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Security Fundamentals, Law & Professional Ethics

Builds the vocabulary and judgement every cyber professional needs: the CIA triad, risk, defence in depth, authorisation, responsible disclosure and the legal and ethical limits of the work. Government staff learn to act only within written authority and to use the major frameworks as a shared language.

Cybersecurity Foundations
Level
Beginner
Study time
6 hours
Lessons
6
Practice labs
3
Assessments
2
Format
Self-paced, online

What you will learn

By the end of this course you will be able to:

  • Explain confidentiality, integrity and availability and map a given incident to the property it harms
  • Distinguish threat, vulnerability and risk, and rank items in a risk register by likelihood x impact
  • Describe how layered controls (defence in depth) limit the impact of a single failure
  • Decide whether a target and an activity are in scope using a rules-of-engagement document
  • Describe the responsible disclosure process and the legal and ethical limits of security testing, including the role of PECA 2016
  • Place a control or an attack behaviour within NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK or the OWASP Top 10

Before you start

None. No technical background assumed.

Tools you will use

  • Browser-based lab viewer
  • Simulated assessment console

Course outline

6 lessons in 2 modules.

Module 1: Core security concepts

  • The CIA triad and security goals
  • Threats, vulnerabilities and risk
  • Defence in depth

Module 2: Authorisation, law and frameworks

  • Authorisation, rules of engagement and disclosure
  • Law, ethics and safe lab practice
  • Frameworks: NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK and OWASP

Practice labs and assessments

Labs run in the browser as simulations. They never touch a real system.

3 practice labs

  • Classify the risk register extract Beginner, 25 min
  • Rules-of-engagement scope check Intermediate, 30 min
  • Authorised assessment console Advanced, 40 min, final lab

2 assessments

  • Fundamentals knowledge check
  • Fundamentals final quiz

The pass mark is 70%. You can retake an assessment.

Take Security Fundamentals, Law & Professional Ethics

Request access and your instructor will set up your account.

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