AQA Education · RQF Level 3

AQA Level 3 Technical Level IT: Cyber Security and Security Administration

You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.

LevelRQF Level 3
Guided learning720 hours
Units in this qualification9

Awarded by AQA Education · on the Ofqual register

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What you’ll learn

What each unit actually teaches you to do

It provides learners with knowledge of cyber security and security administration within the digital technology sector. The qualification covers computer forensic investigation, network security, and programming for networking. It is suitable for those seeking roles in network and security administration.

These are the units AQA Education registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.

Communication technologiesReal unit · AQA Education

You'll understand various communication technologies, protocols, and standards, including wired and wireless methods. The unit covers data transmission techniques, use of communication devices, and network security aspects within communication systems.

What you'll be able to do

Understand different communication technologies, including wired and wireless communication methods.
Know communication protocols and standards, including TCP/IP, HTTP, and SMTP.
Use communication devices, such as smartphones, computers, and network devices, to transmit and receive data.
Understand data transmission methods, including modulation, encoding, and multiplexing.
Know about network security in communications, including encryption, authentication, and access control.

Computer forensic investigationReal unit · AQA Education

You'll study computer forensic investigation principles, focusing on evidence collection, preservation, and analysis. The unit includes data recovery techniques, legal and ethical considerations, and documentation of findings to support digital investigations.

What you'll be able to do

Understand computer forensic investigation principles, including evidence collection, preservation, and analysis
Know about data recovery techniques and tools
Analyse digital evidence to identify relevant information
Understand legal and ethical considerations related to computer forensic investigations
Document findings in a clear and concise manner

Developing and maintaining computer networksReal unit · AQA Education

This unit provides knowledge of network topologies, protocols such as TCP/IP and Ethernet, and network infrastructure components. You'll learn to configure network devices, troubleshoot network issues, and maintain network security within various network environments.

What you'll be able to do

Understand network topologies and protocols, including their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages.
Configure network devices, such as routers, switches, and firewalls, to establish and maintain network connectivity.
Troubleshoot network issues, including identifying and resolving connectivity problems and performance bottlenecks.
Maintain network security by implementing security measures and monitoring network activity.
Understand network infrastructure components, including cabling, network interface cards, and other physical elements.

Fundamental principles of computingReal unit · AQA Education

This unit covers fundamental computing principles including abstraction, decomposition, algorithms, and data structures. You'll gain knowledge of computer hardware and software components, operating systems, data representation, and computer architecture to manage computing resources effectively.

What you'll be able to do

Understand fundamental computing principles, including the underlying concepts and theories that govern computer systems.
Know the various computer hardware and software components and their functions within a computing system.
Use operating systems to manage computer resources and execute applications.
Understand data representation methods, including binary, hexadecimal, and other encoding schemes.
Know about computer architecture, including the organisation and interaction of different hardware components.

Managing identity and access to systemsReal unit · AQA Education

This unit covers identity management principles, access control methods, and authentication techniques. You'll learn to manage user accounts, implement access policies such as role-based and attribute-based controls, and understand auditing and least privilege concepts.

What you'll be able to do

Understand identity management principles, including authentication, authorisation, and auditing.
Know access control methods, including role-based access control (RBAC) and attribute-based access control (ABAC).
Manage user accounts, including creating, modifying, and deleting accounts.
Implement access policies to control access to resources.
Understand authentication methods, including passwords, multi-factor authentication, and biometric authentication.

Maths for computingReal unit · AQA Education

You'll study mathematical principles relevant to computing, including logic, set theory, graph theory, algebra, and number systems. The unit develops skills to apply these principles in algorithm analysis, data structure design, and statistical methods within computing contexts.

What you'll be able to do

Understand mathematical principles for computing, including logic, set theory, and graph theory.
Apply maths to computing problems, such as algorithm analysis and data structure design.
Use statistical methods to analyse data and make predictions.
Use algebra in computing, including solving equations and manipulating matrices.
Understand number systems, including binary, decimal, and hexadecimal, and their use in computer systems.

Network and cyber security administrationReal unit · AQA Education

This unit covers network and cyber security principles, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and VPNs. You'll identify cyber security threats such as malware and phishing, administer network security, implement policies, and monitor security to protect networked systems.

What you'll be able to do

Understand network security principles, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and VPNs
Know about cyber security threats, including malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks
Administer network security, including configuring firewalls and intrusion detection systems
Understand security policies and procedures and how to implement them
Monitor network security and respond to security incidents

Network threats and vulnerabilitiesReal unit · AQA Education

This unit examines common network threats such as malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks, alongside vulnerabilities like weak passwords and unpatched software. You'll assess associated risks and implement security measures and policies to monitor and protect network security.

What you'll be able to do

Understand common network threats, including malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks.
Know network vulnerabilities and risks, including weaknesses in network configurations and software.
Implement security measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access controls, to protect networks from threats.
Understand security policies and procedures, including password management, data encryption, and incident response.
Monitor network security by analysing network traffic and security logs to detect and respond to security incidents.

Programming for networking and securityReal unit · AQA Education

You'll explore programming concepts specific to networking and security, including sockets, client-server architecture, and network communication models. The unit covers secure coding practices, encryption techniques, and testing methods to develop and maintain secure network applications.

What you'll be able to do

Understand fundamental networking programming concepts, including sockets, client-server architecture, and network communication models.
Know security programming techniques, including encryption, hashing, and secure coding practices.
Develop secure network applications that protect against common vulnerabilities.
Test network security using penetration testing and vulnerability scanning tools.
Understand network protocols such as TCP/IP, HTTP, and DNS, and their role in network communication.

The honest bit

You’ve started things before

Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.

There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.

And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.

Your passport

Every credit is a stamp you keep

Level 3 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.

Communication technologiesComputer forensic investigationDeveloping and maintaining computer networksFundamental principles of computingManaging identity and access to systemsMaths for computingNetwork and cyber security administrationNetwork threats and vulnerabilities

Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.

Who’d teach you this

The Evidence Evaluator

Assessor

Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.

Meet all twelve tutors

Where this connects

Where these credits take you

A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.

Where this can lead

Associate Network Security Administrator

Your journey starts here, but where it goes is really up to you. The security field offers endless opportunities for growth, specialisation, and impact. We're here to provide the foundation, the tools, and the mentorship to help you build a truly rewarding career.

See the whole journey →

Opens the roleAssociate Network Security AdministratorOne of the jobs this qualification is a route intoSee the role →Opens the roleNetwork Security AdministratorOne of the jobs this qualification is a route intoSee the role →Opens the roleNetwork Security AssociateOne of the jobs this qualification is a route intoSee the role →Opens the roleNetwork Security AssistantOne of the jobs this qualification is a route intoSee the role →Opens the roleNetwork Security Administrator ManagerOne of the jobs this qualification is a route intoSee the role →Future FluencyAll ten future skillsSee how every unit is contextualised by the tenExplore →

Skills it covers

What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.

Assisting with Monitoring Network and Systems Activity for Anomalous Behaviour

How you’ll actually learn this

One-to-one, on your own real work

A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.

One-to-one, on your real workNo lectures, no past-papers. Every unit is practised on the actual tasks your job throws at you, a tutor beside you, not a video in front of you.

Taught to the top, not the testMost courses stop at remembering. Your companion keeps climbing: analysing, judging, creating. That’s the part a machine can’t do for you.

Credits you keep, a map that continuesEvery unit is regulated and yours for good. The day you finish, Zavmo already knows the next role your new credits open.

Communication technologiesLevel 3

Applied to your work in any of these jobs

Which job do you mean?

Associate Network Security Administrator Network Security Administrator Network Security Associate Network Security Assistant Network Security Administrator Manager

Learners will understand various communication technologies, protocols, and standards, including wired and wireless methods. The unit covers data transmission techniques, use of communication devices, and network security aspects within communication systems.

How the thinking builds

Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyse
Evaluate
Create

An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

Your PlanIllustration

Built for AQA Level 3 Technical Level IT: Cyber Security and Security Administration

9 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by AQA Education.

Communication technologies
Computer forensic investigation
Developing and maintaining computer networks
Fundamental principles of computing
Managing identity and access to systems
Maths for computing

and 3 more in the full unit list below.

These are the real units of this credential, in its own order. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

One to one, not one to many

No two people run this the same way

A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.

Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.

See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.

Why it sticks

Most courses stop at remembering

There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.

6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
4AnalyseThe Analyst
3ApplyThe Coach
2UnderstandThe Connector
1RememberThe Builder

Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you

Why this matters: AI can already remember and understand for you. What it can’t do is take your real problem and judge the right call. So the only learning worth paying for is the learning that takes you to the top. That’s exactly what a tutor doing it with you, on your real work, is for.

The value

Why the companion is worth £70 a month

You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.

That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.

Earned on your own work, taught to the top.

Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.

Build my plan, free

No card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.