Foundation
Weeks 1–4: individual foundations, project launch and a controlled baseline.
EAU OPEN LEARNING · EOL-CYB-001
Applied foundation · FREE PRACTICAL TRAINING
Cybersecurity Foundations & Applied Defense
A defensive pathway from assets and risk to account protection, synthetic alert triage, incident analysis and recovery. Build a bounded small-business defence portfolio without accessing real systems.
PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE
Understand risk. Protect data. Document your response.
12 weeks · 24 live hours · approximately 12 guided practice hours. Workload estimates are not academic credits.
Who it is for
- People beginning a defensive cybersecurity journey
- IT support professionals
- Small-business practitioners
Entry readiness
- Computer, file and spreadsheet basics
- Laptop or desktop with reliable internet
- Use synthetic data and authorised practice accounts only
Northstar
Northstar Digital Services is a fictional small-business case spanning security baseline, monitoring, response and improvement.
THREE CONNECTED PHASES
Each month raises the standard of evidence and delivery.
Build and test
Weeks 5–8: deeper application, documented decisions and staged evaluation.
Integrate and hand over
Weeks 9–12: integrate evidence, transfer the skill and deliver the final portfolio.
COMPLETE PUBLIC CURRICULUM
Twelve weeks. A clear practical deliverable every week.
Open any week to review the focus, practical work and public deliverable. Internal cases, answer keys and restricted data are not published.
W01Digital Assets & Risk Foundations
Focus: Asset types, CIA, threat vs vulnerability vs risk and the risk register.
Practical work: Identify six fictional assets and describe three risk scenarios and controls.
Deliverable: Individual Risk Register.
W02Client Project Kickoff & Network Mapping
Focus: Client intake, scope, simple topology, dependencies and team responsibility.
Practical work: Start Northstar; prepare charter, client intake, asset inventory and simplified network map.
Deliverable: Project Charter + Asset Inventory + Client Intake.
W03Account Security & Access Control
Focus: Identity, authentication, authorisation, MFA, least privilege and account protection.
Practical work: Review synthetic access rights and demonstrate MFA on an authorised training account or approved alternative.
Deliverable: Access Review + Account Protection Guide.
W04Application, Cloud & Backup Baselines
Focus: Shared responsibility, basic app/cloud settings, data protection and verified restoration.
Practical work: Assess sample settings and perform a synthetic file backup with verified restoration.
Deliverable: Security Baseline Report + Restore Evidence.
W05Security Logs & Alert Triage
Focus: Events, alert noise, detection signals, triage priority and documented observations.
Practical work: Triage 12 synthetic CSV events and document evidence-based decisions.
Deliverable: Individual Alert Triage Sheet.
W06Incident Analysis & Evidence Handling
Focus: Incident lifecycle, timeline, confirmed facts vs assumptions and evidence handling.
Practical work: Analyse a fresh synthetic individual incident pack and prepare initial recommendations.
Deliverable: Individual Incident Report + Evidence Timeline.
W07Threat Behaviour & Defensive Mapping
Focus: Defensive use of ATT&CK concepts and linking observations to protective controls.
Practical work: Map five observed behaviours to defensible controls and tests.
Deliverable: Threat-to-Control Mapping Matrix.
W08Response Governance & Employee Awareness
Focus: Responsibilities, escalation, privacy, phishing awareness and safe reporting.
Practical work: Build a response RACI and a concise, privacy-aware staff awareness guide.
Deliverable: Team Incident & Response Report + Awareness One-Pager.
W09Rule-Based Alert Prioritisation
Focus: Spreadsheet alert rules with human verification—not a production SOC.
Practical work: Test triage rules on 30 synthetic alerts and review exceptions.
Deliverable: Individual Rules + Tested Triage Output.
W10Business Impact & Recovery Planning
Focus: Service dependencies, RTO/RPO, criticality and recovery priorities.
Practical work: Prioritise Northstar services and design an assumption-led recovery plan.
Deliverable: Business Impact and Recovery Plan.
W11Integrated Improvement & Client Handover
Focus: Consolidation of findings, client scope, exclusions and a 30-day improvement plan.
Practical work: Deliver technical dossier and scoped Small Business Cyber Hygiene & Awareness Pack.
Deliverable: Technical Dossier + Client Pack.
W12Independent Transfer & Final Handover
Focus: Unseen individual transfer check, evidence discussion and client responsibilities.
Practical work: Complete unseen case and a short recorded team project handover.
Deliverable: Individual Skills Check + Final Portfolio.
YOUR PRACTICAL PORTFOLIO
What you will document through the pathway.
Tools: Spreadsheets, synthetic CSV logs, authorised training accounts and basic diagramming.
Professional boundary: Defensive practice only. This is not a penetration test, audit, compliance attestation or permission to access client systems.
- Asset inventory and risk register
- Security baseline and account guide
- Synthetic incident and evidence report
- Recovery priorities and 30-day action plan
USEFUL QUESTIONS
Understand the boundaries before you choose.
Is previous cybersecurity experience essential?
No specialism is required; basic computer skills and readiness to practise are useful.
Will we hack real systems?
No. All activities are defensive and use synthetic data or authorised training accounts.
EAU OPEN LEARNING
Review the details, then start your free application.
This is free independent non-degree training. It creates no academic student number and requires no payment. Moodle access remains a manual step after training acceptance.