Cybersecurity Fundamentals

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 1st course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides an introduction to information security and cybersecurity. Among the topics covered are Security Design Principles, Threat Modeling, and Security Policy. Students gain a broad overview of Information Security and Privacy (ISP) through high-level ISP concepts. We discuss both traditional design principles and principles that were developed to design secure systems. We'll talk about several examples of insecure design and techniques to improve the design. We take an in-depth dive into creating models to measure potential threats. We also talk about risk and ways of managing and measuring the risk to assets. We conclude by taking an in-depth look at different security policy models, including the Bell-La Padula (BLP) Model, the Biba Integrity Model, Lipner's Model, and Clark-Wilson Integrity Model. Next, we consider the practical aspects of the implementation of the policy models.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 2nd course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides a continuation of information security and cybersecurity topics. Among the topics covered are Introduction to Cryptography, Authentication, Access Control, and Containerization. Students learn about both symmetric and asymmetric encryption and their uses. We also take a look at one-way hashing and how it differs from encryption. We drill into ways that encryption is used in PKI and Digital Certificates. Next, we tackle authentication. Authentication is relevant to multiple fields. In art, antiques, and anthropology, a common problem verifies that a given artifact was produced by a particular person or a specific place or period of history. In computer science, verifying a user's identity is often required to allow access to confidential data or systems. Next, we move on to different access control mechanisms. We then drill into the implementation details of access control in several other operating systems. We follow up with a deep dive into compatibility based access control mechanisms. Finally, we look at access control in virtual machines (VM), virtualization, and containerization. We look into how the operating system achieves access control, and whether these methods are sufficient.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 3rd course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides a continuation of information security and cybersecurity topics. Among the topics covered are Injection Attacks and Defenses, Privacy and Anonymity Software Validity and Rights, Cryptocurrency. Students start with a high-level view of prevalent attacks on web applications and cover some strategies for mitigating those attacks. We will look at three major attacks in this lesson: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), SQL Injection, and request forgery (CSRF) attacks.

We follow up with a look at the privacy and different methods users can obtain anonymity. Next, we take a look at digital rights management and trusted computing. We hypothesize how we know the software and hardware we are running is legitimate and has not been modified or stolen.

Lastly, we dive into the technical background for the very popular BitCoin, and it’s sister cryptocurrencies. We have a guest lecturer from Columbia University speak to use about the history and modern-day uses of these cryptocurrencies.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 4th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides an introduction to network security topics. The curriculum focusses on how malicious users attack networks. The material is essential in later classes that will develop ethical hacking skills. Students are introduced to some key concepts in network security. Next, we provide an overview of network reconnaissance strategies.

We move on to the next stage of the network attack methodology, which is exploitation.

Next, we cover standard attack techniques, attacks such as Denial of Service, DNS attacks, and client-side attacks, and the tools used to carry out these exploitations. We conclude by focusing on the steps attackers take after they initially compromise a system.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 5th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides a continuation of network security topics. Among the topics covered are cryptographic algorithms used in networking protocols, TLS/SSL, IPSec Layer 2 Security, and Wireless Security. The material is essential in later classes that will develop ethical hacking skills. Students are provided with a broad understanding of cryptography, from its classical applications dating from the Roman empire to modern cryptography, including the public key cryptography and hashing techniques today. Next, we take what we learned about cryptography and apply it as a tool against attackers. Specifically, we'll discuss IP Security, TLS/SSL, and its use in Virtual Private Networks. We follow up with coverage of Layer 2 security and vulnerabilities, such as MAC attacks, VLAN hopping attacks, DHCP attacks, ARP attacks, spoofing attacks, and attacks on other protocols. We'll also go over common countermeasures to these attacks. We conclude the course with an overview of how WiFi works, basic terminology and architecture, and how wireless networks are secured.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 6th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides a continuation of network security topics. Among the topics covered are Security Monitoring, Perimeter Security, IPv6, and IPv6 Security. The material is essential in later classes that will develop ethical hacking skills. Students are introduced to the concept of network security monitoring to detect intrusions instead of merely protecting against them.

Next, we discuss securing the perimeter of networks through the use of firewalls.
We follow up by introducing the student to IPv6: what it is, why it was developed, how it compares to the IPv4 protocol, and techniques to implement IPv6 devices alongside IPv4 devices. This lesson will prepare you for upcoming material focused on IPv6 security issues.
We conclude the course by leveraging the early work in IPv6, and we spend the time discussing IPv6 security. You'll learn about security threats that exist in IPv4 and IPv6 and issues exclusive to IPv6 and countermeasures to these threats.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 7th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that begins the development of ethical hacking skills. The curriculum provides an introduction to penetration testing topics. Among the topics covered are an introduction to Penetration Testing Methodologies, Recognisance, and Enumeration for Penetration Testers, Scanning, and Vulnerability Enumeration. The class starts with an overview of penetration testing and the phases of a penetration test. The 1st phase is Scoping. In the scoping stage, the students learn to outline the test's logistics, expectations, legal implications, objectives, and goals.

The next phase of the penetration tests is reconnaissance. Reconnaissance or Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering is an essential first step in penetration testing. A penetration tester works on gathering as much intelligence on the target organization and the potential system targets for exploitation.

Students will gain hands-on experience scanning for targets and vulnerabilities. The class concludes with threat modeling and vulnerability identification. During the threat modeling and vulnerability identification phase, the tester identifies targets and maps the attack vectors. Any information gathered during the Reconnaissance phase is used to inform the attack method during the penetration test.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 12/31/2022 at 00:00 UTC.

This is the 8th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that continues the development of ethical hacking skills. The curriculum provides an introduction to the exploitation phase of penetration testing topics. Among the topics covered are foundations of explorations, application debugging, reverse engineering, exploitation development, and web application exploitation. In this class, students learn the third phase of penetration testing; exploitation. In the exploitation phase, the penetration testers try to exploit security weaknesses actively. Exploits are developed to, for example, gather sensitive information or to enable the ethical hacker to compromise a system and manifest themselves on it. Once a device is successfully compromised, it is quite often possible to penetrate more systems because the malicious users now have access to more potential targets that were not available before. The additional marks are accessible because the compromised system can interact with internal devices that are not accessible from the Internet. For any new targets, the reconnaissance and enumeration phases are re-entered, to gather information about these new systems and exploit them.

Industry Certification Preparation
This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.