Cyber Security Foundations: Start Building Your Career in Cyber Defense
Discover why cyber security is important, and how to build organizational cyber resilience in these four cyber security courses.
375 enrolments
Duration
Approx 15 weeks2 hrs per week
Cyber Security Foundations: Start Building Your Career in Cyber Defense
375 enrolled on this ExpertTrack
Discover how to build cyber resilience in your organization
Cyber security is one of the key challenges faced by organizations in the digital age. The estimated global cost of cyber attacks is predicted to rise as high as $10.5 trillion by 2025.
Cyber resilience — the capacity to anticipate, respond, and recover from cyber attacks — is essential for modern organizations.
This ExpertTrack will familiarize you with cyber security essentials to help protect your organization.
You’ll learn why cyber security is important, studying real-life examples of malware attacks. You’ll also explore key defenses, such as ransomware protection and how to guard against social engineering attacks. This will be strengthened by best practices, such as password policy and mobile data security policy.
The last half of this ExpertTrack focuses on identity and access management. This will help you control access to sensitive information, to support data security and cyber resilience.
Explore why cyber security is important
This ExpertTrack is made up of four cyber security courses, each of which will help you build organizational cyber resilience.
The first is an introduction to why cyber security is so important. You’ll discover common cyber attacks, such as phishing, social engineering attacks, and ransomware, and how to protect against them. You’ll learn the organizational importance of mobile data security policy and password policy, and explore how to prepare for the worst with disaster management.
The second course focuses on malware protection. You’ll understand different examples of malware attacks, such as trojan horses, spyware, and ransomware, and use this knowledge to build a malware protection strategy that is alive to the evolving threat posed by malware.
Protect sensitive information with identity and access management
The last two courses focus on identity and access management. This ensures sensitive information is only available to certain people, at certain times, to strengthen data security. You’ll cover key areas, such as single sign-on, authentication, and cloud identity management.
Everything you learn in this ExpertTrack is founded on real-life, practical examples. You’ll be able to apply what you learn straightaway, to address the very real threat of cyber attacks. These cyber security courses have been designed by EC Council, the world’s largest cyber security technical certification body. EC-Council has trained and certified over 220,000 information security professionals globally.
Requirements
| Minimum System Requirements | Windows Requirements (Minimum) | Mac Requirements (Minimum) |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Browsers: Firefox 58.0+, Google Chrome 65.0+, Safari 10.0+ | Operating System: Windows 2000 or higher with latest updates installed | Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3+ |
| Internet Connection: Broadband, 500+ Kbps | Processor: 500MHz or faster | Processor: 1.83 MHz Intel Core Duo |
| Mobile: Safari in Apple iOS 8+, Google Chrome in Apple iOS 8+, Google Chrome in Android OS 4.1+ | RAM: 128MB. Video Card: 128MB of video memory | RAM: 128 MB. Video Card: 64 MB of video memory |
| Browser Support: HTML5 compatible | Sound Card: 16-bit | Sound Card: 16-bit |
Industry statistics
UK job openings/month
3,000Job satisfaction
4.0/5
Key skills you will learn
- Data protection
- Virus recovery
- Identity and access management
- Cyber security
- Data security
- Malware protection
- Ransomware protection
- Virus protection
- Building cyber resilience
- IT security
- IT management
Learning outcomes
By the end of the ExpertTrack, you’ll be able to...
- Explore the foundational concepts and issues in cybersecurity
- Assess cybersecurity threats
- Evaluate how to reduce vulnerabilities and risk
- Discuss cybersecurity attacks and their outcomes
Experience required
This ExpertTrack is designed for IT professionals who want to deepen their knowledge and understanding of cyber security . It would also suit those with oversight of IT teams or responsibility for data security.
Learners will benefit from having some professional experience within IT, but are not expected to be cyber security specialists. This ExpertTrack is designed as an introduction to cyber security.
There are no formal entry requirements.
Getting started
This cyber security ExpertTrack is aimed at IT professionals who want to protect their organization from cyber attacks. If you want to understand why cyber security is important, and how to build cyber resilience, this ExpertTrack is for you.
You might be a data administrator, a manager with some responsibility for sensitive data, or someone targeting a career in cyber security . It would suit early-career professionals, IT professionals who would like to better understand evolving cyber risks, or would-be cyber security specialists.
ExpertTrack course overview
Course 1
Cyber Security Foundations: Why Cyber Security is Important
Learn how to defend yourself from common cyber attacks, such as phishing, ransomware, and social engineering attacks.
2 tests
3 weeks
2 hours per week
Week 1
What Are the First Steps in Protecting My Data?
- Learning Together on FutureLearn
- Welcome to the Course
- Physical Security: Part 1
- Physical Security: Part 2
- Best Practices: Passwords
- Best Practices: Updates
Week 2
How to Address Suspicious Internet Activity
- Welcome to Week 2
- How Vulnerable are Our Social Media Accounts?
- Internet Security: Part 1
- Internet Security: Part 2
- Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
Week 3
How to Secure Myself, My Data and My Company
- The Final Week Ahead
- Securing Email Communication
- Securing Mobile Devices
- Securing the Cloud
- Securing Network Connections
- Summary
Course 2
Cyber Security Foundations: Common Malware Attacks and Defense Strategies
Discover how to defend yourself against evolving cyber attacks in this cyber security training focused on malware protection.
4 tests
4 weeks
2 hours per week
Week 1
Phishing Related Cybersecurity Attacks
- Welcome to the Course
- Phishing
- Spear-phishing
- Whaling
- Smishing
- Vishing
- Summary
Week 2
Social Engineering Techniques
- Welcome to Week 2
- Dumpster Diving
- Tailgating
- Baiting
- Impersonation
- Summary
Week 3
An Introduction to the World of Malware
- Welcome to Week 3
- Malware in the Real World and the Media
- What Is a Virus?
- What Are Worms?
- What Are Trojans?
- What Is Ransomware?
- Summary
Week 4
Malware Today
- Welcome to Week 4
- Adware: Unclosable Ad Traps
- Spyware: Invades Devices and Steals Sensitive Information
- File-less Malware: Sneaks into Your Running Application
- The Hybrid Attack: A Combination of Different Malware
- Summary
Course 3
Cyber Security Foundations: Identity and Access Management
Explore key identity and access management concepts and learn how they can contribute to data security and cyber resilience.
4 tests
4 weeks
2 hours per week
Week 1
What is Identity and Access Management?
- Welcome to the Course
- What is Identity and Access Management?
- Governance: Part 1
- Governance: Part 2
Week 2
Understanding Identification and Authentication
- Welcome to Week 2
- Key Concepts: Identification
- Key Concepts: Authentication
- Biometric Authentication
- Summary
Week 3
Understanding Authorization
- Welcome to Week 3
- Key Concepts: Authorization Part 1
- Key Concepts: Authorization Part 2
Week 4
The Role of Organizational Processes in Identity and Access Management
- Welcome to Week 4
- Organizational Processes: Part 1
- Organizational Processes: Part 2
Course 4
Cyber Security Foundations: Reinforcing Identity and Access Management
Build your identity and access management expertise in this course covering topics such as single sign-on, cloud models, and AI.
3 tests
4 weeks
2 hours per week
Week 1
Standards and Best Practices for Identity and Access Management
- Welcome to the Course
- Guidance and Standards
- Understanding Single Sign On (SSO) and Federation Identity
- Summary
Week 2
Cloud Management and Implementation Processes in Identity and Access Management
- Welcome to Week 2
- Cloud Services: Part 1
- Cloud Services: Part 2
- Implementation
- Summary
Week 3
Technologies in the Identity and Access Management Context
- Welcome to Week 3
- Introduction to Technology
- Technologies: Part 1
- Technologies: Part 2
- Technologies: Part 3
- Summary
Week 4
Case Studies
- Welcome to Week 4
- Citizen Identification Proof
- G2C Services and B2C Integration
- Enterprise Integration
- Web Services and SSO
Prove you're job ready
Highlight the new, job-relevant skills you’ve gained and supplement existing qualifications with a hard-earned, industry-specific digital certificate – plus one for every course within your ExpertTrack.
- Learn the latest in your chosen industry or subject.
- Complete each course and pass assessments.
- Receive certificates validated by the educating organisation.
- Impress employers with learning outcomes you can add to your CV.
- Make your career dreams a reality.
Download a PDF
How ExpertTracks work
Join an ExpertTrack to master new skills in your chosen specialist area. Work through a series of topic-focused courses at your own pace, and pass the final assessment to earn a digital certificate award which proves your expertise.
Decide if the ExpertTrack is right for you with free access to the full suite of courses and assessments for a week.
Pay a monthly subscription fee of $39 for as long as it takes you to complete the ExpertTrack. You can learn at your own pace and cancel at any time.
Receive a certificate for every completed course and pass the final assessment to earn a digital certificate.
Use your specialist training to progress further in your career or build expertise in areas you’re passionate about.
World-class learning with EC-Council
International Council of E-Commerce Consultants, also known as EC-Council, is the world’s largest cyber security technical certification body.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn
What are our learners saying?
Add a new skill or forge a new path
"I recommend Futurelearn to anyone looking to learn and upskill...If you are in the job market, you might want to add a new skill or forge a new path."
They bring the classroom right to you
"FutureLearn courses are always interesting and informative. They bring the classroom right to you and send you on a journey to explore new ideas and offer interesting topics."
Start learning today - free 2-day trial
After your free trial you can:
- Pay $39 per month to keep learning online
- Have complete control over your subscription; you can cancel any time
- Work at your own pace and set your own deadlines at every stage
- Only pay while you’re learning; the subscription will cancel automatically when you finish
- Complete online assessments to test your knowledge and prove your skills
- Earn digital course certificates and a final award that you can share online, with potential employers, and your professional network
- Keep access to the content of courses you complete even after your subscription ends
FAQ
ExpertTracks are a series of online courses designed to help you master new skills in specialist areas. You pay a monthly subscription fee which includes access to all courses within the ExpertTrack, as well as assessments and the final digital certificate.
Each ExpertTrack comes with a 2-day free trial period. You may cancel your subscription at any time and your subscription will automatically cancel when you finish the courses and assessments in your chosen ExpertTrack.
Yes. All of our ExpertTracks come with a 2-day free trial. You may claim one free trial period per ExpertTrack.
You have two days before you will be charged your first monthly subscription fee. When you join an ExpertTrack you automatically receive a 2-day free trial period. You can cancel at any time during the trial period and no payment will be taken from your account.
Please see our full refund policy here.
No, all of our ExpertTracks consist of fully online courses. This means you can take an ExpertTrack from anywhere in the world.
No. ExpertTracks are designed for you to master new skills in a specialist area. You will earn a digital certificate that proves your learning, but it does not carry accreditation.
If you’re looking for certified or accredited courses, many of our microcredentials offer university credit or professional certification.
Have more questions about ExpertTracks? Read the ExpertTracks FAQs, or contact us.