsibility to stay informed and are thus advised to regularly check Brightspace for updates.
Contact
Dr. Tommy van Steen. t.van.steen@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
For exceptions, please contact the Board of Examiners.