Thank you for your participation in the first discussion forum of your Launching into Cyber Security Module
In this discussion forum you were invited to discuss why cybersecurity is now a global issue and why it is important for companies to invest in cybersecurity. The learning outcomes from this dis-cussion were: a) to be able to identify and explain the architecture, structure and functionality of basic components of a computer system, considering cybersecurity issues; b) evaluate critically implica-tions of the key vulnerabilities and threats of software and network security and approaches to mitigate these issues.
In total you made 11 posts including initial post. These have been nicely spread across the discussion over the three weeks period.
You demonstrate clear appreciation of the importance of cybersecurity in your initial post, arguing the urgent need to treat cybersecurity as business decision. You provide strong bases for your arguments citing the strict regulatory obligations companies are subject to and the associated financial and economic cost in case of data breach, citing the Equifax data breach scandal as an example.
Your follow-on posts consider a number of relevant points which expands your initial point to include reputational damage, and the fact that the pandemic has created a new digital culture, citing the increasing trend in the use of telemedicine which further exposes data, and thus increases cybersecurity risks. Your contributions to other posts were well thought through, providing a critical view and drawing appropriate links such as leadership, business competitiveness among others as the drivers for motivations of cyber-attacks. The summary post is well presented collating all the issues discussed to present a coherent view of the topic. Also, there is consideration of the literature citing good sources to support your point under discussion, demonstrating critical analysis and depth.
It was also good to see you drawing on your experiences, however it would be good to try as much as possible to support all your statements with evidence based on the literature. For example, I expected to see a reference to support the societal perception of cybersecurity point you made in your initial post. Also, please try to stay within the word count limits as per the requirements. There were few instances where you exceeded the limit.
Overall, you demonstrated great appreciation of cybersecurity issues. I am clear that you have a good understanding of cybersecurity issues and the need to invest in this. A range of reading has been consulted overall across your contributions which was good to see. A strong start to the module.
To improve your grades further, do take note of the developmental areas highlighted above.