Introductory Online Courses On Cybersecurity
As part of the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program, Virtual Routes has developed three tailored introductory online courses on core cybersecurity topics. The courses are designed by Virtual Routes in partnership with academics at the top of their field, each with decades of experience in cybersecurity research and teaching.
What?
To advance the goals of the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program, each course introduces key concepts and principles, illustrated by clear examples and supported by a range of interactive exercises such as reflection moments, discussion questions, and case study analysis.
Why?
These courses provide a standardized baseline for students in the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program to begin their cybersecurity journey. They ensure students from a wide range of backgrounds can enter the program with a basic knowledge in key areas, especially successful engagement with local community organizations (LCOs).
How?
These courses are only available for students participating in the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program. Each course consists of a curated blend of video content and exercise prompts, designed to enable students to either take the course on their own or for universities to integrate the course into their Cybersecurity Seminars.
COURSES
Introduction to Cybersecurity
Dr Jason Nurse, Reader in Cybersecurity, University of Kent
In this course, Dr Jason Nurse provides an introduction to the origin and meaning of cybersecurity and associated concepts, demonstrating how it incorporates multiple disciplines and research areas. Dr Nurse then addresses the human aspects of cybersecurity, including the user context as well as human aspects of attacker-defender dynamics. Dr Nurse then focuses on common cybersecurity controls, showing how they can help to quickly raise cybersecurity levels in LCOs, but with some significant limitations. Finally, Dr Nurse explores the emerging topic of cyber harms and risk management.
Introduction to Systems Security
Professor Andrew Martin, Professor of Systems Security, University of Oxford
In this course, Professor Andrew Martin provides an introduction to the cybersecurity of digital systems. Professor Martin first outlines core concepts in system design and implementation, as well as key threats to digital systems. Professor Martin then addresses areas of system design with a wide-ranging impact across cybersecurity, such as encryption and authentication. These cases show how abstraction helps users and designers overcome the immense complexity of digital systems, but in turn introduces assumptions and expectations that create security vulnerabilities and lead to system failures.
Cybersecurity in Society
Lizzie Coles-Kemp, Principal Fellow, Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS)
In this course, Professor Lizzie Coles-Kemp examines the place of cybersecurity in society. Professor Coles-Kemp first details the societal impact of cybersecurity issues and introduces the concept of people-centered cybersecurity, building on theories of useable security and user-centered design. Professor Coles-Kemp then outlines an approach to local community engagement that challenges security orthodoxies and recognizes the realities of working with diverse, marginalized, and minoritized groups. The course ends with a case study of the cybersecurity aspects of informal assisted access to digital technologies.
