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Hackers manage again and again to steal passwords, to access sensitive enterprise and user data, and, in the worst case scenario, to even paralyze entire companies. The Internet offers various possibilities to its users, but, at the same time, it harbors dangers and vulnerable points of attack, which many people are not even aware of. In this openHPI course you will learn the basics of Internet security. Why is the Internet insecure by nature of its design? What are the weak spots of the Internet and how are they exploited by cybercriminals? We want to answer these questions and a lot more in this course. Additionally, we will advise you on how to protect yourself from such cyberattacks.
Language: English
Beginner, Cybersecurity, Internet
Course information
Since the late sixties, American researchers have not only been able to use computers as standalone calculating machines but to connect them to a broad network. This was the start of the Internet which, in the meantime, connects nearly four billion people and around 23 billion devices, (e.g., computers, smartphones and sensors). The network of networks has therefore also become an attractive target for criminals. Around four million attacks are registered every day, (i.e., 50 per second). Although the economic damage around the globe is huge - and we are talking about US$400 billion a year - only a small amount of resources is spent on Internet security.
Protection from Internet risks requires more action worldwide: from businesses, institutions, public authorities, and every one of us. In this 6-week free course in English, we offer practical support to face this challenging task. With no prior knowledge required, participants can find out what methods hackers use to break into computers and networks. Learn how cybercriminals manage to steal passwords and how you can protect yourself from such cyberattacks.
The workload of this course is equivalent to 2 ECTS credits.
Course characteristics:
- Language: English
- Starting from: February 26, 2018
- Course end: April 9, 2018
- Duration: 6 weeks (3-6 hours per week)
- Target group: Anyone who uses the Internet
- Course requirements: none
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Additional video lecturing material can be found at www.tele-task.de .
Course contents
Week 1:
We will explain the basic terms vulnerability, attack, and incident in the first week. Furthermore, we will elaborate on attackers, their motives and their origins.Week 2:
In week 2, we will explain the idea and the concept of digital Identities and passwords. We will discuss the digital footprint, the feasibility to (easily) crack passwords and guidelines to chose a secure password.Week 3:
In this week we will discuss several issues about malware. We will cover different types, such as, viruses, worms, and trojans, talk about botnets and mention some countermeasures.Week 4:
In week 4, we will talk about dangers and risks that arise through the usage of open routes in the Internet. Therefore, we will discuss how attacks can capture messages and eavesdrop or even manipulate and compromise connections. Furthermore, some security mechanisms for those open communication channels, such as firewalls and encryption are illustrated.Week 5:
In the 5th week, we will take a closer look at the general topic encryption. Therefore, we explain different cryptographic algorithms and how they can be used for various purposes.Week 6:
In this week we will talk about several topics related to data privacy and private sphere in the digital world. Starting at the Internet as one big eco-system we will also cover privacy in the context of smartphones and wearables, the Internet-of-things or cloud computing, for example.Final Exam:
Show what you have learned during the course by taking the final exam and qualify for a certificate.I like, I wish:
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Learners
Rating
This course was rated with 4.09 stars in average from 56 votes.
Certificate Requirements
- Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 50% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
- Gain a Confirmation of Participation by completing at least 50% of the course material.
Find out more in the certificate guidelines.
This course is offered by
Christoph Meinel (Univ.-Prof., Dr.rer.nat., Dr.sc.nat., 1954) was Managing and Scientific Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH (HPI) until March 2023. He is a full professor (C4) for Informatics at the university of Potsdam and has the chair for "Internet Technology and Systems" at the HPI. From 2017 to 2021 he was the founding dean of the Digital Engineering Faculty of the University of Potsdam.
His research interests are broadly diversified in the area of innovative Internet applications and systems, especially in digital education, e-learning & tele-teaching, artifical intelligence and deep learing, and Internet and information security. He is also active in the field of innovation research and investigates the Stanford innovation method design thinking. Former research interest were in telemedicine, as well as in the theoretical foundations of computer science in the areas of complexity theory and efficient OBDD-based algorithms and data structures.