Week 1: Welcome to Cybersecurity
Dates: Jan 12-16 · Reading: Handout 1: Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Lecture Slides
⬇ Monday slides (PPTX) ⬇ Wednesday slides (PPTX)
Learning Objectives
- Explain why cybersecurity matters to modern businesses
- Define confidentiality, integrity, and availability (the CIA triad)
- Identify common threats, vulnerabilities, and attack types
- Describe the role of human behavior in security incidents
Monday Session
Course overview and expectations. Why AI and cybersecurity together is one of the most valuable skill sets in business. Core security concepts: assets, threats, vulnerabilities, risk, and the CIA triad. Real headlines: famous breaches and what they cost.
Wednesday Session
Attack landscape tour: phishing, malware, ransomware, denial of service, and insider threats. Defensive strategies at a glance: prevention, detection, and response. The human factor: social engineering and why people are the most targeted layer.
Lab
Lab 1: Hello, Colab. Guided first steps in Google Colab: run Python cells, load a small dataset of breached passwords, and find the most common weak passwords. No prior coding required.
⬇ Lab 1 starter notebook (.ipynb)
Quiz / This Week
Quiz 1. Security basics: CIA triad, threat types, and the human factor.
In-Class Activity
Activity 1: Python and Google Colab Tutorial — hands-on Python and Google Colab tutorial (browser-based, nothing to install). Graded, 20 points.
⬇ Activity slides (PPTX) 📄 Student worksheet (PDF)
Activity 2: Weak Password Storage and Authentication — Hacker101-style guided security lesson. Graded, 20 points.
⬇ Activity slides (PPTX) 📄 Student worksheet (PDF)