The course introduces foundational cybersecurity principles in the context of community and critical infrastructure protection. Through classroom instruction, guided labs, and applied exercises, participants explore common threats, examine open-source tools for monitoring networks and systems, and review key cybersecurity standards and policies. Using these concepts, participants will develop a practical outline for a cybersecurity program that reflects their organization’s resources and operational realities, incorporating both technical and administrative controls to support ongoing program development and implementation.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe common and current cybersecurity risks to communities and their critical infrastructure.
• Categorize and communicate fundamental concepts of cybersecurity and how they apply to their organization and/or community.
• Describe the purpose and basic configuration of common open-source cybersecurity tools.
• Describe common cybersecurity policies, their purpose, and how those policies impact their organization and/or community.

Students are required to bring a laptop that can connect to public wifi.