Cloud Computing Operations and Security
CET4772 — Cloud Computing Operations and Security
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Course Description
CET 4772 Cloud Computing Operations and Security teaches students to "effectively design, operate, manage and distribute applications and services on the cloud," covering "implementing infrastructure and applications as a service, virtualization on the cloud, and securing applications and services on the cloud" (statewide and UWF description).
⚠ One institution in Florida teaches it: the University of West Florida, at 3 credits, in the Department of Cybersecurity and Information Technology (Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering). UWF is designated by the NSA as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, and this course is part of that cybersecurity and IT curriculum.
⚠ The statewide prerequisite is a placeholder: use UWF's
The state record lists the prerequisite as "CET 4XXX (Networks), CET 4XXX (Operating Sys), with a grade of C- or above". The course numbers were never filled in. UWF's catalog gives the real requirement: CGS 3763 or COP 4634 or COP 4610, each an operating-systems course. The point is the same: you are expected to understand operating systems and networks before managing them in the cloud.
Learning Outcomes
Required Outcomes
The first three are UWF's stated outcomes.
- Examine the elements of cloud infrastructure: compute, storage, networking and regions.
- Discuss cloud virtualisation and the distribution of applications as a service.
- Configure, design and implement strategies that maintain data integrity and security when applications are deployed in the cloud.
- Distinguish IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, and the provider's and customer's security responsibilities in each (the shared responsibility model).
- Deploy and operate infrastructure and applications on a public cloud.
- Apply identity and access management, network segmentation and encryption to a cloud deployment.
- Explain service-oriented architecture on the cloud.
Optional Outcomes
- Use containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Define infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation).
- Monitor, log and respond to incidents in a cloud environment.
- Estimate and control cloud cost.
Major Topics
Required Topics
- Cloud infrastructure
- Applications and software as a service
- Cloud virtualisation
- Service-oriented architecture on the cloud
- Security on the cloud
(UWF's topic list.)
Optional Topics
- Containers and serverless computing
- Infrastructure as code and DevOps
- Compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, SOC 2)
Resources & Tools
- Student programs from the major providers: AWS Academy, Microsoft Azure for Students and Google Cloud education credits, which give free hands-on accounts.
- The Cloud Security Alliance's guidance and Cloud Controls Matrix.
- NIST SP 800-145 (the definition of cloud computing) and SP 800-144 (cloud security and privacy).
Career Pathways
- Information security analysts (SOC 15-1212), including cloud security engineering. See this site's Cybersecurity Analyst career path.
- Network and computer systems administrators (SOC 15-1244) and computer network architects (SOC 15-1241), whose work is moving to the cloud. See the Network and Systems Administrator path.
- Cloud and DevOps engineering roles, usually reported under software developers (SOC 15-1252).
- ⚠ Certifications employers ask for alongside the degree: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect, Microsoft Azure Fundamentals or Administrator, CompTIA Cloud+, and (later) the ISC2 CCSP.
Special Information
Offering Notes
| Institution | Its title | Credits | Note |
|---|
| University of West Florida (UWF) | Cloud Computing Operations and Security | 3 | Department of Cybersecurity and Information Technology. Prerequisite CGS 3763, COP 4634 or COP 4610. May not be repeated for credit. |
The only carrier is UWF. The guide records 45 contact hours, the Florida convention for a three-credit course.
AI Integration (Optional)
Cloud providers now build AI assistants into their consoles. They write configuration and infrastructure-as-code, explain errors, and flag misconfigurations. ⚠ Misconfiguration remains the leading cause of cloud breaches, and a generated policy that grants too much access works just as smoothly as a correct one. The skill this course builds is reviewing what a tool produced against the principle of least privilege before deploying it. Use AI to draft and explain; verify every permission yourself.