Introduction to Cyber Security
Introduction to Cyber Security is a beginner friendly course for people moving into security from another job. It covers how networks work, what cryptography protects, how risk is measured, and what happens during an incident.
You also get a grounded look at cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) security, the two areas Canadian employers now ask about most. If you have never worked in information technology, start with IT and Cyber Security Foundations instead.
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- Format
- Live online, instructor-led
- Prerequisites
- None required
- Class size
- Capped at 12 learners
What you will be able to do
- Describe how data moves across a network and where each control is applied
- Choose between symmetric and asymmetric encryption for a given problem
- Explain what a certificate proves and, more usefully, what it does not
- Score a risk by likelihood and impact and record it in a risk register
- Work through the phases of incident response from detection to lessons learned
- Identify the shared responsibility split between a cloud provider and your organization
- Name the main risks in a large language model (LLM) application, including prompt injection
- Map a security control to an obligation under PIPEDA
Course outline
6 modules
- The CIA triad applied to systems you already use
- Threats, vulnerabilities, exploits and how they differ
- Identity and access management (IAM) in practice
- Authentication factors and multi-factor authentication
- What a security policy is for and who reads it
What you need before you start
- Comfort using a computer and a web browser day to day
- No security experience required
- Around three hours a week for practice outside class
Who this course is for
- Non-technical staff picking up security duties in their current role
- IT professionals who need the formal security vocabulary
- Compliance, audit and privacy staff working alongside security teams
- Career changers preparing to study for CompTIA Security+
- Managers who buy or oversee security work and want to judge it properly
Where this leads
Prepares you for
Security+
Awarded by CompTIA
The six weeks track the domains covered by CompTIA Security+ and give you a base to revise from. Sitting the exam and issuing the certificate are handled by CompTIA; the academy teaches the material only.
Questions about this course
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Ready to launch your cyber security career?
Join the next live online cohort. No experience required, just bring the curiosity.