Elements and Performance Criteria

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Network may include:
data
internet
local area networks (LANs)
large and small LANs
virtual private networks (VPNs)
wide area networks (WANs)
wireless LANs (WLANs).
Attacks and vulnerabilities may include:
authorisations
brute force and dictionary attacks
denial of service and by-pass
eavesdropping
hackers
internal threats
intruder detection
manipulation
penetration
social engineering, including impersonation
spoofing
viruses using logging.
Assets may include:
data
hardware
personal information
product and branding information.
Security may include:
AAA
authentication process, Kerberos and challenge handshake authentication protocol (CHAP)
Diameter and remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS)
folder and file security
IPSec
lightweight extensible authentication protocol (LEAP)
personal knowledge management (PKM)
smart cards
secure socket layer (SSL)
tokens
VPN
wired equivalent privacy (WEP)
wi-fi protected access (WPA) or WPA2.
Network components may include:
servers
workstations
accounts
authentication
data
data transmission
network perimeters:
part of router configuration or proxy server
products:
Cisco Centri, PIX
ClearOS
IPcop
Linux iptables
MS ISA server
SmoothWall
Untangle.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the ability to:
identify threats to security
develop risk management plan
design network security policies
analyse and plan solutions to compromised networks and design incident response
evaluate security information and use it to plan suitable control methods and countermeasures
add network controls, according to system security policies, procedures and risk management plan.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure access to:
site or prototype where network security may be implemented and managed
network support tools currently used in industry
organisational security policies, manufacturer recommendations and security standards
appropriate learning and assessment support when required.
Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs.
Method of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
verbal or written questioning to assess candidate’s knowledge of emerging security issues, security features of hardware and software, limitations in vendor solutions, operating systems and software
direct observation of candidate demonstrating management of network security in a range of complex security situations
review of documentation prepared by candidate to manage network security.
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate.
Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.
Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support.
In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge.