Online course

Ethical Hacking: An Introduction

Learn the principles and methods of ethical hacking and penetration testing, and build your ethical hacking skills.

Ethical Hacking: An Introduction

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Overview
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Start dates
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Educators
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  • Duration 2 weeks
  • Weekly study 3 hours
  • Learn Free
  • Extra benefits From $74 Find out more
This course is part of the program Ethical Hacking, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Cyber Security. Find out more.

Explore the principles and methods of ethical hacking

What is ethical hacking? How does it work? What principles do ethical hackers follow? Answer these questions and more with the course introducing ethical hacking. You will have the opportunity to learn the principles of ethical hacking and consider its legal and methodological foundations.

You’ll also explore the processes and legal framework of penetration testing and take part in a simple exploitation exercise in the first of a series of carefully-constructed scenarios designed to develop your ethical hacking skills.

What topics will you cover?

  • Introduction to ethical hacking
  • Legal aspects of penetration testing
  • Penetration testing methodologies
  • Practical hacking exercise

When would you like to start?

Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more

  • Available now
    This course started 13 May 2019

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explore the principles and aims of penetration testing
  • Interpret the legal framework in relation to ethical hacking
  • Explore standard penetration testing methodologies
  • Perform a simple attack on a target machine

Who is the course for?

This course is for professionals and students who already have some knowledge of computer science – or a related discipline – and want to understand more about ethical hacking principles, practices and legislation.

This course is the first in the Ethical Hacking program, part of the MSc Cyber Security.

Who will you learn with?

Daniel Goldsmith

Daniel Goldsmith

Dr Dan Goldsmith is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Coding at Coventry University.
He teaches on the Ethical Hacking course, and his interests include Reverse Engineering, PenTesting and the IOT.

Christo Panchev

Christo Panchev

Dr. Christo Panchev is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at Coventry University with more than 20 years experience in industry and higher education, research and teaching in A.I. and Cyber Security.

Who developed the course?

Coventry secured a gold rating in the UK government’s 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and is the country’s top modern university in the Guardian University Guide 2018.

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Advance your career with a degree

What's different about this course?

Since 2017 you have been able to take a degree on FutureLearn. This free course is a bit like a starter course for a degree — it should give you a flavour of the degree subject but can also be your first step towards a degree qualification.

If you enjoy this course you can apply to join the program it’s part of to start working towards a degree on FutureLearn.

Don’t worry, you can still take the course without doing a full degree!

How do degrees work on FutureLearn?

Do the free course
Join and complete the program
Get academic credit for an online degree from Coventry University

Which program and degree is this course part of?

This course is part of the program Ethical Hacking, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Cyber Security.

Find out more and apply

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