Cybersecurity Fundamentals
A defensive security course: understand threats, secure systems, detect attacks, and respond to incidents like a working security analyst.
What you will learn
Understanding the threat landscape
Security foundations
Securing systems & networks
Protecting identity & data
Threat detection & monitoring
Incident response & recovery
Governance, risk & security culture
Curriculum
Understanding the threat landscape
Case study — A small business is hit by phishing-driven ransomware and counts the cost.
Project — Perform a basic risk assessment for a small organization.
Security foundations
Case study — A company stops account takeovers by rolling out MFA and a password policy.
Project — Design a secure authentication & access policy for a team.
Securing systems & networks
Case study — A remote-first company secures its network and devices after a laptop theft.
Project — Produce a hardening checklist and secure a sample system/network setup.
Protecting identity & data
Case study — A clinic protects sensitive patient data and meets privacy requirements.
Project — Create a data-protection & backup plan for an organization.
Threat detection & monitoring
Case study — A company detects an intrusion early through effective monitoring.
Project — Analyze sample logs to detect and document a simulated attack.
Incident response & recovery
Case study — An organization contains a breach and recovers using its incident response plan.
Project — Build an incident response plan and run a tabletop scenario.
Governance, risk & security culture
Case study — A company cuts incidents by building a security-aware culture and clear policies.
Project — Draft a security policy set and awareness plan for an organization.
Capstone
Security assessment & defense project
Act as a security analyst engaged to strengthen an organization — assess risks, identify vulnerabilities, respond to a simulated incident, and deliver a professional security improvement program.
· Asset overview
· Risk assessment
· Threat model
· Vulnerability assessment
· Security architecture recommendations
· Identity & access (IAM) plan
· Data-protection & backup plan
· Monitoring & detection plan
· Incident response plan
· Tabletop incident report
· Security policy set
· Awareness & training plan
· Compliance mapping
· Executive summary & presentation
AI-guided learning
Our AI Mentor tracks your progress and generates custom practice prompts tailored to your industry.
Peer accountability
Join weekly sessions with fellow students across Africa to share tips and build networks.
Timmy's Tip
AI Mentor“Prompting isn't about asking, it's about designing. Give the model a role, a goal and a format, and watch the quality jump.”
