If you have completed the three security workshops offered on openHPI this year, you should now have a good knowledge of the basics of cybersecurity. Here we offer you the opportunity to take an exam on the material from all three workshops. If successful, you will receive a record of achievement or a qualified certificate, which is usually only awarded in 6-week courses.
You may not register for the exam until you have met the eligibility requirements. The following criteria must be met:
- Participation in the 3 Workshops Confidential Communication in the Internet, Digital Identities, Cyberthreats by Malware
- Proof of a confirmation of participation in each of the three workshops (access of at least 80% of the learning material)
The participation in the weekly assignments in the individual courses is not relevant for this exam.
Language: English
Beginner, Cybersecurity
Course information
The Cybersecurity Basics exam can be taken after participating in the three workshops Confidential Communication in the Internet, Digital Identities and Cyberthreats by Malware.
Information on the courses:
Confidential Communication in the Internet
- The Internet is an open network, data is transferred on open channels. Hence data could be eavesdropped on and manipulated
- To secure data, technologies and methods for Encryption and Digital Signatures need to be applied
Goal of the Course:
- Sensibilize users at the risks of data transfer in the Internet
- Introduce protection measures by cryptographic technologies and their application in the real world
Digital Identities – Who am I on the Internet?
- To use a digital service Online-Banking, Social Media or Online-Shopping a digital identity is needed
- Digital identities need to be established, verified, bound to a physical person and are of extremely high interest for cybercriminals
Goal of the Course:
- Introduce digital identities and the topic of identity management
- Presentation of different methods of authentication and verification
- Hints how to secure digital identities against attacks
Cyberthreats: Malware
- Malware – malicious software – is one of the biggest threats on the Internet
- Targets of malware can be multi-million dollar-companies as well as private computers, laptops, or smartphones!
Goal of the Course:
- Introduce different types of malware together with the cyber-attacks which they enable
- See, how one gets infected
- Discuss, how to protect own systems
Examination
You can start the exam at any time within the exam period (August 31 - September 27, 2022). The test contains equal parts of questions from all three courses mentioned.
If you choose to take the qualified certificate, please allow some time for the registration process. It may take up to 48 hours to calibrate your photo. The Hasso Plattner Institute recommends crediting 2 ECTS credits upon achievement of the qualified certificate.
Exam Time: 2 hours
Pattern: 60 questions (Multiple Choice/Multiple Answers)
Eligibility Criteria:
Participation in the 3 Workshops Confidential Communication in the Internet, Digital Identities, Cyberthreats by Malware
Proof of a Confirmation of Participation in each of the three workshops (access of at least 80% of the learning material)
Exam preparation
There is the possibility of self-study, through self-tests offered in each of the three courses. Learning material is provided in the form of short learning videos, interactive quizzes, and tasks, forum discussions on several topics as well as other related material. The quizzes can be taken multiple times through the recap feature, which shuffles the questions during each attempt. Homeworks from the courses are available as self-tests even after the course has been completed. Moreover, there is a possibility to fast-track all three courses and the exam in August/September.
Format
The examination format is flexible, to suit the participants. There is the opportunity to self-study for the exam. The results of the individual courses/participation in the weekly assignments in the individual courses are not relevant for the final Cybersecurity Basics examination.
Certificates available
For each course
Confirmation of Participation
- For all learners that worked on at least 80% of the material
Record of Achievement
- For all learners that have successfully completed the marked weekly assignments (50+% points)
Overall (after taking the exam)
Record of Achievement
- Available for learners that received confirmations of participation for each of the three courses and successfully completed the combined exam
Qualified Certificate (with 2 ECTS points)
Same requirements as for the Record of Achievement
Online proctoring during the final exam
Compatibility with German courses/Cybersecurity series
openHPI offers a similar course series on the topic in German. The courses in German are Datensicherheit im Netz, Digitale Identitäten, Blockchain - Sicherheit auch ohne Trust Center.
Even though the content in two of three courses is almost identical, the course series are not interchangeable. This is because the Cyberthreats by Malware course is completely new. If a participant has already completed some/all of the German courses, we highly recommend completing the three English courses as well, since it will be a good exam preparation.
Enroll me for this course
Certificate Requirements
- Gain a Certificate by booking it and gaining a Record of Achievement. Find out more in the certificate guidelines.
- Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 50% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
Find out more in the certificate guidelines.
This course is offered by
Professor Dr. Christoph Meinel (Univ. Prof., Dr. sc. nat., Dr. rer. nat., 1954) is Scientific Director and CEO of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH (HPI) . He is a full professor (C4) for computer science and holds a chair at HPI on Internet Technologies and Systems . His areas of research focus on future Internet technologies, in particular Information Security, Web 3.0: Semantic Web, Social and Service Web, as well as on innovative Internet applications, especially in the domains of e-learning, tele-teaching and tele-medicine. Besides, he is scientifically active in the field of innovation research Design Thinking. His earlier research work concentrated on the theoretical foundation of computer science in the areas of computational complexity and the design of efficient (OBDD-based) algorithms and data structures.
Christoph Meinel teaches in the Bachelor and Master courses in IT-Systems Engineering and at the HPI School of Design Thinking. He is honorary professor at the Computer Sciences School at Beijing University of Technology, visiting professor at Shanghai University in China, and a senior research fellow at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg. Since 2008, together with Larry Leifer from Stanford University, he is program director of the HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program. Since 2010, he chairs the Steering Committee of the HPI Future SOC lab .
Christoph Meinel is author/co-author of 10 books and 4 anthologies, as well as editor of various conference proceedings. More than 400 of his papers have been published in high-profile scientific journals and at international conferences. His high-security solution Lock-Keeper is internationally patented and licensed by Siemens AG. His tele-TASK system provides an innovative mobile system for recording and Internet broadcasting lectures and presentations used in many universities all-over the world. The virtual tele-lab for Internet Security provides the possibility to get hands-on experiences in practical issues of Internet and information security. The recently developed tele-Board supports remote work of creative teams.
Christoph Meinel is a member of acatech, the German academy of sciences and engineering. He is chairman of the German IPv6 council and of the advisory board of UTD Meraka in South Africa, and a member of the SAP Security Advisory Board. In 2006, he hosted together with Hasso Plattner the first German "National IT-Summit" of the German Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. From 1998 to 2002 he was the founder and CEO of the Research Lab "Institute for Telematics" in Trier. Christoph Meinel is chief editor of the scientific electronic journals ECCC - Electronic Colloquium on Computational Complexity and ECDTR - Electronic Colloquium on Design Thinking Research , the IT-Gipfelblog , and the tele-TASK archive.