Advanced Cybersecurity

Class Summary

This course is intended for students who are familiar with modern technology and the fundamentals of cybersecurity and wish to consider a career in cybersecurity.  

This is a very academic course with a significant amount of individual reading and learning required to successfully complete.  Much of the time in class will be spent discussing, reviewing, and quizzing each other on the concepts covered.  Hands-on activities will be used to reinforce the ‘book’ learning.  Students are expected to ask probing questions and challenge both themselves and others in the class to demonstrate their understanding.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this class, students should be able to:

  • Explain cybersecurity terminology such as CIA, AAA, non-repudiation, zero trust

  • Understand security controls 

  • Describe cryptographic concepts (PKI, Key generation, hashing, digital signatures, blockchains)

  • Understand change management

  • Describe threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigation strategies

  • Understand pros/cons of various security architectures

  • Describe data protection strategies

  • Understand data classification and why it is important

  • Understand Incident Response and Disaster recovery elements

  • Describe role of governance (policies/standards/etc)

  • Be familiar with NIST 800 series documents commonly used in cybersecurity

  • Recognize and appreciate third party risks

  • Understand risks and benefits unique to cloud infrastructure

  • Describe risk management fundamentals and strategies

  • Be familiar with the cybersecurity frameworks and resources available from NIST and MITRE

Attributes of Students Enrolling in This Class:

Students enrolling in this course should:

  • Be curious about how technology works

  • Embrace failures to learn and improve processes

  • Be willing to dedicate time to reading and studying outside of class

  • Enjoy hands-on learning and experimenting

  • Be willing to ask questions and try new ideas

  • Be able to take notes and effectively use them

  • Be able to perform individual and group research to solve problems

  • Be comfortable working independently and in teams

  • Show responsibility when using electronic equipment

This class is designed for intermediate to advanced learners


Basic Knowledge & Skills Recommended

Math & Logical Thinking

  • Basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

  • Introductory algebra concepts (variables, simple formulas, patterns)

  • Understanding of cause-and-effect relationships

  • Solid understanding of boolean logical operators (AND, OR, NOT, XOR)

  • Be able to convert between numbering systems (Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal)

Science & Electronics 

  • Understand how to apply scientific method to solve problems

  • Know computer components and their purpose

Computer & Technology Skills

  • Ability to touch type at an effective rate

  • Know how to install an operating system on physical and virtual environments

  • Know how to troubleshoot basic network problems

  • Familiarity with the OSI and TCP models

  • Know how to parse a packet capture using Wireshark

  • Able to troubleshoot and resolve common network issues

Coding & Computational Thinking

  • Ability to follow step-by-step instructions

  • Ability to extrapolate a solution from an analogous example / apply patterns to new applications

  • Be able to write simple programs in at least one object oriented language

*Please see the Course Schedule page for locations, dates, and times*

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