Jason Hartley is lecturer in criminology at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He is a former police officer with 23 years of experience, and has trained personnel for deployment in Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Jason specializes in, and has published on engagement with Muslim communities, Indigenous Polynesian approaches to rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, and Asian Organised Crime. Jason also completed a community internship in Hebron on the West Bank.
ITC521 Internet of Things and SCADA Security
This unit delves into the security concerns and strategies for protecting Internet of Things (IoT) systems and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Students will explore the unique vulnerabilities of IoT devices, their communication protocols, and the integration of IoT with industrial control systems like SCADA. Topics include securing IoT ecosystems, designing resilient SCADA systems, threat detection, and mitigating risks related to privacy and data integrity. The unit also covers incident response strategies, compliance standards, and emerging security technologies for IoT and SCADA.
RELEVANT COURSES
* Core unit
CREDIT POINTS
10
STUDY MODES
On campus, online, hybrid
PREREQUISITE OR CO-REQUISITE
ITC404 Foundations of Cybersecurity OR ITC511 Networking and Systems Security and ITC504 Emerging Cybersecurity Threats
UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Critically review and interpret theoretical frameworks for IoT and SCADA security principles
- Critically analyse security threats and vulnerabilities in IoT and SCADA systems and recommend risk-based controls to maintain system integrity
- Design a layered, defence-in-depth IoT or SCADA architecture using domain-specific controls, privacy safeguards and risk-management strategies
- Develop and implement an IoT/SCADA security strategy that unifies threat-detection, incident-response and regulatory-compliance requirements
- Articulate emerging trends in IoT and SCADA security and propose actions to enhance system protection
CONTENT
- Overview of IoT and SCADA security
- Protocol stacks: Zigbee, BLE, MQTT vs. Modbus, DNP3, OPC UA
- IoT device vulnerabilities and firmware analysis
- SCADA network threats and PLC exploitation
- Authentication, encryption and key management in IoT
- Defence-in-depth for SCADA control networks
- Privacy and data-protection strategies
- Threat detection and SOC telemetry for IoT/SCADA
- Risk frameworks – NIST SP 800-82, ISA/IEC 62443
- Compliance & standards (AESCSF, ACSC, ENISA, GDPR)
- Emerging threats and best practices for IoT and SCADA systems
ASSESSMENT METHODS
- IoT Risk-Assessment and Hardening Lab – 30%
- Group SCADA Secure-Architecture Design dossier and pitch – 30%
- Incident Response Plan and Presentation – 40%
PRESCRIBED READINGS
Check with the lecturer each semester before purchasing any texts












