Cyberthreats by Malware

Course
  • Cybersecurity

Cyberthreats by Malware

In this course we will discuss a huge problem on the Internet: The spread of malware.

The number of cyber attacks has increased again in 2021. New forms of malware have evolved, even more disruptive and more damaging.

We will cover different types of malware, such as, viruses, worms, and trojans, talk about botnets and ransomware, and mention some countermeasures.

Offered by Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel | Last updated on Jul 15, 2026 | 6291 enrollments

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  • Beginner
  • EN
  • Certificate
Course information

In this course, Prof. Meinel and the teaching team aim to raise awareness for malware cyber threats. Botnets, worms, trojans, and spyware are the most common types of malware. But with every newly discovered malware, there is already a new, more sophisticated one on the market. Antivirus programs lag behind the rapid development of new malware.

Participants get to know the most common types of malware. They learn how they work and which effects they can have on your personal data. Prominent examples will show how cyber attacks can harm not only your personal data but also whole businesses. After knowing about the risks, we want to discuss with you how to avoid such an attack. Which protective measures can be implemented quickly? We should not forget: Many leaks are caused by the human factor.

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Take the cybersec exam and get a qualified certificate!

This course content is part of the cybersecurity series on openHPI. The series consists of three courses and ends with the Cybersecurity exam in August/September 2022. By the Cybersecurity exam, you have the chance to receive a free record of achievement or a qualified certificate. Therefore, please attend the three courses Confidential Communication in the Internet, Digital Identities, and Cyberthreats by Malware and finish them with a confirmation of participation. This allows you to register for the cybersecurity exam which covers questions from all three courses.

Contents:

  • Introduction into the Internet as Attack-Target
  • General Differentiation and Introduction into Malware
  • "Reasons" for Malware
    • Technical Failures
    • Human Failures
  • Different Kinds of Malware
    • How does a malware spread? Virus, Worm, Trojan
    • Different kinds of Malware: Ransomware, Keylogger, Scareware
    • Prominent Examples of Malware: Emotet, Caberp
  • Protective Measures against Malware

Required skills:

  • General IT knowledge

Course level:

  • Basics

Target group:

  • Everyone who uses the internet a lot and is potentially vulnerable against attacks by malware.

Effort:

Follow us on Twitter: @openHPI. For tweets about this course please use the hashtag #malware2022.

Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpenHPI

For more video lectures, visit www.tele-task.de.

Attention: This course is currently in self-study mode, in which you do not have access to graded assignments/exams. Therefore, we can only issue you a certificate of participation.

Requirements for Proofs of Achievement
  • Confirmation of Participation: You will automatically receive a free Confirmation of Participation once you have completed at least 80% of the content.
  • Certificate: You will receive your official openHPI Certificate by earning at least 50% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.

Find out more on our page for Proofs of Achievement and Guidelines.

Our teachers

Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel

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. Now he is president of the German University of Digital Science, the first digital university in Germany.
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.