Businesses around the world are investing in skills and resources to strengthen their cybersecurity due to increased reports about serious vulnerabilities and a growing industry that seeks to exploit them.

Discover the importance of secure system design and find out how security-first mindset can improve the software development process. This 2-week course introduces you to the history of system development and security, and helps you build the skills to evaluate the legal and ethical considerations when creating secure systems.

Explore the history of system development and security

This course begins by reviewing the history of system development, before moving onto a review of the software development life cycle. This is an opportunity to grow your understanding of the different security considerations and how they fit into the software development process. Once you have completed this stage, you’ll be able to review basic security methods and discuss the history of cybersecurity.

Get to grips with the legal and ethical issues in cybersecurity

In addition to technical considerations, you’ll be exposed to a range of legal and ethical elements that influence the implementation of different security systems. This includes the legislation involved in software development and information security.

By the end of this course, you’ll have a basic understanding of these areas, and have a firm foundation to move onto further learning about how to design, build, and maintain robust security systems.

What topics will you cover?

An introduction to system security and the software development life cycle
Legal and ethical consideration in system development

Prove you're job ready

Highlight the new, job-relevant skills you’ve gained and supplement existing qualifications with a hard-earned, industry-specific digital certificate – plus one for every course within your ExpertTrack.

Learn the latest in your chosen industry or subject.
Complete each course and pass assessments.
Receive certificates validated by the educating organisation.
Impress employers with learning outcomes you can add to your CV.
Make your career dreams a reality.

Download a PDF

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Discuss the history of system development and security
Identify different cases of security breaks/issues on different systems (eg policy break, attacks, etc)
Describe the basic security primitives and methods
Evaluate legal and ethical considerations related to the design and development of secure systems

Who is the course for?

This ExpertTrack is suited to people looking to increase their understanding of software development lifecycle and security considerations. It has been designed for security analysts, security architects, software developers, and aspiring security specialists.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

Established
1992
Location
Coventry

About this ExpertTrack

Learn the principles of information system security design and their impact on secure systems.

Find out more

Start learning today - free 2-day trial

After your free trial you can:

Pay $39 per month to keep learning online
Have complete control over your subscription; you can cancel any time
Work at your own pace and set your own deadlines at every stage
Only pay while you’re learning; the subscription will cancel automatically when you finish
Complete online assessments to test your knowledge and prove your skills
Earn digital course certificates and a final award that you can share online, with potential employers, and your professional network
Keep access to the content of courses you complete even after your subscription ends

Start your free 2-day trial

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn