Introduction to Computer Security

This course teaches the fundamentals of cybersecurity through practical, hands-on experience in both attacking and defending. Students will perform penetration tests and learn to counter real attacks, alternating between offensive and defensive classes. Topics covered include reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, privilege escalation, lateral movement, exfiltration, malware, network security forensics, binary reversing, log analysis, intrusion detection systems, honeypots, and basics of machine learning for security. By the end of the semester, students will be prepared for junior penetration tester roles or to continue as cybersecurity researchers and practitioners.

This course consists of weekly 3-hour blocks which combine both theory and practical exercises.

The BSY Cybersecurity course teaches students how to think and operate across both offensive and defensive security: understanding networks and basic security concepts, finding and scanning systems, exploiting vulnerabilities, detecting intrusions, hardening servers, using deception techniques such as honeypots and honeytokens, studying privilege escalation and persistence, applying threat intelligence, exploiting and analyzing binaries, reverse engineering software, understanding malware automation, detecting command-and-control traffic, and performing web attacks from basic to advanced techniques. Overall, the learning outcomes focus on developing practical cybersecurity skills in a controlled cyber range: how attacks work, how to recognize them, how to defend against them, and how modern tools including AI can support security analysis.

Students can attend the tutorials online via the live stream and Matrix communication platform.

Graded

This course is for students interested in cybersecurity careers, Individuals new to cybersecurity, IT professionals seeking to expand their knowledge and anyone looking to expand their understanding of cyber threats and defenses. Prerequisites: Time Commitment: 6 hours per week to dedicate the course. English proficiency: a good understanding of the English language. Learning attitude: a genuine desire to learn and have fun. Have a basic understanding of how computer systems work. Have a basic knowledge of Linux systems and command-line tools. You should be able to complete at least the first half of the Bandit challenge levels (https://overthewire.org/wargames/bandit/). Have a basic understanding of Python programming language