PrintGeospatial Intelligence Principles and Methods in the Cyber Domain
Syllabus Summer 2022
Course Instructor
Dr. Michael Thomas
John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Office Hours: Online, by appointment
Contacting your instructor:
mlt222@psu.edu or mthomas304@yahoo.com
For questions which are more personal in nature, please contact me through the course email system and I will respond ASAP.
NOTE: I read and respond to email and discussion forums at least once per day during the work week (Monday through Friday) and as time permits on weekends (though please don't depend on this).
Course Overview
Description:
GEOG 597:
This special topic course focuses on applying the principles and methods of geospatial intelligence in today’s networked, distributed, and asynchronous world. Such an application of geospatial intelligence requires addressing problems from the perspective of social and technical choices which involve hardware, software, networks, data, and people. Participants in the course will apply the principles of geospatial intelligence, examine examples of adversarial use of cyber in the form of case studies, and apply methods and techniques to understand cyber capabilities considered threats to United States interests. The products of the course are a presentation and paper. At the course completion, participants will:
- recognize the geographic aspects of the cyber domain, wrt to differences and similarities between countries.
- describe the nature of cyber threats,
- complete an analysis following the geospatial intelligence principles and methods, and
- evaluate a geospatial intelligence analysis based on the standards set forth in ICD 203.
Prerequisite
This course is available to any graduate student. The goal is to have a class actively interested in the topic and as varying as possible with respect to age, gender, nationality, professional experience, and education.
What I Expect of You
Students are expected to spend approximately 120 hours of in- and out-of-class work (12 hours per week) to successfully complete this 3-credit seminar. Faculty will have approximately 40 hours of student contact. Contact with students will be via Penn State connectivity (email, chat room, Box, etc.), Zoom, the Internet, and phone calls. Faculty will mentor student team members through the project development.
Benefits. You will acquire an understanding of geospatial characteristics of cyber threats, apply geospatial intelligence to anticipate such threats, employ Intelligence Community Directive 203 to evaluate geospatial intelligence of cyber threats, and exercise geospatial thinking and work practices.
What You Can Expect of Me
We are using an online learning environment for this course, and, as such, my 'office' is also online. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions, and I will respond to you within 24 hours. If it is something that is more easily addressed through an online meeting, please get in touch with me, and we can arrange a time to talk that works well for both of us. If I am going to be out of touch for a while, I will let you know ahead of time.
Course Goals and Outcomes
At the course completion, participants will:
- recognize the geographic aspects of the cyber domain,
- describe the nature of cyber threats,
- complete an analysis following the geospatial intelligence principles and methods, and
- evaluate a geospatial intelligence analysis based on the standards set forth in ICD 203.
Required Course Materials
There is no textbook for you to buy for this course. Necessary materials are presented online through our course website, in Canvas, or are available through the Penn State Libraries. In order to access all materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the online course resources). If you have any questions about obtaining or activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk (link is external).
Alternatively, the readings will also be loaded into CANVAS for access.
Assignments and Grading
It's important that you understand how your grade is calculated in this course. I will keep the Canvas gradebook up to date, so any time you're curious about where you stand in the class, you should visit Canvas. Canvas also allows you to enter hyptothetical grades on remaining assignments to get an idea of likely course grade outcomes. If you have any questions about a grade you've received on an assignment, contact the instructor via Canvas Inbox.
Grading Scale
| Grade | Percent |
|---|---|
| A | 93–100% |
| A- | 90–92.9% |
| B+ | 87–89.9% |
| B | 83–86.9% |
| B- | 80–82.9% |
| C+ | 77–79.9% |
| C | 70–76.9% |
| D | 60–69.9% |
| F | <60% |
Course Schedule
It is your responsibility to be aware of deadlines for assignments for this course. You can also refer to the Calendar for deadlines, and if you have any questions along the way, just ask.
Lessons open on Thursdays and assignments are due the following Wednesdays at 11:59 pm, eastern time. You have an entire week to complete the readings and other associated activities. See the first page of each lesson for specific details. Anything not submitted by the assigned due date will be considered late and points will be deducted (see Course Policies for details).
Make sure to refer to the Canvas Calendar (link on left) for Assignment Due dates and links.
Syllabus and Reading Assignments. The uses online asynchronous learning with a synchronous presentation. The course covers the topics as follows and readings:
| Week | Topic | Reading/Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 |
Geospatial Intelligence and Cyberspace
|
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| Week 2 | Geospatial Analytic Principles, Methods, and Standards |
|
| Week 3 | Internet & Networking Crash Course |
|
| Week 4 | Information Denial and Deception in Cyberspace |
|
| Week 5 | Case Study: Russia |
|
| Week 6 | Case Study: China |
|
| Week 7 | Student Research Proposal Mini-Conference |
|
| Week 8 | Case Study: Iran |
|
| Week 9 | Case Study: DPRK |
|
| Week 10 | Student Conference |
|
Course Policies
Late Work
One of the many advantages to taking courses online is that it affords you a degree of flexibility in when and how you complete your assignments that might be more challenging to achieve in a face-to-face classroom setting. However, taking courses online does not mean that you've got the autonomy to do and submit the work when you wish.
In order for us to move through the material as a group, it's important that each of you completes your assignments on time. Late is defined as submitted anytime after 11:59 pm on the Tuesday on which the assignment is due. This means if you procrastinate and turn it in at 12:05 am on Wednesday morning, it is late.
- Assignments will be assessed a 10% penalty for each 24 hour period late they are (i.e., 12:00 am on Wednesday through 11:59 pm on Wednesday is 10% and so on).
Life happens. Inevitably, you will have some legitimate situation or emergency arise during the semester that is going to hinder your ability to complete work on time. You should always communicate these occurrences to your instructor. It takes but a minute to call or email and give me a courtesy heads up. I'm much more willing to work with you if I know what's going on. Falling off the radar for an extended period of time and then later requesting additional time retroactively is not the appropriate way to communicate a problem with your instructor. Let me know what's happening when it's happening; that gives me the best chance of helping you out. This is also why you are only required to participate in 10 of the 12 discussion assignments.
Procrastination doesn't pay - Technology is far from perfect, and, generally, it only fails when you really need it to work. If you play with fire and wait until the very last second to attempt to submit your work in Canvas, you may get burned. This is an easy enough problem for us to avoid - you have a full week to complete your work, so don't wait until that last second to turn it in.
*Discussion assignments have a two-pronged deadline schedule within the week - with initial postings due Monday nights and comments due on Wednesday nights.
Citation and Reference Style
I cannot overemphasize the importance of academic integrity. DO NOT copy and paste from unreferenced sources. Without exception: if you use a quotation from any source, as part of any submitted assignment, the quote must be clearly noted with quotation marks and properly cited in the text and on a Works Cited page.
Please view the academic integrity policy of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. I take violations of academic integrity very seriously in this class, and I will file an Academic Integrity Violation form with the College if you are found to be cheating in any way - whether that's sharing answers with a classmate, copying and pasting text and passing it off as your own, or anything else. It's simply not fair to the students who do their own work and do it well to tolerate cheating of any kind. As a Penn State student, it is your responsibility to understand the University's academic integrity policies.
It is important (not only in this course, but in all courses you take as well as in professional documents you produce) to employ proper citation methods for the sources you utilize. Failure to do so reduces the credibility of your work at best and can lead to suspicion of intentional plagiarism at worst. We don't want either of those things to happen!
Resources for Citations and Reference Styles
This course requires you to use the Chicago Author-Date style documented at the Chicago Manual of Style Online (please note the link defaults the Notes and Bibliography style of Chicago, you must click the tab which says Author-Date).
See our Citation and Reference Style page accessible through the Resources menu.
If you are interested, Penn State has many useful resources about citations if you need some help. You can also check out Styles for Students - an excellent, in-depth tutorial of how and why we cite things. And, as always, just contact your instructor if you have any questions.
Deferred Grades
If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time, it is possible to request to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by email or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If, for any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript.
Netiquette
The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as email and bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core Rules of Netiquette" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course.
Technical Requirements
For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the IT Service Desk.
Internet Connection
Access to a reliable Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your Internet access may not be used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or Wi-Fi ® hotspot.
In EMS, inclusivity is one of our core values. We prioritize fostering a diverse and equitable community where each member knows they belong here and is inspired to succeed. We encourage everyone in our EMS community to be actively engaged in fostering this ideal, and all members of this class should contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment and interact with civility. Our commitment to inclusivity aligns with Penn State’s values and policies.
To learn more, visit EMS Educational Equity. Here, you will find information about the EMS ALLWE initiative, the Rainbow EMS Network, Anti-Racism, active ally-ship, bystander intervention, and more. The site also has resources for where to turn if you need assistance and links to University references. Also, contact your EMS department’s Associate Head for DEI for more information about department initiatives.
Disclaimer
Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Changes to the syllabus shall be given to you in written (paper or electronic) form.