Security Literacy Course (How To)

The internet is an invaluable resource for information and entertainment, but it doesn’t always protect your privacy and identity. This course offers an overview on how to stay safe and secure when using your browser and beyond. We’ll introduce foundational concepts about how online activity translates to internet traffic. We’ll then explore some common ways that attackers can view and manipulate this traffic for their uses and how to protect against them. And finally, we’ll establish some industry-recommended habits to keep you and your data secure.

What you'll learn

• Security Foundations
• Threat Models
• Common Attacks and Defenses
• Practical Security

Hello, Internet!

Whether you’re checking your email, paying your bills online, or commenting on social media, most internet traffic looks and acts the same under the hood. We’ll introduce a graphic that will be central to this course that follows the flow of activity online. We’ll also talk about what exactly you expose while you’re online, who may be watching, and what you can do about it.

Chevron 6 steps

• Security Foundations

  4:29

• The Flow of the Internet

  6:26

• Security Concepts and Flow

  6 questions

• Mind Your Metadata

  4:22

• Threat Model

  3:24

• Metadata and Threat Modeling

  5 questions

Common Attacks and Defenses

Now that we have an understanding of the sensitive information in our online activity, let’s explore some common threats and how to protect ourselves against them. You don’t have to be a security expert to defend yourself -- simple awareness can go a long way toward prevention.

Chevron 8 steps

• Contextualize Your Risk

  2:55

• (Spear) Phishing

  4:08

• The Dangers of Passwords (part 1)

  5:00

• The Dangers of Passwords (part 2)

  5:50

• Phishing and Passwords

  6 questions

• Get Off My Machine!

  3:29

• Man in the Middle

  4:13

• Attacks and Preventions

  5 questions

Security in Practice

We've developed a basic visual model for internet traffic to help us make informed decisions. We've also toured some of the more common threats and effective defenses. Now it's time to level up our own online behaviors to stay safe and secure.

Chevron 5 steps

• Encryption—Never Leave Home Without It

  5:09

• Uses of Encryption

  5 questions

• Internet Traffic Revisited

  4:24

• Final Recommendations

  3:36

• Security Literacy Review

  5 questions