CSS 448: Cyberwarfare

Course Description

This course will focus on the cyberwarfare landscape, offensive and defensive cyberwarfare techniques, and the future of cyberwarfare. It also addresses military doctrine and strategies, intelligence operations, and cyberwarfare-related laws and ethics. Students will be exposed to many cybersecurity technologies, processes, and procedures that help to protect endpoints, networks, and data. They will also learn how to identify and analyze threat and vulnerabilities, and create appropriate mitigation strategies. (3 credits)

Prerequisites

ENG 101: English Composition 1
ENG 102: English Composition 2
ITE 145: Fundamentals of Information Systems Security
ITE 220: Networking & Data Communications (Recommended)

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Explain the importance of information as a military asset.
Describe the targets and combatants of cyberwarfare.
Explain the role of law and ethics in cyberwarfare.
Describe intelligence operations in cyberwarfare.
Describe cyberwarfare attackers and the evolution of cyberwarfare techniques.
Describe the concept of defense-in-depth and various defense-in-depth strategies.
Explain how cryptography is used in cyberwar.
Explain how to defend endpoints, networks, and data.
Explain how military doctrine guides the conduct of warfare.
Summarize what cyberwarfare may be like in the future.

Course Activities and Grading

Assignments	Weight
Discussions (Weeks 1-7)	8%
Assignments (Weeks 1-7)	27%
Project (Weeks 5-8)	30%
Final Exam (Week 8)	35%
Total	100%

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore

Chapple, Mark and David Seidl. Cyberwarfare: Information Operations in a Connected World - with Cloud Labs. 2nd. ed. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett, 2022. ISBN-13: 978-1-284-53723-9
- Note: This is a bundle which includes a print copy of the textbook, eBook access and Cloud Labs access required for this course. We discourage students from purchasing “used” materials from other sources due to access codes not working properly.

Course Schedule

Week	SLOs	Readings and Exercises	Assignments
1	1,2	Topics: Information as a Military Asset & Targets and Combatants Readings: Chapter 1, "Information as a Military Asset" Chapter 2, "Targets and Combatants"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 1 Assignments Information in Armed Conflict The U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) The Flame
2	3,4	Topics: Cyberwarfare, Law, Ethics and Intelligence Operations Readings: Chapter 3, "Cyberwarfare, Law, and Ethics" Chapter 4, "Intelligence Operations in a Connected World"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 2 Assignments The Intelligence Operations Process The Tallinn Manual Intelligence Disciplines
3	5	Topics: Evolving Threats and Social Engineering Readings: Chapter 5, "The Evolving Threat: From Script Kiddies to Advanced Attackers" Chapter 6, "Social Engineering and Cyberwarfare"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 3 Assignments Principles of Influence A High Profile Hack Robin Sage
4	5	Topics: Weaponizing Cyberspace and Nonstate Actors in Cyberwar Readings: Chapter 7, "Weaponizing Cyberspace: A History" Chapter 8, "Nonstate Actors in Cyberwar"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 4 Assignments Whistleblowers Recent Cyberattacks OR Nonstate Actor Profile
5	6,7	Topics: Defense-in-Depth Strategies and Cryptography Readings: Chapter 9, "Defense-in-Depth Strategies" Chapter 10, "Cryptography and Cyberwar"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 5 Assignments Four Major Concepts of Cryptography Modern CND Strategy OR The Zeus Trojan Submit Project: Part 1: Identifying Cyber Threats and Applying the Cyber Kill Chain
6	8	Topics: Defending Endpoints, Networks and Data Readings: Chapter 11, "Defending Endpoints" Chapter 12, "Defending Networks" Chapter 13, "Defending Data"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 6 Assignments Network Defense Technologies Protecting Industrial Control Systems OR NIST Cybersecurity Framework OR Digital Rights Management Software Submit Project: Part 2: Ensuring Defense in Depth
7	9,10	Topics: Military Doctrine and the Future of Cyberwarfare Readings: Chapter 14, "Cyberwarfare and Military Doctrine" Chapter 15, "Pandora’s Box: The Future of Cyberwarfare"	Read assigned chapters Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Week 7 Assignments The Levels of Warfare Unified Land Operations OR Chinese Military Hacking and Espionage Submit Project: Part 3: Examining Mission Assurance and Operational Procedures
8	1-10	Topics: Course Review and Final Examination Readings: Review the material from the previous weeks to prepare for Final Exam	Submit Project Part 4: Cyberwarfare Defense Plan Report and Presentation Complete Final Exam Complete the Course Evaluation

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.