Introduction to Cybersecurity for Teachers (FutureLearn)

Introduction to Cybersecurity for Teachers (FutureLearn)

Explore key concepts of cybersecurity to teach 14-16 year-old students with this online cybersecurity course supported by Google. Improve your students' knowledge of computer security. Teaching cybersecurity in schools is an important way to help students stay safe while using technology. On this course, teachers will be introduced to the core ideas of cybersecurity that should be taught in the classroom.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

You will learn the different attacks that individuals and devices are vulnerable to and how to prevent them. You will explore malware, malicious bots, SQL injections, and physical threats to data. You will also build your knowledge of the different tools that protect data and websites. These include strong passwords, biometrics, two-factor authentication, and firewalls.

Syllabus

Week 1: Protecting yourself
Week 2: Malicious Programs
Week 3: Network Security

Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explain the meanings of terms describing common cyberattacks, such as phishing, pharming, shoulder surfing and blagging
  • Evaluate the strength of a password
  • Explain the protections offered to users by the Misuse of Computer Act
  • Describe different types of cyber attack, such as an “SQL injection attack”, and how these can be protected against or mitigated
  • Classify different types of malware
  • Explain how “anti-virus” software works

Who is the course for?
This course is designed for teachers delivering cybersecurity lessons in the classroom, at a GCSE level or equivalent.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Automotive Cyber Security: An Introduction (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Coventry University,Institute of Coding

Automotive Cyber Security: An Introduction (FutureLearn)

Discover automotive cyber security and explore how cyber attacks and car hacking can expose security flaws in vehicles. Is it possible to proactively protect vehicles against cyber attacks? On this course, you will have the opportunity to develop your awareness of the key theoretical concepts that underpin automotive cyber security.

No sessions available
2 Weeks
Hacking and Patching (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Hacking and Patching (Coursera)

In this MOOC, you will learn how to hack web apps with command injection vulnerabilities in a web site of your AWS Linux instance. You will learn how to search valuable information on a typical Linux systems with LAMP services, and deposit and hide Trojans for future exploitation. You will learn how to patch these web apps with input validation using regular expression. You will learn a security design pattern to avoid introducing injection vulnerabilities by input validation and replacing generic system calls with specific function calls.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
From State Control to Remote Control: Warfare in the 21st Century (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Bath

From State Control to Remote Control: Warfare in the 21st Century (FutureLearn)

Explore the impact and ethics of using drones, special ops units and private security firms, with this free online course. States are increasingly using remote control methods, such as drones, private military companies and special operations units, to engage in activities traditionally performed by conventional armed forces.

Jul 8th 2024
4 Weeks
Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (Coursera) Coursera
University System of Georgia

Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (Coursera)

Welcome to “Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things”! This course is for you if you are curious about the most recent trends and activities in the internet capabilities and concerns about programmed devices. There are complexities and areas of necessary awareness when the industrial sector becomes connected to your home.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Mathematical Foundations for Cryptography (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Mathematical Foundations for Cryptography (Coursera)

Welcome to Course 2 of Introduction to Applied Cryptography. In this course, you will be introduced to basic mathematical principles and functions that form the foundation for cryptographic and cryptanalysis methods. These principles and functions will be helpful in understanding symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic methods examined in Course 3 and Course 4. These topics should prove especially useful to you if you are new to cybersecurity. It is recommended that you have a basic knowledge of computer science and basic math skills such as algebra and probability.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory and Practice (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Leiden University

Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory and Practice (FutureLearn)

Delve into the research behind terrorism as you unpack the assumptions and impacts of both terrorism and counterterrorism. Explore terrorism and counterterrorism studies. Terrorism has arguably been one of the defining factors of our age. It frequently makes headlines, threatening or attacking governments, private businesses, and ordinary citizens. In many parts of the world, it has been one of the most important threats to peace, security, and stability – but what does this mean exactly? On this six-week course from Leiden University, you’ll explore the essence of terrorism and discover why it is so difficult to define.

Apr 25th 2022
5-12 Weeks
Design and Analyze Secure Networked Systems (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Design and Analyze Secure Networked Systems (Coursera)

In this MOOC, we will learn the basic cyber security concepts, how to identify vulnerabilities/threat in a network system. We will apply CIA basic security services in the triage of recent cyberattack incidents, such as OPM data breach. We will learn the risk management framework for analyzing the risks in a network system, and apply the basic security design principles to protect the data and secure computer systems.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Secure Android App Development (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Southampton

Secure Android App Development (FutureLearn)

Get an introduction to mobile app security and learn how to develop secure Android applications, with this free online course. 84% of security breaches are at the application layer, according to Gartner research. With mobile devices and their applications holding more and more sensitive data – from people’s locations to their personal information and financial data – ensuring that they are secure is essential, if people and companies are to trust them, and prevent the reputational and legal damage of a data breach.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
TCP/IP and Advanced Topics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

TCP/IP and Advanced Topics (Coursera)

In this course, we give an in-depth study of the TCP/IP protocols. We examine the details of how IP enables communications across a collection of networks. We pay particular attention to the hierarchical structure of IP addresses and explain their role in ensuring scalability of the Internet. The role of address prefixes and the uses of masks are explained in details. We review in details about TCP three-way handshake, flow control, and congestion control. Furthermore, we provide an introduction to some advanced topics, including Multicast, SDN and security

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Peer-to-Peer Protocols and Local Area Networks (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Peer-to-Peer Protocols and Local Area Networks (Coursera)

In this course, we discuss peer-to-peer protocols and local area networks. Part one in this course is to answer the question of how does a peer-to-peer protocol deliver reliable data transfer service across unreliable transmission lines or networks. We focus on several medium access control protocols and their performance analysis. In the second part, we discuss how medium access control protocols coordinate the access to the communication channel so that information gets through from a source to a destination in the same broadcast local area network. We further discuss local area network and wireless LAN.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks