CYBERSECURITY SPECIALIST

Being a successful student requires understanding how you learn, identifying your values, and setting clear goals. It also means mastering time and financial management, developing strong note-taking and test-taking skills, collaborating effectively, and leveraging technology to enhance your efficiency. In this course, you will learn essential research, writing, and presentation skills.

Additionally, you will focus on financial literacy through the Enriched Academy program, designed specifically for Oxford College students, to help you confidently manage your finances.

This module delves into the principles and concepts of security management that are essential for creating effective security policies and solutions. Students will explore the 5 Pillars of Information Security—confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and nonrepudiation—with a focus on the CIA Triad. Understanding these foundational concepts is crucial for ensuring a secure environment and guiding policy designers and system implementers.

Humans are often the weakest link in security systems. This module emphasizes the importance of considering human behavior when designing and implementing security measures. Students will learn to integrate security governance strategies that account for human elements, helping organizations enhance their overall security posture by addressing behavioral factors and decision-making processes.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) focuses on preparing for risks and developing strategies to minimize their impact. Students will learn to create plans and procedures that ensure critical business operations continue even during emergencies. This module addresses Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP), focusing on technical controls needed to prevent disruptions and restore services following incidents.

This module covers the legal and regulatory frameworks governing cybersecurity, including national, local, and international laws. Students will examine cybersecurity compliance, cybercrime legislation, privacy, intellectual property, and the role of law enforcement in cybercrime investigations. Understanding these complex legal landscapes is crucial for navigating the challenges faced by security professionals.

Students will learn how to handle and protect information throughout its lifecycle in this module. Focusing on asset security, students will explore how to classify information based on its value and implement appropriate security controls. The course emphasizes the need for varying security levels, ensuring sensitive data is protected while unclassified information is adequately secured.

This module covers the principles of cryptography, focusing on its role in ensuring confidentiality and integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation. Students will learn about symmetric key (secret key) cryptosystems and use in protecting data. The module also introduces asymmetric key (public key) cryptography, explaining its importance in safeguarding sensitive information and addressing security threats.

This module will cover asymmetric (public key) cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that enables secure communication between unfamiliar individuals. Students will learn how asymmetric algorithms streamline key exchange mechanisms and can scale to support large user bases, effectively addressing challenges faced by symmetric cryptosystems. The module will explore practical applications of asymmetric cryptography, including securing portable devices, email, web communications, and networking. Additionally, students will analyze potential attacks by malicious actors on weak cryptosystems, providing them with a thorough understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities inherent in asymmetric cryptography.

This module emphasizes the importance of incorporating security at every stage of a system’s development. Students will explore how developers can integrate secure design principles into their applications, particularly those handling sensitive data. The course encourages secure design practices and the management of engineering processes to enhance system security.

Students will study the foundational concepts of security controls within IT systems. This module explores vulnerabilities in system architecture and the importance of secure design principles. Students will learn how emerging threats and vulnerabilities can be mitigated through effective countermeasures and security frameworks, strengthening overall system protection.

This module covers physical and environmental security, addressing potential threats and necessary safeguards. Students will explore how to develop disaster recovery and business continuity plans to respond to physical events like natural disasters or sabotage. Emphasis is placed on enhancing physical security measures to ensure organizational resilience during severe incidents.

This module provides a comprehensive overview of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, serving as a foundational framework for networking. Students will review key topics such as cabling, wireless connectivity, and the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) along with related protocols. The module also examines various networking devices and firewall configurations. By understanding these core concepts, students will be equipped to effectively implement secure design principles in network architectures, ensuring robust security in computer communications technologies.

Focusing on communications security, this module teaches students how to detect, prevent, and correct errors during data transmission, ensuring integrity and confidentiality. Students will explore network security vulnerabilities and countermeasures, learning to secure networks and identify potential threats in communication protocols.

In this module, students will explore the principles of Identity and Access Management (IAM), which includes granting and revoking access privileges. The course covers key IAM components such as identification, authentication, authorization, and accounting, helping students understand how to manage user identities and secure system access in real-world scenarios.

This module builds on the foundational principles of Identity and Access Management (IAM) by exploring a range of access control models. Students will explore valuable insights into effective strategies for preventing and mitigating access control attacks, equipping them with the knowledge needed to enhance security measures within their future roles.

This module provides students with an understanding of how security assessments and testing programs are conducted. They will explore security tests, assessments, and audits to evaluate an organization’s security posture and ensure compliance with best practices. The course highlights the importance of regular security evaluations to fortify an organization’s security framework.

This module explores best practices for managing security operations, including protecting information throughout its Lifecycle and ensuring system configurations are properly managed. Students will study patch and vulnerability management, learning to keep systems up-to-date and safeguard against security risks.

Focusing on incident management, this module emphasizes the need for organizations to have effective response strategies in place. Students will learn about preventive measures to detect and protect against cyber threats, as well as the role of logging and monitoring in ensuring security controls are functioning correctly to prevent incidents.

Students will examine how disaster recovery integrates with business continuity plans, guiding emergencies response personnel and ensuring rapid recovery in the event of major disruptions.

Students will learn about the process of investigating computer security incidents and ethical considerations for security professionals. This module explores different types of investigations—administrative, criminal, civil, and regulatory—and provides an understanding of forensic procedures and evidence standards for supporting security investigations.

Software development presents a multifaceted challenge, involving developers of diverse skill levels and varying degrees of security awareness. Given that applications frequently handle sensitive data and engage with the public, they can pose considerable risks to enterprise security. This module emphasizes the importance for information security professionals to comprehend these risks, align them with business objectives, and implement effective risk mitigation strategies to ensure robust application security.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of malware, encompassing a wide array of software threats that exploit vulnerabilities across networks, operating systems, software applications, and physical security measures. Students will learn about various malicious code types, including viruses, Trojan horses, and worms, examining how they propagate and the human behaviors that contribute to their spread. The course emphasizes the importance of understanding the risks associated with these threats, enabling information security practitioners to develop effective countermeasures to safeguard their systems. Additionally, students will learn how to implement appropriate response strategies, equipping them with the knowledge needed to protect the integrity of their information systems.

In this capstone module, students will synthesize their advanced knowledge of cybersecurity to simulate and defend against complex threats. Utilizing tools and methodologies learned in prior modules—such as penetration testing, digital forensics, and SIEM integration; students will conduct in-depth analysis and develop response strategies for enterprise-level security incidents.