Who is this program for?

Anyone interested in understanding and articulating cybersecurity concepts and the risk to enterprise posed by the cybersecurity threat, including: technical sales professionals, business leaders, engineers and consumers. No prior cybersecurity knowledge is required.

What tools and platforms are taught in the curriculum?

Tools and platforms taught in this course include ATT&CK, Cryptool, CVE, Mitre, NMAP, VirusTotal and WireShark.

Is this program offered in other languages?

The Google Cybersecurity Action Team: Cybersecurity Essentials Course is currently available globally in English.

What background knowledge is necessary?

No background knowledge or experience in the field of cybersecurity necessary.

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Office of the CISO Institute: Cybersecurity Essentials

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Office of the CISO Institute: Cybersecurity Essentials

Instructor: Office of the CISO Institute

12,029 already enrolled

Included with

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6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

88 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

9 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

88 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

9 hours to complete

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Understand core cybersecurity terms, acronyms, concepts, and controls to be able to communicate about cybersecurity with confidence
Evaluate cybersecurity scenarios for better decision making
Analyze threats and risks within an organization’s landscape
Recognize various cybersecurity technologies, including: firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection systems, antivirus/anti-malware, and many more

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Taught in English

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There are 6 modules in this course

In today’s highly connected world, having an understanding of cybersecurity concepts is increasingly important. Business professionals interested in understanding the risk cybersecurity threats pose to their business, look no further! The Google Cybersecurity Action Team: Cybersecurity Essentials course provides an introduction to cybersecurity terminology, principles, and concepts. Throughout the course, you will cover six security domains, and business continuity and disaster response planning topics. The course includes a series of instructor-led demonstrations to provide real-life examples of cybersecurity tasks in action.

What's included

11 videos

11 videos Total 40 minutes

Course Introduction 4 minutes
Module Objectives 2 minutes
Define Cybersecurity 1 minute
Inspect the CIA Triad 7 minutes
Defend with Security Controls 2 minutes
Control Types Quiz 1 minute
Reasons for Strong Defenses 4 minutes
Identify Assets To Protect 8 minutes
End User Devices 8 minutes
Match the Terms 1 minute
Module Summary 2 minutes

What's included

8 videos

What's included

17 videos1 app item

17 videos Total 74 minutes

Module Objectives 1 minute
Examining the Elements Of Risk 8 minutes
Demo Using CVE and CWE 9 minutes
Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3 minutes
Lab: Using CVSS to Score a Vulnerability 0 minutes
Identifying Threat Actors 6 minutes
Match the Terms 1 minute
Inspecting Types Of Attacks 7 minutes
Demo SQL Injection In Action 9 minutes
Cross-site Scripting 3 minutes
Demo Cross-site Scripting in Action 6 minutes
Client-side Attacks 6 minutes
Demo Sniffing Cleartext Credentials with Wireshark 4 minutes
Other Network Attacks 2 minutes
Social Engineering 5 minutes
Threats Attacks and Vulnerabilities Quiz 1 minute
Module Summary 2 minutes

1 app item Total 60 minutes

Lab: Using CVSS to Score a Vulnerability 60 minutes

What's included

18 videos2 app items

18 videos Total 104 minutes

Module Objectives 3 minutes
Securing the Organization 1 minute
Authenticating and Authorizing Access 11 minutes
User Security Training 8 minutes
Protecting the Endpoints 15 minutes
Match the Terms 1 minute
Defending Networks 16 minutes
Lab: Zero Trust in Action 1 minute
Implementing Secure Applications 10 minutes
Securing the Cloud 5 minutes
Securing Data with Cryptography 6 minutes
Demo Hashing and Collisions 7 minutes
Encryption 3 minutes
Demo Symmetric Key Encryption Using Cryptool 4 minutes
Public Key Encryption 6 minutes
Lab: Asymmetric Encryption to Sign and Verify Data 0 minutes
Cybersecurity Defenses Quiz 2 minutes
Module Summary 6 minutes

2 app items Total 150 minutes

Lab: Zero Trust in Action 90 minutes
Lab: Asymmetric Encryption to Sign and Verify Data 60 minutes

What's included

13 videos1 app item

13 videos Total 54 minutes

Module Objectives 2 minutes
Managing Ongoing Risk 3 minutes
Performing Security Assessments 6 minutes
Demo Port Scanning Using Nmap 9 minutes
Vulnerability Scanners 2 minutes
Demo Web Application Scanning Using Vega 9 minutes
Vulnerability Management Lifecycle 2 minutes
Match the Terms 1 minute
Utilizing Threat Models and Tools 12 minutes
Lab: Exploring ATT&CK from MITRE 1 minute
Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation 3 minutes
Ensuring Organization Security Quiz 2 minutes
Module Summary 2 minutes

1 app item Total 30 minutes

Lab: Exploring ATT&CK from MITRE 30 minutes

Recap the course objectives and areas covered.

What's included

1 video

Instructor

Instructor ratings

(27 ratings)

Office of the CISO Institute

Google

1 Course 12,029 learners

Offered by

Google

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Reviewed on Aug 16, 2025

the course was really nice enjoyed it fully and im happy to complete it overall thank you for the time and i hope to land a job with this certificate

Reviewed on Feb 9, 2025

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE LOOKING TO REFRESH THEIR KNOWLEDGE OR LOOKING FOR EXPOSURE TO THE TECHNICAL JARGONS

Reviewed on May 26, 2025

It'z a great course to know what you have to do in cyber security and what it is and to decide whether cybersecurity is for you

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Frequently asked questions

The Google Cybersecurity Action Team: Cybersecurity Essentials Course can be completed in under 10 hours and is developed by the Google Cybersecurity Action Team. This course provides an introduction to cybersecurity terminology, principles and concepts and is intended for business professionals. The Google Cybersecurity Certificate goes deeper in the field and prepares learners for entry-level positions in three to six months. Designed and taught by Google employees, certificate graduates have the opportunity to connect with 150 employers currently hiring.

Cybersecurity is defined as the protection of data, systems, and networks from deliberate or accidental misuse. Cybersecurity involves the protection of our data, which is our primary asset. We must also defend the systems that perform the storage and processing as well as the networks over which information flows.

An understanding of cybersecurity concepts is increasingly significant in today’s highly connected world.

The Google Cybersecurity Action Team, “GCAT” is the world’s premier security advisory team with the mission of supporting the security and digital transformation of governments, critical infrastructure, enterprises, and small businesses. We guide customers through the cycle of security transformation—from your first transformation roadmap and implementation through increasing your cyber-resilience preparedness for potential events and incidents and engineering new solutions as your requirements change.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.