Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Introduction to networking and the Internet protocol stack; Vulnerable protocols such as HTTP, DNS, and BGP; Overview of wireless communications, vulnerabilities, and security protocols; Introduction to cryptography; Discussion of cyber threats and defenses; Firewalls and IDS/IPS; Kerberos; Transport Layer Security, including certificates; Network Layer Security.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Gain experience with the online course system.
• Explain the general architecture of the Internet, including the main functions of end systems and routers.
• Describe the basic client-server architecture and how typical network applications (web, email) fit into the architecture.
• Explain how web pages are requested and delivered using HTTP.
• Explain in general how DNS enables our use of the Internet and, in particular, how hosts determine the IP address of network servers.
• Explain how MAC addresses are used and assigned to a packet as it traverses a network.
• Differentiate between wireless LANs and wired LANs.
• Explain how IP CIDR addressing is performed and how an IP address is assigned from a group of available addresses.
• Explain the core functions of TCP including details of connection setup.
• Analyze and differentiate among types of malware and attacks.
• Analyze and differentiate among types of wireless attacks and application attacks.
• Identify vulnerabilities potentially present in DNS, databases, and web applications.
• Summarize general cryptography concepts.
• Describe how certificates can be used for authentication and encryption.
• Explain how firewalls and VPNs can be used to protect a network.

Course Material

This course gave me an overview of cybersecurity as a whole. It went over application security, information security, and network security. This course gave me a strong foundation in the principles of the internet architecture, an awareness of vulnerabilities in the Internet protocol stack, and ethical issues in cybersecurity.