About this course: This course covers a wide variety of IT security concepts, tools, and best practices. It introduces threats and attacks and the many ways they can show up. We’ll give you some background of encryption algorithms and how they’re used to safeguard data. Then, we’ll dive into the three As of information security: Authentication, authorization, and accounting. We’ll also cover network security solutions, ranging from firewalls to Wifi encryption options. The course is rounded out by putting all these elements together into a multi-layered, in-depth security architecture, followed by recommendations on how to integrate a culture of security into your organization or team. At the end of this course, you’ll understand: - how various encryption algorithms and techniques work and their benefits and limitations. - various authentication systems and types. - the difference between authentication and authorization. At the end of this course, you’ll be able to: - evaluate potential risks and recommend ways to reduce risk. - make recommendations on how best to secure a network. - help others to understand security concepts and protect themselves.
Who is this class for: This program is intended for beginners who are interested in developing the skills necessary to perform entry-level IT support. No pre-requisite knowledge is required. However, if you do have some familiarity with IT, you can skip through any content that you might already know and speed ahead to the graded assessments.
Created by: Google
| Basic Info | Course 5 of 5 in the Google IT Support Professional Certificate Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Language | English |
| Hardware Req | You’ll need to complete some of the assessments (e.g., Qwiklabs and plugins) on a desktop or laptop web browser. |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Understanding Security Threats
Welcome to the IT Security course of the IT Support Professional Certificate! In the first week of this course, we will cover the basics of security in an IT environment. We will learn how to define and recognize security risks, vulnerabilities and threats. We'll identify the most common security attacks in an organization and understand how security revolves around the "CIA" principle. By the end of this module, you will know the types of malicious software, network attacks, client-side attacks, and the essential security terms you'll see in the workplace.
10 videos, 7 readings, 3 practice quizzes
- Reading: Navigating Coursera
- Reading: Program Surveys
- Reading: How to Use Discussion Forums
- Reading: Get to Know Your Classmates
- Discussion Prompt: Meet and Greet
- Video: The CIA Triad
- Video: Essential Security Terms
- Video: Malicious Software
- Video: Malware Continued
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Malicious Software
- Practice Quiz: Malicious Software
- Video: Network Attacks
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Network Attacks
- Video: Denial-of-Service
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for DDoS Attacks
- Practice Quiz: Network Attacks
- Video: Client-Side Attacks
- Video: Password Attacks
- Video: Deceptive Attacks
- Discussion Prompt: Malicious Software & Attacks
- Practice Quiz: Other Attacks
Graded: Understanding Security Threats
WEEK 2
Pelcgbybtl (Cryptology)
In the second week of this course, we'll learn about cryptology. We'll explore different types of encryption practices and how they work. We'll show you the most common algorithms used in cryptography and how they've evolved over time. By the end of this module, you'll understand how symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing work; you'll also know how to choose the most appropriate cryptographic method for a scenario you may see in the workplace.
14 videos, 9 readings, 5 practice quizzes
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for The Future of Cryptanalysis
- Video: Symmetric Cryptography
- Video: Symmetric Encryption Algorithms
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Symmetric Encryptions
- Practice Quiz: Symmetric Encryption
- Video: Rob What a Security Engineer Does
- Video: Asymmetric Cryptography
- Video: Asymmetric Encryption Algorithms
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Asymmetric Encryption Attack
- Practice Quiz: Public Key or Asymmetric Encryption
- Video: Hashing
- Video: Hashing Algorithms
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for SHA1 Attacks
- Video: Hashing Algorithms (continued)
- Practice Quiz: Hashing
- Video: Public Key Infrastructure
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for the X.509 Standard
- Video: Cryptography in Action
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for PGP
- Video: Securing Network Traffic
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Securing Network Traffic
- Video: Cryptographic Hardware
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for TPM Attacks
- Practice Quiz: Cryptography Applications
- Practice Quiz: Week Two Practice Quiz
- Video: Instructions for Accessing Linux Qwiklabs
- Reading: Instructions for Accessing Qwiklabs
Graded: Create/inspect key pair, encrypt/decrypt and sign/verify using openssl
Graded: Hands on with Hashing
WEEK 3
AAA Security (Not Roadside Assistance)
In the third week of this course, we'll learn about the "three A's" in cybersecurity. No matter what type of tech role you're in, it's important to understand how authentication, authorization, and accounting work within an organization. By the end of this module, you'll be able to choose the most appropriate method of authentication, authorization, and level of access granted for users in an organization.
14 videos, 2 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Video: Multifactor Authentication
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Authentication
- Video: Certificates
- Video: LDAP
- Video: RADIUS
- Video: Kerberos
- Video: TACACS+
- Video: Single Sign-On
- Practice Quiz: Authentication
- Video: Rob Path to IT
- Video: Authorization and Access Control Methods
- Video: Access Control
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Authorization
- Video: Access Control List
- Video: Tracking Usage and Access
- Practice Quiz: Authorization and Accounting
- Video: Rob Important Skills in Security
Graded: AAA Security (Not Roadside Assistance)
WEEK 4
Securing Your Networks
In the fourth week of this course, we'll learn about secure network architecture. It's important to know how to implement security measures on a network environment, so we'll show you some of the best practices to protect an organization's network. We'll learn about some of the risks of wireless networks and how to mitigate them. We'll also cover ways to monitor network traffic and read packet captures. By the end of this module, you'll understand how VPNs, proxies and reverse proxies work; why 802.1X is a super important for network protection; understand why WPA/WPA2 is better than WEP; and know how to use tcpdump to capture and analyze packets on a network. That's a lot of information, but well worth it for an IT Support Specialist to understand!
11 videos, 2 readings, 4 practice quizzes
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Network Hardening Best Practices
- Video: Network Hardware Hardening
- Video: Network Software Hardening
- Practice Quiz: Secure Network Architecture
- Video: Joe Personal Obstacle
- Video: WEP Encryption and Why You Shouldn't Use It
- Video: Let's Get Rid of WEP! WPA/WPA2
- Video: Wireless Hardening
- Practice Quiz: Wireless Security
- Video: Heather Social Engineering
- Video: Sniffing the Network
- Video: Wireshark and tcpdump
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Promiscuous Mode
- Video: Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems
- Practice Quiz: Network Monitoring
- Practice Quiz: Week Four Practice Quiz
Graded: Introducing tcpdump
WEEK 5
Defense in Depth
In the fifth week of this course, we're going to go more in-depth into security defense. We'll cover ways to implement methods for system hardening, application hardening, and determine the policies for OS security. By the end of this module, you'll know why it's important to disable unnecessary components of a system, learn about host-based firewalls, setup anti-malware protection, implement disk encryption, and configure software patch management and application policies.
9 videos, 3 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Video: Disabling Unnecessary Components
- Video: Host-Based Firewall
- Video: Logging and Auditing
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Logging and Auditing
- Video: Antimalware Protection
- Reading: Supplemental Readings for Antimalware Protection
- Video: Disk Encryption
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Disk Ecryption
- Practice Quiz: System Hardening
- Video: Heather Self Learning
- Video: Software Patch Management
- Video: Application Policies
- Practice Quiz: Application Hardening
Graded: Defense in Depth
WEEK 6
Creating a Company Culture for Security
Congratulations, you've made it to the final week in the course! In the last week of this course, we'll explore ways to create a company culture for security. It's important for any tech role to determine appropriate measures to meet the three goals of security. By the end of this module, you will develop a security plan for an organization to demonstrate the skills you've learned in this course. You're almost done, keep up the great work!
13 videos, 4 readings, 3 practice quizzes
- Video: Measuring and Assessing Risk
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Risk in the Workplace
- Video: Privacy Policy
- Practice Quiz: Risk in the Workplace
- Video: User Habits
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for User Habits
- Video: Third-Party Security
- Reading: Supplemental Reading for Vendor Security Assessment Questionnaires
- Video: Security Training
- Discussion Prompt: Your Security Habits
- Practice Quiz: Users
- Video: Alex Grit Story
- Video: Incident Reporting and Analysis
- Video: Incident Response and Recovery
- Practice Quiz: Incident Handling
- Video: Amir Interview
- Video: Ari Interview
- Video: Final Assessment
- Reading: Final Project - Sample Submission
- Discussion Prompt: Your Learning Journey
- Video: Congratulations!
Graded: Creating a Company Culture for Security
Graded: Creating a Company Culture for Security
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
Google
The IT Support Professional Certificate program is part of Grow with Google, an initiative that draws on Google's 20-year history of building products, platforms, and services that help people and businesses grow. Through programs like these, we aim to help everyone– those who make up the workforce of today and the students who will drive the workforce of tomorrow – access the best of Google’s training and tools to grow their skills, careers, and businesses.
Pricing
| Purchase Course | |
|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
We made it everyone!!! Congrats!!!!
This was the true test of everything we learned. When it came time to do the final assignment I thought back and realized WOW, we covered a LOT of stuff! Network security is so important and I feel confident that I have learned pretty much all there is to know thus far in terms of what's out there on the market. Now it's just time to apply said knowledge so that I don't forget all about it.
Very through overview of security issues for real world challenges.
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EE
Great course!