Progress from operating systems and networking to security tools, defensive monitoring and web security. Bring your learning together in a guided project and a portfolio that demonstrates your skills.
Register for CybersecurityBuild a strong theoretical foundation before applying security concepts in practical labs. Develop the confidence to inspect network traffic, identify vulnerabilities, configure basic defences and communicate findings with clear recommendations.
Designed for beginner-to-intermediate learners, with clear weekly goals, hands-on labs and assessments.
Expand each week to explore its topics, hands-on lab and learning outcomes.
The CIA triad: confidentiality, integrity and availability. Basic risk, vulnerabilities and security controls; Windows and Linux essentials, permissions and processes.
Install VirtualBox with Ubuntu and Kali Linux. Practise navigating files, editing text and changing permissions using the Linux terminal.
Explain the CIA triad and common vulnerability types, use basic shell commands, and describe patching, firewalls and antivirus.
OSI and TCP/IP models, IP addressing and subnetting, TCP versus UDP, DNS and HTTP(S). Trace how data flows through a network and where attacks can occur.
Capture a DNS lookup or HTTP request with Wireshark. Practise subnet calculations, simple firewall rules and basic port scanning in the practice network.
Explain how a website loads, identify DNS and HTTP packets, configure a simple subnet and demonstrate basic Nmap scanning.
Malware, social engineering, phishing and denial of service, alongside basic defences. Introduction to encryption, hashing and multi-factor authentication.
Explore a known breach or capture-the-flag example. Map attacks to OWASP Top 10 or MITRE ATT&CK categories; create a hash or encrypt a file with OpenSSL.
Distinguish threats from vulnerabilities, demonstrate basic cryptography and classify a sample attack using a recognised framework.
Linux security tools, port and service discovery, packet interpretation and networking commands including ifconfig/ip, netstat and curl.
Use Nmap on localhost or the practice network to identify open ports and services. Capture and interpret traffic from a simple service using Wireshark.
Run and interpret a basic Nmap scan, use Linux networking commands and analyse traffic such as an HTTP request.
Defensive configuration, firewall rules, signature-based intrusion detection and basic log analysis.
Set up an IDS on Kali or Ubuntu and create a rule to detect a test string. Observe alerts from a controlled lab port scan and inspect logs for suspicious activity.
Allow or block an IP address or port, explain how IDS signatures detect threats and recognise suspicious log entries such as repeated login failures.
Web application security, OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and incident response: identify, contain, eradicate and recover.
Perform a mini penetration test on a deliberately vulnerable lab application. Investigate a SQL injection or cross-site scripting example and document the findings.
Demonstrate one web vulnerability in the lab, outline an incident response process and deliver a short report covering the finding, impact and mitigation.
Define a clear problem statement, project scope, environment and methodology. Choose a guided project such as a home-lab SOC, vulnerability scan report or scripted security tool.
Begin the approved project, document each step and collect evidence. Select tools such as Nmap, Metasploit or Splunk where appropriate to the project.
Produce a clear project scope, explain the selected tools and techniques, and develop initial results with supporting evidence.
Analyse results, propose remediation and finalise the project write-up. Prepare a clear README or presentation that explains the work.
Complete the project and publish a portfolio entry on GitHub or a personal webpage. Update LinkedIn with a project summary and relevant skills.
Present the purpose, environment, methodology, results and proposed fixes, supported by polished documentation and a portfolio presence.
Develop a practical foundation in cybersecurity and complete a project you can share in your portfolio.
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