Hybrid • Applied • Security & Data Systems

Applied Cybersecurity & Secure Data Systems Program

A 40-hour applied training program designed to build practical cybersecurity awareness,
secure system thinking, and data risk analysis skills for modern organizations.
Learners explore how real digital systems operate, where vulnerabilities emerge,
and how to evaluate security controls across authentication, cloud services, and data workflows.

Delivered as a structured 40-hour hybrid program completed within a guided 3-month learning cycle.

Format

Hybrid

Live + Guided Self-Study

Duration

40 Hours

Completed in 3 Months

Curriculum

6 Modules

Applied Lessons + Practice

Credential

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Program Overview

This program develops structured cybersecurity reasoning rather than tool memorization.
Learners examine how browsers, APIs, servers, cloud services, and data workflows connect—
and where vulnerabilities typically occur at the boundaries between systems.

Participants practice identifying attack surfaces, reviewing authentication workflows,
recognizing misconfiguration risks, and evaluating automated security findings
with professional judgment. The final applied work focuses on service hardening
and structured security review reporting.

Who This Program Is For

Career changers entering IT or security-focused roles
International graduates seeking Canadian workplace-ready foundations
Technical support staff expanding into security responsibilities
Junior developers needing applied security literacy
Professionals seeking structured exposure without engineering prerequisites

Practical Benefits

Understand how modern systems fail (login, APIs, cloud, data flows)
Evaluate authentication design (JWT, RBAC, MFA)
Recognize OWASP-aligned vulnerability patterns
Identify service integration risks (OAuth, Stripe, GitHub)
Develop AI-era security awareness

What You Will Learn

Cybersecurity Foundations

Modern digital systems: DNS, HTTP/S, APIs
Attack surface thinking
Secure design principles & least privilege
Authentication vs authorization
OWASP secure patterns

Secure Data Systems & Risk Evaluation

Data validation & integrity risks
SQL reasoning for real systems
Dashboard & metric risk interpretation
Service hardening & configuration risks
AI-assisted security review

Certification

Participants receive a Certificate of Completion issued by Richmond Hill College – Global Bridge.
This certificate confirms completion of a 40-hour applied professional development program
focused on cybersecurity foundations and secure data systems awareness.

Curriculum

7 Sections
27 Lessons
40 Hours

Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections

🔹 MODULE 1 - Modern Digital Systems & Infrastructure Foundations (6 Hours)
📌 Module Description This module introduces learners to how modern digital systems actually function in real-world production environments. Students explore internet architecture, system layers (frontend, backend, database), API communication flows, and cloud infrastructure fundamentals. The goal is to build a structural understanding of how applications operate behind the scenes — and where vulnerabilities or failures may occur. 🎯 Learning Outcomes By the end of this module, learners will be able to: Explain how DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, TCP, and CDN systems operate Differentiate frontend, backend, and database layers Interpret a real API request and response structure Diagram a complete application architecture flow Identify potential system failure or exposure points 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will map the architecture of a real-world application (e.g., social platform, hospital portal, or e-commerce system), identify all infrastructure components, and highlight possible risk areas.
5
🔹 MODULE 2 - Offensive Thinking & Attack Surface Analysis (7 Hours)
Module Description This module develops an ethical attacker mindset by examining how systems become compromised. Learners analyze common breach root causes, attack surfaces (login forms, APIs, cloud misconfigurations, human error), and real phishing workflows. The module emphasizes structured vulnerability identification and risk prioritization. 🎯 Learning Outcomes Identify primary system attack surfaces Explain common breach causes and misconfigurations Analyze phishing attack flow and social engineering tactics Conduct a basic exposure scan conceptually Prioritize vulnerabilities using risk levels 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will analyze a fictional company’s technology stack, map its attack surfaces, and produce a short vulnerability assessment report with recommended mitigation steps.
5
🔹 MODULE 3 Data Literacy & Analytical Foundations (7 Hours)
📌 Module Description This module builds foundational data literacy skills necessary for modern cybersecurity and technology professionals. Learners examine structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data; database relationships; SQL queries; and common data pipeline failures. Emphasis is placed on interpreting data critically and avoiding decision-making errors caused by poor data quality. 🎯 Learning Outcomes Distinguish between structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data Explain primary key, foreign key, NULL, and aggregation concepts Write and interpret basic SQL queries Identify data quality issues and ETL risks Extract insights from datasets using structured reasoning 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will clean and analyze a real dataset (CSV), identify key trends or anomalies, and present findings using visual charts.
5
🔹 MODULE 4 - Core Cybersecurity Engineering (7 Hours)
Module Description This module focuses on core security engineering principles including authentication, authorization, password hashing, encryption fundamentals, and secure system design. Learners examine secure login flows and understand how modern security failures occur when authentication mechanisms are poorly implemented. 🎯 Learning Outcomes Differentiate authentication and authorization mechanisms Explain secure login flow architecture (JWT, RBAC, MFA) Describe proper password hashing and cryptographic practices Identify OWASP-aligned authentication risks Design a secure authentication workflow diagram 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will design a secure login flow diagram including validation layers, hashing mechanisms, token issuance, and failure handling paths.
5
🔹 MODULE 5 - Real-World Service Security & Cloud Hardening (7 Hours)
Module Description This module examines real-world security failures in widely used services such as GitHub, OAuth (Google Auth), Stripe, Cloudflare, and email systems. Learners analyze misconfigurations, secret exposure, client-side trust issues, and infrastructure bypass techniques. The emphasis is on actionable hardening before production deployment. 🎯 Learning Outcomes Identify secret leakage risks in version control systems Explain OAuth flow vulnerabilities and secure implementation practices Prevent client-side price manipulation in payment systems Secure cloud origin servers against direct exposure Apply email authentication controls (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will complete a structured service hardening checklist and identify vulnerabilities in a simulated deployment scenario.
6
🔹 MODULE 6 - AI-Powered Security & Autonomous Defense (6 Hours)
Module Description This module introduces modern AI-assisted security automation frameworks. Learners explore Playwright browser testing, AI security agents, MCP architecture concepts, CI/CD security gates, and the evolving AI threat landscape. The module emphasizes understanding automation while maintaining human oversight. 🎯 Learning Outcomes Explain the role of automated browser testing in security Describe the architecture of AI security agents Understand SARIF reporting and CI/CD security gates Identify emerging AI-era threat vectors Differentiate between AI-automated tasks and human judgment responsibilities 🛠 Practical Exercise Students will simulate a mini AI-driven security audit and analyze automated findings for accuracy and relevance.
6
🔷 Module 7- FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT
The final capstone integrates system architecture analysis, vulnerability mapping, data interpretation, and service hardening strategies. Students evaluate a simulated small business digital environment, identify risks, analyze data patterns, and propose security improvements.
1
- 7.1
  Analyze & Secure a Small Business System

Instructor

Soheil Najafi Mehri

30 Students

20 Courses

Student:

0 Students

Lesson:

27 Lessons

Duration: 40 Hours

Quiz:

0 Quizzes

Level: All levels

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