Mark Scheme

 Task 3 

Alongside the main assessment evidence (a project proposal that includes a network topology diagram), task 3 

also assesses mathematics skills. The AO4 mathematics skills Mark Scheme is detailed after task 3.

Note: tasks 2, 3 and 4 also assess English skills holistically. The AO4 English skills Mark Scheme is detailed after 

task 4, though it may be useful to refer to the Mark Scheme whilst assessing the tasks to support an appropriate, 

holistic judgement

Band Mark Descriptor

5 20 to 24

The student provides a response to the task that:

• demonstrates an excellent understanding of network connectivity issues (in relation 

to the scenario of the brief) that is comprehensive and highly detailed

• demonstrates an excellent understanding of how to resolve network connectivity 

issues and address business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is 

comprehensive and highly detailed

• makes judgements on the equipment, software and / or cloud services and 

associated costs to meet business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that 

are comprehensive and highly relevant

• demonstrates an excellent understanding of associated cyber security issues and 

how they could be mitigated (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is 

comprehensive and highly detailed, supported by a network topology diagram that is 

comprehensive and highly detailed

4 15 to 19

The student provides a response to the task that:

• demonstrates a good understanding of network connectivity issues (in relation to the 

scenario of the brief) that is clear and mostly detailed

• demonstrates a good understanding of how to resolve network connectivity issues 

and address business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is clear and 

mostly detailed

• makes judgements on the equipment, software and / or cloud services and 

associated costs to meet business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that 

are clear and mostly relevant

• demonstrates a good understanding of associated cyber security issues and how 

they could be mitigated (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is clear and 

mostly detailed, supported by a network topology diagram that is clear and mostly 

detailed

Past Paper

T Level Technical Qualification in Digital Support Services (603/6901/2), ESP

Core skills, Cyber Security

Mark Scheme

v1.0 summer 2025 Page 14 of 24

Band Mark Descriptor

3 10 to 14

The student provides a response to the task that:

• demonstrates a reasonable understanding of network connectivity issues (in relation 

to the scenario of the brief) that has some detail, though this may be underdeveloped

• demonstrates a reasonable understanding of how to resolve network connectivity 

issues and address business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that has 

some detail, though this may be underdeveloped

• makes judgements on the equipment, software and / or cloud services and 

associated costs to meet business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that 

have some relevance

• demonstrates a reasonable understanding of associated cyber security issues and 

how they could be mitigated (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that has some 

detail, though this may be underdeveloped, supported by a network topology

diagram that has some detail

2 5 to 9 

The student provides a response to the task that:

• demonstrates a basic understanding of network connectivity issues (in relation to the 

scenario of the brief) that is sometimes unclear and lacks detail

• demonstrates a basic understanding of how to resolve network connectivity issues 

and address business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is 

sometimes unclear and lacks detail

• makes judgements on the equipment, software and / or cloud services and 

associated costs to meet business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that 

are sometimes unclear and irrelevant

• demonstrates a basic understanding of associated cyber security issues and how 

they could be mitigated (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is sometimes 

unclear and lacks detail, supported by a network topology diagram that is sometimes 

unclear and lacks detail

Past Paper

T Level Technical Qualification in Digital Support Services (603/6901/2), ESP

Core skills, Cyber Security

Mark Scheme

v1.0 summer 2025 Page 15 of 24

Band Mark Descriptor

1 1 to 4 

The student provides a response to the task that:

• demonstrates a limited understanding of network connectivity issues (in relation to 

the scenario of the brief) that is mostly unclear with minimal detail

• demonstrates a limited understanding of how to resolve network connectivity issues 

and address business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is mostly 

unclear with minimal detail

• makes judgements on the equipment, software and / or cloud services required and 

associated costs to meet business needs (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that 

are mostly unclear and irrelevant

• demonstrates a limited understanding of associated cyber security issues and how 

they could be mitigated (in relation to the scenario of the brief) that is mostly unclear 

with minimal detail, supported by a network topology diagram that is mostly unclear 

with minimal detail

0 No creditworthy material

Indicative content

An updated network topology diagram has been submitted that shows the proposed network security framework 

update to resolve the connectivity issues. The ideas presented on the diagram may also be discussed in the 

proposal.

This may include:

• annotated network topology

• hardware and servers on the network, including server types, firewall configuration and ruleset

• outline description of cloud services to provide resources to staff and its security implications

• how you will provide data protection and secure network connectivity for access to resources by all users

• the removal of the virtual private network (VPN) and other secure solutions implemented as required

Note: the above is not an exhaustive list; credit should be given to other suggestions as appropriate to the scenario 

of the brief. 

The project proposal

The network infrastructure and security issues present within the scenario may be caused by several factors; credit

should be given for the range and depth of the detail provided. The potential security issues discussed may include:

• UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) / Data Protection Act (2018) compliance

• staff connecting to company data from home

• securing devices outside of the network

• providing an alternative solution to the current VPN

Past Paper

T Level Technical Qualification in Digital Support Services (603/6901/2), ESP

Core skills, Cyber Security

Mark Scheme

v1.0 summer 2025 Page 16 of 24

• providing an alternative solution to the network attached storage (NAS) device

• the use of shared accounts for accessing company data

• issues around using the small office / home office (SOHO) router for controlling network access

• the current use of local administrator accounts for users

• staff not being able to work with all client documents

Students may provide a range of different options to resolve the network and security issues. When considering 

placement within the bands, consideration should be given to the appropriateness and number of the issues 

discussed. Potential solutions may include:

• the use of encryption for data at rest and in transit (for example, BitLocker, secured browser access using 

hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) 

• introduction of a consistent endpoint management solution to ensure consistent management of all devices for 

example, group policy management or Intune

• use of SharePoint or similar for storing company data

• installation of a network server for directory services or using cloud-based directory services

• acquisition, installation and configuration of dedicated network devices including router and firewall

• removal of administrative access for users

• deployment of office software for example, Microsoft 365

Students may well provide a diverse solution that utilises products from multiple vendors depending on use in the 

business.

Students may make different decisions when proposing different equipment, software or cloud-based services. 

Credit should be given for the strength of their decisions and justifications.

Possible judgements may include:

• installation of network services: 

o allows for consistent management of users and devices

o centralises services such as dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) and domain name server (DNS) 

• implementation of adequate network security: 

o dedicated network router

o dedicated network firewall

o monitoring of network devices. 

• implementation of device management solutions: 

o group policy for internal devices

o MDM (for example Intune) for external devices and cloud-based resources

Costing decisions will vary as students may offer different proposals to resolve the issues. However, costings 

should be included (please also assess mathematics skills and refer to the AO4 Mark Scheme, detailed below, to 

inform judgement) and may include:

• subscription costs for cloud-based solutions (for example, Microsoft 365)

• capital costs for new or updated computers or servers

• software licensing costs for software such as endpoint protection software

Past Paper

T Level Technical Qualification in Digital Support Services (603/6901/2), ESP

Core skills, Cyber Security

Mark Scheme

v1.0 summer 2025 Page 17 of 24

Students may provide different cyber security considerations based on their decisions. Possible cyber security and 

mitigations may include:

• cyber security – users have local administrative rights on workstations

o mitigation – introduction of centralised management and removal of local admin permissions for end users

• cyber security – use of shared account for NAS device

o mitigation – introduction of a cloud-based file hosting solution secured with identity and access 

management solution, such as Microsoft SharePoint

Security issues and considerations that may include, but are not limited to:

• widespread use of administrative permissions

• lack of centralised control

• no use of network segmentation

• potential for harmful files and / or illegal files or application being hosted on network attached storage (NAS) 

device

Note: this is not an exhaustive list; credit should be given to other suggestions as appropriate.