🏫 Programming & Software Development

Cyber Security Essentials

Build an industry-grade cyber security foundation: from core principles to real-world defense, cloud security, and SOC operations

Duration

—

Weekly Hours

4 Hours

Course Incharge

Muzammil Bilwani

📋 Prerequisites

✓ No prior security experience required — basic computer literacy and familiarity with using a computer/internet

📖 Course Description

A 20-week, industry-aligned foundation program for learners entering cybersecurity. Students master core principles (CIA Triad, NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK), harden Windows/Linux systems, apply cryptography and access control, and operate modern network and cloud defenses. The program closes with SOC-style monitoring, incident response, and a live security-tools capstone, preparing graduates for Security Analyst, SOC Tier-1, and IT Security roles.

What You Will Learn

Apply core security frameworks: CIA Triad, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and MITRE ATT&CK

Harden Windows and Linux systems using industry-standard tools and built-in security controls

Implement cryptography, authentication, and access control to protect sensitive data

Deploy and tune firewalls, IDS/IPS, and wireless security controls against real attack traffic

Identify and remediate OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, malware, and social engineering threats

Manage risk and cloud security (AWS), and run SOC-style monitoring and Incident Response workflows

Course Outline

Cybersecurity Foundations & the Threat Landscape

→The Modern Threat Landscape: Threat actors, attack surfaces, and the business impact of breaches
→Core Frameworks: Introduction to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and MITRE ATT&CK for classifying attacker behavior
→Security Terminology: Vulnerabilities, exploits, attack vectors, and the vulnerability lifecycle
→Career Pathways: Security Analyst, SOC Analyst, and GRC roles in the industry
→Hands-on: Set up a personal security lab and map a real-world breach case study to the MITRE ATT&CK framework

The CIA Triad & Threat Modeling

→CIA Triad Deep-Dive: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability as the foundation of every control
→Threat Modeling: Structured approaches (STRIDE) to anticipate and prioritize risk
→Threat Categories: Malware, phishing, insider threats, and Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
→Tool Demonstration: Walkthrough of a modern SIEM dashboard and alert triage
→Hands-on: Conduct a guided threat-modeling exercise on a sample application using STRIDE

Networking Basics for Security

→Network Models: OSI and TCP/IP models and how data moves securely across a network
→Core Protocols: IP, TCP/UDP, DNS, DHCP, and HTTP/HTTPS fundamentals
→Network Reconnaissance: Introduction to scanning fundamentals using Nmap
→Traffic Capture: Reading packet captures with Wireshark
→Hands-on: Use Nmap to map a lab network, identify open ports, and fingerprint live services

Linux Basics for Security

→File System & Permissions: Navigating the Linux file system and the chmod/chown permission model
→User Management: Managing users, groups, and sudo privileges securely
→Command-Line Mastery: Essential Bash commands for log review and system inspection
→Linux Logging: Understanding syslog and file-system artifacts relevant to security
→Hands-on: Complete a Linux file-system challenge to locate hidden files, fix broken permissions, and audit user accounts

Windows Security

→Windows Architecture: Registry, Local Security Policy, and Windows Defender internals
→System Hardening: Configuring UAC, BitLocker, and Windows Firewall
→Active Directory Basics: Introduction to AD structure, Domain Controllers, and Group Policy
→Deception Technology: Deploying and analyzing a honeypot to observe attacker behavior
→Hands-on: Configure Windows Defender and Firewall rules, then deploy a honeypot to capture live attack traffic

Cryptography

→Encryption Fundamentals: Symmetric vs. asymmetric cryptography and key management
→Hashing & Integrity: MD5, SHA-256, and their role in verifying data integrity
→PKI & TLS/SSL: Digital certificates and secure communication channels
→Cipher Analysis: Using CyberChef for encoding, decoding, and cipher-breaking
→Hands-on: Use CyberChef to decode, hash, and analyze encrypted sample data

Authentication & Access Control

→Authentication Factors: Passwords, MFA, biometrics, and hardware tokens
→Access Control Models: RBAC, DAC, and MAC compared
→Zero Trust Principles: Least privilege and continuous verification in modern architectures
→Credential Attacks: Understanding credential stuffing and brute-force techniques
→Hands-on: Configure role-based access controls (GAC) and test authentication bypass scenarios in a guided lab

Network Security

→Defense-in-Depth: Layered security architecture across the network stack
→Segmentation & DMZ Design: Isolating critical assets from public-facing systems
→Simulation Practice: Building and testing network topologies with Packet Tracer
→VPN & Secure Remote Access: Fundamentals of encrypted tunnels
→Hands-on: Design and test a segmented network topology in Packet Tracer, then complete network defense exercises

Firewalls & IDS/IPS

→Firewall Fundamentals: Stateful vs. stateless filtering and rule design
→Intrusion Detection: Signature-based vs. anomaly-based IDS/IPS detection
→Real-Time Monitoring: Deploying BlackCarbon to monitor and alert on malicious traffic
→Alert Tuning: Reducing false positives in detection pipelines
→Hands-on: Tune firewall and IDS rules to detect and block simulated attack traffic

Wireless Security

→Wi-Fi Protocols: WEP, WPA2, and WPA3 security models compared
→Wireless Attacks: Deauthentication, evil twin, and handshake-capture techniques
→Wireless Auditing: Using Aircrack-ng for security assessment
→Enterprise Wireless: Securing 802.1X and enterprise Wi-Fi deployments
→Hands-on: Use Aircrack-ng to capture a WPA2 handshake and assess password strength in a controlled lab

Web Security

→Web Architecture: Modern web application components and data flow
→Common Vulnerability Classes: Broken Access Control and injection-style flaws
→Session Security: Cookies, tokens, and session management risks
→Secure Development Lifecycle (SDLC): Building security into the development process
→Hands-on: Identify and exploit a Broken Access Control vulnerability in a guided lab environment

OWASP Top 10

→OWASP Top 10 Deep-Dive: Injection, Broken Access Control, and Security Misconfiguration
→Hands-on Exploitation: Practicing attacks against OWASP Juice Shop
→Secure Coding Practices: Input validation, output encoding, and secure defaults
→Vulnerability Reporting: Documenting findings using industry report standards
→Hands-on: Complete a guided OWASP Juice Shop challenge and document findings in a vulnerability report

Malware Basics

→Malware Taxonomy: Viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware
→Static Analysis Basics: File hashing, strings extraction, and initial triage
→Reverse Engineering Intro: Fundamentals of disassembly and behavioral analysis
→Detection & Prevention: EDR/antivirus signatures and behavioral detection
→Hands-on: Analyze a sample malicious file using basic reverse engineering and static-analysis tools

Social Engineering

→Human-Focused Attacks: Phishing, pretexting, baiting, and vishing
→Psychological Principles: Why social engineering works, authority, urgency, and trust
→Awareness Programs: Building and measuring organizational security-awareness initiatives
→Tool Demonstration: Walkthrough of a simulated phishing campaign platform
→Hands-on: Design and run a simulated phishing exercise and analyze the results

Risk Management

→Risk Assessment: Identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing organizational risk
→GRC Fundamentals: Governance, Risk, and Compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST CSF)
→Security Policy Design: Writing effective, enforceable security policies
→Business Continuity: Aligning risk management with continuity and disaster recovery planning
→Hands-on: Complete a structured risk-assessment exercise and present a risk-treatment plan

Cloud Security

→Shared Responsibility Model: Understanding security ownership in AWS/Azure/GCP
→Cloud Misconfigurations: Common security gaps: S3 buckets, IAM, and network exposure
→Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Continuous compliance and configuration monitoring
→Identity in the Cloud: IAM roles, policies, and least-privilege access
→Hands-on: Configure AWS IAM policies and S3 bucket permissions, then audit a cloud environment for misconfigurations

Incident Response

→IR Lifecycle: Preparation, Detection, Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
→Playbooks: Building repeatable response playbooks for common incident types
→Communication: Coordinating technical, legal, and executive stakeholders during an incident
→Lessons Learned: Post-incident review and continuous improvement
→Hands-on: Respond to a simulated security incident end-to-end using a structured IR playbook

Security Monitoring

→SIEM Fundamentals: Log aggregation, correlation, and alerting at scale
→Log Analysis: Identifying suspicious activity across endpoint, network, and cloud logs
→Threat Hunting Basics: Proactively searching for indicators of compromise (IOCs)
→Dashboards & Reporting: Building actionable security dashboards
→Hands-on: Investigate a simulated security alert using a SIEM-style log analysis exercise

Security Tools Lab

→Toolchain Integration: Combining scanning, monitoring, and defense tools into a workflow
→Vulnerability Scanning: Running and interpreting a full network vulnerability scan
→Purple Teaming: Collaborating across offensive and defensive perspectives
→Industry Certifications: Mapping skills to Security+, CySA+, and SOC Analyst roles
→Hands-on: Run a full security-tools lab exercise: scan, detect, and remediate vulnerabilities on a lab network

Final Assessment & Capstone

→Comprehensive Review: Consolidating skills across networking, OS, web, and cloud security
→Capstone Scenario: An integrated, real-world style security assessment
→Professional Reporting: Presenting findings in an industry-standard security report
→Career Readiness: Resume, portfolio, and interview preparation for security roles
→Hands-on: Complete and present a final Security Assessment Capstone Project

📊 Grading Criteria

Component	Percentage
Quizzes	20%
Class Participation / Attendance	15%
Projects	25%
Final Projects	40%
Total	100%

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