Security Project Specifcation
IFN507 Network Systems
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IFN507 Security Project Specification 2023 v1
IFN507 Network Systems
Security Project Specification Document
1. Key Information Summary
Weighting This assessment is worth 30% of your total grade for this unit.
All group members will receive the same grade for this assessment.
Task 1. Group Written Report. You must use the provided template available on
Blackboard.
Group Requirements Groups of three (3). You can form your own groups on Blackboard. You do not
need to belong to the same practical class as your other group members. If you
do not self-enrol in a group, the teaching team will group you.
For any grouping enquiries contact Professor Raja Jurdak:
r.jurdak@qut.edu.au.
Report Length Your report must be three to four (3 – 4) pages in length. That is no less than
three (3) and no more than four (4) pages in length.
The page count requirements exclude the cover page and any references.
You must use the provided template and fill in the requested information in the
appropriate sections.
There is no need to include any graphics or screenshots in your report.
Template Requirements There are instructions included on the cover page of the template. Please read
these carefully and ensure you understand them. You must use the instructions
in the template, the instructions in this document, and the direction provided by
the marking criteria document when completing this assessment task. You may
not modify the template margins or increase/decrease the font size. Please do
not delete any of the sections of the template. This includes deleting the
questions to obtain more space. This assignment is based on a page count
rather than a word count, so it is vital that the page and document structure are
not compromised.
Each answer box is a variable size, so you can provide more information or less
information for each of the questions, based on your own discretion. You should
use the marking criteria to guide you in this. Typically, a higher weighted section
would warrant a longer response than a section that is worth fewer overall
marks.
Claim of Contribution You must complete the ‘Claim of Contribution’ section on the cover page of the
template. Please provide each student’s name and a concise summary of their
contribution. It is expected that all group members contribute. Group members
that do not provide a contribution will not receive any marks.
Due Date 27 October 11.59 PM (Week 13)
Extensions This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour assignment extension. For further
information refer to:
https://qutvirtual4.qut.edu.au/group/student/study/assignments/submitting/late-
assignments-and-extensions
Security Project Specifcation
IFN507 Network Systems
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IFN507 Security Project Specification 2023 v1
2. Scenario
You work for a large electricity company that has high network and service availability requirements. You
have been asked to investigate a problem with a File Server on your company’s network. It has been
determined that some sort of network security incident has occurred, and all users have been unable to
access it. You decide to examine a sample of the network traffic from the File Server using Wireshark. From
this capture file and your own research, you must determine what sort of attack has occurred and provide
mitigation strategies to prevent this from occurring again. You can assume that there are no/inadequate
security provisions in place on the company’s network.
Use the provided template to report your findings.
Please note: This is a very small sample of the actual traffic from the impacted machine. You can assume
that the traffic that is not provided would follow the same patterns/exhibit the same behaviours as seen in
the provided sample.
3. Assessment Task
This is a group assessment. Each group is a team of three (3) students. You must analyse the capture file
and conduct your own research to determine the cause of the interrupted service. Report your findings using
the template provided. The following tasks must be completed:
• You must research and describe the normal expected behaviour of the Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP).
• You must identify any anomalous behaviour or patterns within the provided capture file.
• Identify the impacted TCP header fields using specific packet examples from the capture file.
• Identify any other observations of anomalous or noteworthy behaviour exhibited in the other layers
if applicable and provide specific packet examples from the capture file.
• Based on the above investigation, identify, and explain what type of attack has likely occurred.
• Provide mitigation strategies to stop this from occurring in the future. Explain both the benefits and
limitations with your proposed strategies.
4. Academic Integrity
This assessment contains elements of both analysis and research. You are expected to consult suitable
academic and authoritative sources such as journal articles, conference proceedings, textbooks, and other
authoritative industry sources on networking and security. When obtaining information from web sources
that are not academic in nature, ensure that the organisation is reputable and is an authority on the topic.
Please do not reference lecture slides, lecture/practical recordings, or practical worksheets. Please use the
QUT APA style for referencing and citations with further information available at
https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/qutcite.html#apa-general. Citations must be in-text with the full
reference list to be provided in Section four (4) of the template.
It is important that the assignment is written in your own words, and as such simply copy-pasting from
sources into your report without proper attribution is considered plagiarism. If plagiarism is suspected, the
Unit Coordinator must notify the Faculty Academic Integrity Committee. The penalties imposed may be
severe (See the QUT MOPP for details).
5. Individual Contribution
It is expected that all team members contribute equally and meaningfully to this assessment. Do not wait
until the last minute to contact your team members. If you have been trying to contact a team member and
have received no response, please keep a record of this. If they have not responded or contributed by week
10, you can exclude them from your group by claiming their contribution as 0% on your final submission.
You must claim your individual contribution in the table provided in the template. Please be concise in your
contribution claim. Non-contributing team members will receive zero (0) marks.
Security Project Specifcation
IFN507 Network Systems
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IFN507 Security Project Specification 2023 v1
6. Teamwork
This assessment task requires that you work in teams of three (3) students. This increases discussion
opportunities and perhaps leads to exploring ideas that may not have otherwise occurred to you as an
individual. However, as in any relationship, working together may become difficult if group members have
very different expectations regarding the assessment task. Some difficulties may be avoided by discussing
expectations with team-mates BEFORE starting work together. 
Here is a list of points you may want to discuss with your team-mates. There may be other points that are
also important to you. If you discuss these honestly before you start, then you know where you stand, and
that can help to make your work together more effective.
Ask your team-mates about these things: 
1. What are you hoping to achieve for this unit/assessment item?
If one person is working for a high distinction and the other is happy with a pass, then there may be some
conflict about the standard of the submission. Understand your team-mates’ goal for this assessment task
and be honest about your goal. Try to sort out the areas where you can each contribute to best effect. 
2. How much time do you have available to work on this – when and where?
We all have lives outside of university, and it can be challenging to coordinate times for different activities.
Here are some questions you might ask your team-mates: 
• Are you a full-time student, or are you working full time and studying part time? 
• Do you have commitments (for example: work, sporting, family, or religious commitments) that will
impact on your availability? 
• Are you able to work on this during the day, at night, or over the weekend? 
• How will we meet (Skype? Zoom? Facetime?) and how often? How much can you do independently
between meetings?
• Are there considerations that need to be made regarding time zones? Some group members may
be currently studying overseas due to current travel restrictions. 
3. What are your skills or strengths?
Are you good at:
• Data analysis, with technical knowledge of the networking protocols?
• Tracking down information from a range of sources, summarizing information, and finding great
examples to illustrate the points you make? 
• The write-up phase: writing clearly and concisely? 
• Citation and referencing? 
You don’t both need to be good at the same things to form a great report writing team. It can be very useful
to have team-mates whose strengths complement yours, so that together you form an effective team.  
7. Report Submission
Your team should submit an electronic copy of your completed report for marking by the due date.
Submission for final marking is through the Blackboard site; look for the submission link for the report under
‘Assessment’. Only one member of the team needs to submit the report. Be sure you have decided on who
will submit and confirm with your team-mate before the deadline that this has occurred. You can submit up
to five (5) times. Only your final submission will be graded. Please submit your report in PDF format.
Submissions by email will NOT be accepted.
8. Marking Criteria
This assessment task is worth 30%. The marking criteria document outlines the criteria you will be assessed
against. This is a separate document and is located in the same folder on Blackboard as this specification
document. Please ensure you use this to guide you when working on the assessment. You should self-
assess your work prior to submission using the marking criteria.