Course 01 Foundational Cybersecurity Curriculum
Understand the foundational protocols, packet structures, and architectural mechanics that underpin modern networks, threat activity, and defensive engineering.
Complete each module and pass the 5-question mastery assessment (≥80%) to unlock your downloadable course badge.
LAN, WAN, topologies (Star, Mesh, Bus), packet vs circuit switching, transmission media, and fundamental networking hardware (Hubs, Switches, Routers).
Deep breakdown of the 7 OSI layers, the 4 TCP/IP layers, encapsulation & decapsulation, Protocol Data Units (PDUs), and layer-specific security controls.
Ethernet frame format, MAC addressing, MAC flooding, ARP operation, ARP poisoning/spoofing, VLANs (802.1Q), and Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).
IPv4 packet headers (TTL, Flags, Fragment Offset), CIDR notation, subnetting arithmetic, RFC 1918 private ranges, NAT/PAT, IPv6 structure, and routing (OSPF, BGP).
TCP 3-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK), 4-way teardown, TCP flag breakdown (SYN, ACK, FIN, RST, PSH, URG), sequence numbers, UDP operation, port scanning, and SYN flood defense.
DNS resolution hierarchy, record types (A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, PTR), DNS cache poisoning & tunneling, DHCP 4-step DORA, HTTP methods/status codes, and TLS 1.3 cryptographic handshakes.
Stateful vs stateless firewalls, Next-Gen Firewalls (NGFW), IDS vs IPS (Signature vs Anomaly), network segmentation, Zero Trust, DMZ design, and traffic capture analysis (Wireshark/tcpdump).
Course Recognition
Upon achieving ≥80% on all 7 module assessments, your client-generated CipherNest Mastery Badge will unlock.
Features CipherNest branding, your personalized handle or name, the locally recorded completion date, a deterministic local record ID, and direct export to high-resolution PNG or vector SVG.