The course will run over three weeks, and involves around two hours per week during a time that suits you. There will be a number of activities to take part in in order to support your learning, such as joining in with discussions and coming up with role-playing scenarios for the classroom, and you’ll be learning alongside people from all over the world. We’ll also suggest several teaching activities, and you can download the videos, article text, and activity PDFs from this course to use in your own lessons.
Cyber-attacks
Introduction to Cybersecurity for Teachers explores the core ideas of cybersecurity that should be taught in the classroom. Teaching about the different threats that people and devices are vulnerable to, and examining the steps that can be taken to keep data secure, is an important way to help students stay safe while using technology. Some of the threats that will form part of your discussions include attacks, such as data theft and corruption, as well as accidental breaches of data.
One of the most prevalent forms of attacks is social engineering attacks, in which victims are deceived into sharing valuable personal data. This part of the course begins with an overview of automated social engineering, before delving into phishing, pharming, and name generator attacks. Subsequently, you will find out about interactive social engineering that requires the attacker to interact with the victim more personally. The two types of attacks explored here are blagging and shouldering, which culminates in suggestions of classroom exercises.
Defensive measures
In this course you will learn about good cybersecurity practice, which utilises the three pillars of cybersecurity. Building on the strong foundations of these pillars enables individuals and companies to form robust preventive measures against exploitation by malware, malicious bots, SQL injections, and physical threats. You will also build your knowledge of the different tools that protect data and websites. These include strong passwords, biometrics, two-factor authentication, and firewalls.
Another important aspect is the legal solutions available in the UK to protect and prosecute. Discussions will revolve around new laws that have been created in an attempt to deal with cyber-attacks; how effective are these and what rights do you have to access your data held by an organisation?
From spyware to Sybil attacks, physical security to penetration testing; you’ll be learning about a range of topics in an increasingly relevant part of the computer science syllabus and our daily lives.
Sign-up for the Introduction to Cybersecurity for Teachers course is available now!
Computer Science Accelerator Programme
This course is part of the Computer Science Accelerator Programme, which is designed to support teachers in improving their knowledge of computer science and teach it at GCSE level. If you are a GCSE Computer Science teacher at a school in England, you are eligible for a free upgrade of the course to gain unlimited access.
This course counts towards a nationally recognised qualification, ‘The National Centre of Computing Education certificate in GCSE Computer Science subject knowledge’.
More information about this and other courses that are part of the Computer Science Accelerator Programme can be found at teachcomputing.org/courses.
