BTX5330 · Regulating cybersecurity: Law, risk and governance

Overview

Cybersecurity is no longer simply a technical issue confined to IT departments. Governments, corporations, regulators, digital platforms, and critical infrastructure providers increasingly operate in environments shaped by cyber risk, data breaches, ransomware, artificial intelligence, online harms, surveillance, and cross-border digital threats. This unit examines how law responds to these challenges and how cybersecurity is governed in an increasingly interconnected digital society. In this unit, you will examine the legal, regulatory, ethical, and governance dimensions of cybersecurity across domestic and international contexts. Topics include cybercrime, privacy and data protection, critical infrastructure protection, platform regulation, online safety, artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, and cross-border enforcement. Through contemporary case studies, regulatory frameworks, policy analysis, and simulated cyber incidents, you will critically analyse how governments, corporations, regulators, and digital platforms respond to evolving cyber risks and digital governance challenges. The unit is intended for those seeking to understand not only how cybersecurity law currently operates, but also how digital regulation is evolving in response to emerging technologies, geopolitical tensions, and rapidly changing forms of online harm.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. critically evaluate the legal, institutional, and governance frameworks used to regulate cybersecurity, cybercrime, digital risk, and online harms
2. analyse the relationship between cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, platform governance, artificial intelligence, and emerging digital technologies
3. apply relevant legal principles and regulatory frameworks to cybersecurity incidents involving data breaches, ransomware, critical infrastructure, cross-border cyber operations, and online harms
4. assess and compare the roles, responsibilities, and regulatory approaches of governments, corporations, regulators, digital platforms, and legal systems in maintaining cyber resilience and digital security
5. develop legally and strategically informed responses to cybersecurity challenges.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. You are expected to complete all pre-class activities prior to your scheduled class, and post-class activities should be completed after your scheduled class. Learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed, peer directed and online engagement activities.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.