This course will give you the knowledge to help you decide whether a career in cybersecurity is right for you. This course is designed to explore the basics of cybersecurity and the types of jobs found in the cybersecurity field.
This course explores a career in cybersecurity and reviews various topics, including cybersecurity roles, job requirements, problem-solving techniques, and cybersecurity concepts. This course will help you decide whether a career in cybersecurity is something that aligns with your talents and interests and, if so, the best next steps to pursue this lucrative career path.
Requirements:
Hardware Requirements:
- This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.
Software Requirements:
- PC: Windows 10 or later.
- Mac: macOS 12 or later.
- Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
- Microsoft Word Online
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.
Other:
- Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
Instructional Material Requirements:
There are no instructional material requirements to take this course.
Introduction to Cybersecurity
This lesson will introduce the course and give you an overview of cybersecurity and its major components. You will dive into the history and evolution of cybersecurity so you can see how it has grown throughout the years to become a significant business and technology concern. Finally, as you consider a career in cybersecurity, it is essential to understand what education and experience you will need, so you will take a look at those and other requirements, too.
Cybersecurity Roles and Industries
In this lesson, you will learn about the various roles in cybersecurity that you may take on in an organization. You will also examine the industries where cybersecurity is particularly important as well as why it is so important. Then, you will get the scoop on the types of roles and industries you may want to pursue when you enter cybersecurity.
Problem Solving
Although you may think of cybersecurity as a purely technical field, cybersecurity professionals also need essential soft skills. We will dive into the important communication skills required when dealing with clients, employees, management, and outside groups. In your cybersecurity career, you will most likely be working on teams, so we will look at teams in the workplace and how important team skills are. We will learn the characteristics of a problem solver. Lastly, you will explore the troubleshooting process and why it is important to follow the steps to identify a problem and correct it now and prevent it in the future.
Cybersecurity Basics
This lesson will look at the different kinds of cybersecurity risks companies face. You will explore the tools and the data used to discover, identify, and mitigate attack threats. We will take a look at cybersecurity laws and regulations, why they exist, and how they impact cybersecurity.
Types of Information Security
Hackers and other bad actors can attack various levels of public and private computing. In this lesson, we dive into types of information security that affect all of us, from critical infrastructure vital to the operation of the country to corporate networks, the cloud, and even appliances in our homes through the Internet of Things. We will define critical infrastructure security and explore its parts. We will look at how security works in different areas to help secure our infrastructure. Next, we will examine other ways to protect the things that make our lives easier—and that people often do not realize need protecting.
Common Concepts and Terminology
In this lesson, we will explore the common concepts in cybersecurity and the specialized terminology its professionals use. We will dive into cryptography by defining and showing examples and how it is used. Next, we will explore why obfuscation is important in cybersecurity and the differences between threats and vulnerabilities. Smart businesses have a plan for when attacks happen, so we will look at Incident Response Plans, how they are created, and what they should contain. Finally, we will examine Identity and Access Management (IAM) and the IAM framework—authentication, authorization, and accounting.
Types of Threats
This lesson will teach you about the types of threats companies face as they do their day-to-day work. After learning about the types of threats, we will examine how they happen and, most importantly, how they can be avoided. Not every threat is malicious; sometimes unwitting employees inadvertently give away information or an unsuspecting person bites on a phishing attempt. We will explore social engineering by defining it, giving examples, and learning about the four steps of the social engineering process.
Secure Coding
While you don't need to be a programmer to be a cybersecurity professional, coding is important in protecting software from hackers. This lesson will deliver the goods on secure coding. You will first learn why it is crucial and see the qualities of secure coding. Next, you will look at frameworks created to give developers a process for implementing secure coding in both new and older applications. Finally, you will take a look at secure coding framework examples.
Protecting the Business
In this lesson, we will learn about cybersecurity from the perspective of the company or organization. We will explore how companies respond to attacks, and know how companies try to ensure their organization will recover from an attack after surviving and dealing with it. Then, we will revisit the various types of data important to businesses and how companies can protect that data. This is where cybersecurity specialists really shine!
Developing a Security Awareness Program
In this lesson, we will explore cybersecurity in business. You will learn about security awareness and how to bring it to employees of a company, including how to develop a good Security Awareness Program (SAP). We will explore how to create a good security culture as well as a cybersecurity culture. These cultures are essential because when security is relevant to everyone in the company, they will participate in the process of cybersecurity for the company.
Employment and the Future of Cybersecurity
In this lesson, you will look at employment prospects and the future expectations for cybersecurity employment. You will explore some strategies to identify positions in the cybersecurity field that are best suited for a new cybersecurity employee. Since cybersecurity is a large profession with many different positions, it is important to home in on attributes important to you in a job and learn how to find the job best suited to you. Next, you will explore remote work and how it relates to a cybersecurity specialist. You will examine the benefits and challenges of working remotely for both an employee and the business. Finally, you will dive into the projected growth of cybersecurity and specific sub-areas where the most significant job growth is expected to occur.
Next Steps
As we wrap up the course, we will look at the best education paths, various cybersecurity certifications, and degrees that are in demand for different cybersecurity specialties. You will learn about the importance of and the types of continuing education. Finally, you will explore how to catch a company's attention with specific and highly developed resumes and cover letters to help you land a job.
What you will learn
- Explore cybersecurity as a career path
- Identify cybersecurity job roles and industries
- Describe the soft skills that cybersecurity professionals need
- Explain the threats that cyberattacks pose to modern businesses
- Explain the importance of securing information
- Define common cybersecurity terms and concepts
- Explain the role of secure coding in preventing cyberattacks
- Identify the ways that cybersecurity professionals protect a business
- Describe the key elements of a security awareness program
- Identify employment opportunities and career steps in the cybersecurity field
How you will benefit
- Learn if a career in cybersecurity is right for you
- Explore the basics of the cybersecurity industry
- Discover potential career paths in the cybersecurity field
Sara Perrott
Sara Perrott has been working in the information technology field for 20+ years and has devoted the last 10 of those to focusing on cybersecurity. She is a published author, a former college professor, and is passionate about teaching the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Sara has an MS in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from WGU Washington and a BS in Information Systems Security from the University of Phoenix.