Overview

Our digitised society has transformed cybercrime and cyber-enabled fraud into a major revenue stream for organised crime groups (OCG). Action Fraud reports that 80% of reported frauds are cyber-enabled; they could have taken place offline, but their scale, reach and impact have been expanded using online services and digital technology.

Ransomware and the cost of cybercrime is already up a percent of global GDP, over £500 billion a year. The global cybercrime epidemic shows every sign of continuing to rampage through every global economy. This National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) assured course will give you a good understanding of a number of important topics needed as a Cybercrime Specialist, including:

  • How a computer works and what its fundamental components are
  • How do computers communicate via networks and what protocols are used
  • What is binary and why do we use hex and not decimal
  • Fundamentals of encryption, cloud and virtualisation
  • An introduction to digital forensics and why the integrity of data is paramount no matter what your role
  • An understanding of the Computer Misuse Act and Data Protection and why they are important
  • Cybercrime threats and cybercrime offences

The follow-on course in the cybercrime pathway is the Cybercrime Investigators course.

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Prerequisites

None.

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Delegates will learn how to

This National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) accredited five-day course will give delegates a good understanding of a number of important topics needed as a Cybercrime Specialist, including:

  • How a computer works and what its fundamental components are
  • How do computers communicate via networks and what protocols are used
  • What is binary and why do we use hex and not decimal
  • Fundamentals of encryption, cloud and virtualisation
  • An introduction to digital forensics and why the integrity of data is paramount no matter what your role
  • An understanding of the Computer Misuse Act and Data Protection and why they are important
  • Cybercrime threats and cybercrime offences

The course includes a real-time ransomware simulation exercise.

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Outline

Module 1 – Computing Concepts & Operating Systems

  • To explain computer system components
  • Describe the differences between magnetic hard drives and solid state drives
  • To explain the different characteristics of operating systems
  • What file systems are used and what data is contained
  • What is a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
  • What is serverless computing?

Exercise - How to create user accounts

Module 2 – Networking Protocols & Network Security

  • To explain how networks function?
  • How data travels the network?
  • Logical address (IP4 and IP6)
  • What security protocols can be applied on the network and what they are?
  • What are the different types of Firewalls and Gateways and how they work?

Exercise - Use CLI for diagnostic purposes

Module 3 – Network Architectures & Topologies

  • Applications and Application-layer Protocols
  • What is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and how it functions?
  • Attacks against the DHCP and mitigations
  • What is information assurance architecture?
  • Network traffic analysis

Exercise - Performing network traffic analysis

Exercise - Create and alter packets with hping3 and eavesdropping with Wireshark

Module 4 – Cloud & Virtualisation

  • What is virtualisation?
  • What is a container?
  • What is cloud computing and what technologies are used?
  • How security is applied within cloud computing
  • Breaches impacted by the cloud
  • Evidential opportunities in the cloud

Exercise - Setting up your own virtual machine

Module 5 – Principles of Digital Evidence

  • Digital evidence principles and forensic frameworks
  • Data vs Information
  • Understanding file systems
  • IoT device challenges
  • Digital forensic images
  • Windows & Linux log file analysis
  • Write blocking and best practice
  • Mobile device images
  • Digital evidence

Exercise - Windows Log Analysis

Exercise - Linux Log Analysis

Module 6 – Digital Footprints

  • Explain what information and data may be passively or actively transmitted or submitted
  • Review data we place in our digital world can easily be harvested
  • Email header analysis
  • Understand how to take care to protect our data as best as we can
  • Discuss social networks, know how to lockdown accounts
  • Practice good passphrase management
  • Password cracking

Exercise - Windows Defender Firewall

Exercise - Linux Firewalls

Exercise - Windows Defender

Exercise - Email headers

Module 7 – Digital Currency Concepts

  • How bitcoin and virtual currencies work
  • How the block chain works
  • What is Proof of work?
  • Identifying other cryptocurrencies

Exercise - Bitcoin Technologies

Exercise - Bitcoin in crime

Exercise - Auditing a bitcoin transaction

Module 8 – Cyber Attacks & Cyber Offences

  • Cyber dependant and enabled crime
  • Cyber exploits and vulnerability scanning
  • Malware
  • Denial of Service
  • Combating threats
  • Advanced threat analysis

Exercise - Nmap and Zenmap

Exercise - Vulnerability Scanning with Nikto

Exercise - Advanced Network Scanning with SPARTA

Exercise - Denial-of-Service using LOIC

Exercise - Advanced Persistent Threat Analysis

Exercise - Honeypots

Module 9 – Encryption

  • To explain the uses of encryption technologies
  • Describe conventional encryption principles
  • To explain cipher classification
  • Asymmetric and Symmetric encryption
  • PKI and Certificate Authorities
  • Digital Signatures
  • Hashing scenarios
  • Ubiquitous encryption

Exercise - Hashing Scenario

Exercise - Digital Certificates

Module 10 – Introduction to Neurodiversity

  • What is neurodiversity?
  • Common neurodivergent thinking styles
  • Benefits of neurodivergent thinking styles
  • Challenges of neurodivergent thinking styles
  • Neurodiversity and Cybercrime

National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) Assured Training Exam, taken post course.

  • Online proctored exam taken post-course
  • Duration - 70 minutes
  • Questions 50, multiple choice (4 multiple choice answers only 1 of which is correct)
  • Pass mark 50%
  • Digital badge - Certified Cybercrime Specialist
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You will be issued with the Cyber Exercise Responder digital badge, upon completing the gamified CyberFish Dojo cyber ransomware attack simulation exercise, which is included within your course as a capstone knowledge consolidation exercise.

Special Notices

This course is accredited under the NCSC Cybersecurity Assured training scheme.

Dates & Locations

Cyber Security learning paths

Want to boost your career in cyber security? Click on the roles below to see QA's learning pathways, specially designed to give you the skills to succeed.

Required Star = Required
Certification = Certification
Application Security
Cloud Security
Information Security Management
Security Risk
Cyber Tech Generalist
DFIR Digital Forensics & Incident Response
Industrial Controls & OT Security
NIST Pathway
OffSec
Privacy Professional
Security Auditor
Secure Coding
Cyber Blue Team
Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing
AI Security
Reverse Engineer
Security Architect

Cyber Defensive Operations learning paths

Want to boost your career in Cyber Defensive Operations? View QA's learning pathways below, specially designed to give you the skills to succeed.

Required Star = Required
Certification = Certification
Cyber Blue Team
DFIR Digital Forensics & Incident Response
Cyber Tech Generalist

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When will I receive my certificate?

Certificates of Achievement are issued at the end the course, either as a hard copy or via email. Read more here.

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