Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online

Our lives depend on online services. Gain essential cyber security knowledge and skills, to help protect your digital life.We shop online. We work online. We play online. We live online. As our lives increasingly depend on digital services, the need to protect our information from being maliciously disrupted or misused is really important.TranscriptThis free online course, Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online, will help you to understand online security and start to protect your digital life, whether at home or work. You will learn how to recognise the threats that could harm you online and the steps you can take to reduce the chances that they will happen to you.With cyber security often in the news today, the course will also frame your online safety in the context of the wider world, introducing you to different types of malware, including viruses and trojans, as well as concepts such as network security, cryptography, identity theft and risk management.This course has been developed by The Open University with support from the UK Government's National Cyber Security Programme and can be accessed free of charge. Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge. This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation. Please tell us more about your Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and personal skill development!We would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete this survey and tell us about yourself and your experiences of CPD and lifelong learning.The Open University is working in collaboration with the CPD Standards Office in a national study to understand more about individual professionals' experiences, perceptions and practice for adult skill development. Find out more here cpdstandards.com/research.By participating in this high profile research, you will be contributing to scientific knowledge about adult skill development and how we can develop successful future careers. Participation is confidential, voluntary and we will not pass on your details to others.