Developed for CTE Virginia Business and Information Technology Cluster
Course Description
Suggested Grade Level: 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
Cybersecurity affects every individual, organization, and nation. This course focuses on the evolving and pervasive technological environment with an emphasis on securing personal, organizational, and national information. Students will be introduced to the principles of cybersecurity, explore emerging technologies, examine threats and protective measures, and investigate the diverse high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand career opportunities in the field of cybersecurity.
Virginia Verso: http://www.cteresource.org/curriculum/business-and-information-technology/Cybersecurity%20Fundamentals%206302.pdf
CF-Tasks 39-49 Exploring Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Describe cybersecurity.
Define information assurance.
Describe the critical factors of information security.
Explain cybersecurity services as they relate to intrusion prevention capabilities that protect systems against unauthorized access, exploitation, and data exfiltration.
Define risk.
Identify the concepts of cybersecurity risk management.
Describe cybersecurity threats to an organization.
Explain why organizations need to manage risk.
Discuss national or industry standards/regulations that relate to cybersecurity.
Describe the cyber attack surface of various organizations.
Analyze risks affecting critical infrastructure.
CF-Tasks 50-58 – How Does Internet Work Examining Computer Networks as a Foundational Element of Cybersecurity
Describe a network.
Describe a wired/cabled network.
Describe a wireless network.
Compare cabled/wired and wireless networks.
Compare networking conceptual models.
Discuss services, their relationship to the OSI model, and potential vulnerabilities.
Differentiate among network types.
Examine the concept of the Internet as a network of connected systems.
Identify networking protocols.
CF-Tasks 59-65 – Understanding Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities
Describe the difference between a cyber threat and a vulnerability.
Describe types of cyber threats.
Analyze types of current cyber threats.
Identify the perpetrators of different types of malicious hacking.
Describe the characteristics of vulnerabilities.
Identify the prevention of and protections against cyber threats.
Identify the cyber risks associated with bring your own device (BYOD) opportunities on computer networks.
CF-Tasks 66-76- Exploring Ethics as it Relates to Cybersecurity
Differentiate between ethics and laws.
Distinguish among types of ethical concerns.
Define cyberbullying.
Identify actions that constitute cyberbullying.
Identify possible warning signs of someone being cyber bullied.
Identify laws applicable to cybersecurity.
Explain the concept of “personally identifiable information.”
Explain how and why personal data is valuable to both an individual and to the organizations (e.g., governments, businesses) that collect it, analyze it, and make decisions based on it.
Identify ways to control and protect personal data.
Demonstrate net etiquette (netiquette) as it relates to cybersecurity.
Analyze the social and legal significance of the ongoing collection of personal digital information.
CF-Tasks 77-83- Examining Data Security as it Relates to Cybersecurity
Distinguish between data, information, and knowledge.
Identify the most common ways data is collected.
Identify the most common ways data can be stored.
Explain the difference between data at rest, data in transit, and data being processed.
Identify the most common ways data is used.
Discuss how data can be compromised, corrupted, or lost.
Explain how businesses and individuals can protect themselves against threats to their data (e.g., firewalls, encryption, disabling, backups, permissions).
CF- Tasks 84-94- Securing Operating Systems
Define the function of a computer operating system.
Identify the components of an operating system.
List types of operating systems.
Evaluate the potential vulnerabilities, threats, and common exploits to an operating system.
Identify best practices for protecting operating systems.
Describe the concept of malware and techniques to guard against it.
Evaluate critical operating system security parameters.
Describe security and auditing logs.
Describe the role of a system backup.
Define virtualization technology.
Identify advantages and disadvantages of using virtual machines.
CF-Tasks 95-100- Programming as a Component of Cybersecurity & Exploring Cybersecurity Implications
Define programming in the context of cybersecurity.
Differentiate between computer programming languages.
Evaluate common programming flaws that lead to vulnerabilities.
Identify best practices in secure coding and design.
Identify ubiquitous computing.
Discuss security and privacy implications of ubiquitous computing.
CF-Tasks 101-105 – Research career opportunities for cybersecurity professionals
Explore the Career Clusters affected by current and emerging technology.
Identify the educational pathways for emerging cybersecurity professionals.
Identify career paths and job titles within the cybersecurity/cyber forensics industry and Career Clusters.
Research the cyber threats and security measures related to career pathways.
Cybersecurity and Future Military Career
CF-Tasks-106-109 – Preparing for Industry Certification
Identify testing skills/strategies for a certification examination.
Describe the process and requirements for obtaining industry certifications related to the Cybersecurity Fundamentals course.
Demonstrate the ability to complete selected practice examinations (e.g., practice questions similar to those on certification exams).
Successfully complete an industry certification examination representative of skills learned in this course (e.g., Microsoft, IC3, CompTIA).
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