HND Digital Technologies (Cyber Security Pathway) HTQ

You will study sixteen units in total: 

Year 1 

• Professional Practice in the Digital Economy will provide you with a foundation for good practice in a variety of contexts and an opportunity for you to examine the evolution and impact of digital technologies on work environments.
• Innovation & Digital Transformation will look at a number of tools and techniques that organisations use to transform and become more innovative in their approach. These include frameworks and related- elements such as operational agility, culture, leadership, customer experience, and integration of digital technology.
• Cyber Security designed to develop your knowledge and understanding in relation to cyberthreats and vulnerabilities, cyber defence techniques and incident response. You will explore fundamental principles as well as leading-edge concepts, terminologies, models and hardening methods. You will assess the types of malicious activity and potential targets, and the role everyone has in maintaining cyber resilience.
• Programming introduces you to the core concepts of programming, along with an introduction to algorithms and the characteristics of programming paradigm.
• Big Data &Visualisation introduces you to the concepts of big data and visualisation and how this is used for decision making. Students will explore the industry software solutions available for investigating and presenting data, before assessing the role and responsibility of data specialists in the current environment.
• Networking in the Cloud will give you a wider background knowledge of cloud networking principles, operational principles, protocols, standards, security considerations and the systems associated with a range of networking technologies. It will give you the underpinning knowledge of the principles of networks and supports a range of other units in the qualification.
• Security will give you knowledge of security, the associated risks and how it has an impact on business continuity. You will examine security measures involving access authorisation and regulation of use
• Networking will give you a wider background knowledge of computer networking essentials, how they operate, protocols, standards, security considerations and the prototypes associated with a range of networking technologies. You will explore a range of hardware, with related software, and will configure and install these to gain knowledge of networking systems.

Year 2 

•  Business Intelligence you will be introduced to a range of tools, techniques and technologies for acquiring data and processing this into meaningful information that can be used to support business functions and processes. You will also examine the concept of business processing in terms of data capture, conversion and information output. You will be required to define the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality.
• Internet of Things will introduce you to the role, basic concepts and benefits of IoT in the design and development process of computer applications. The key aim of the unit is to enhance understanding of the methodology, terminology and benefits of IoT in the design and development of software applications.
• Emerging Technologies you will be introduced to the role, benefits, disadvantages and potential outcomes that emerging technologies have in the development of software applications and business practices. The aim of the unit is to enhance your understanding of the current types, terminology, advantages, disadvantages, potential impact and benefits of emerging technologies.
• Applied Security in the Cloud will give you the opportunity to implement security in a cloud-based infrastructure. You will explore common threats and how to defend a cloud system. You will design security policies, ensuring that their cloud-based system has effective security management.
• Applied Cryptography in the Cloud introduces you to the applied principles of cryptography and looks at its practical applications and methods, many of which are fundamental to secure data in the cloud. You will be expected to analyse fundamental symmetric, asymmetric and hashing encryption methods, and investigate examples of these in practice.
• Information Security Management in the Cloud you will be introduced to the principles of information security governance and explore key principles of ISO standards for meeting assurance, quality and performance standards. You will be expected to investigate the use of an Information Security Management System (ISMS) and how cloud service providers support solutions for protecting data in organisations. You will also be expected to analyse the challenges of using cloud-based ISMS solutions and design a Security Posture Assessment to use in a cloud environment.
• Work-based Learning in the Digital Economy will provide you with a framework and the opportunity to reflect on and contextualise the learning you gain from working in the industry. In coordination with tutors and an employer, you will define the scope, duration, and content of your expected work-based learning experience. Throughout the period of you work based learning experience, you will be expected to record their experience and reflect on your learning.
• Digital Sustainability you will gain a wide range of knowledge and understanding of the issues and topics associated with sustainability and low impact digital technology solutions. You will also explore the interdisciplinary context of sustainability and how the development of a low carbon economy is essential in the digital technology sector.

The HND will also assist you in further developing your academic writing and research skills providing you with the opportunity develop transferable skills such as communication, teamwork and problem solving.