The Cyber Security graduate certificate program at George Brown College is designed to meet the high demand for cyber security professionals and related IT security professionals across multiple sectors – including consulting services, finance and health care.

As a student in this program, you will begin with learning the theory and practical skills required to become a cyber security professional. This includes the differences and similarities between cyber security and hacking. You will learn about the primary attack surfaces (physical, social, electronic), methods for compromising the attack surfaces, and how to mitigate vulnerabilities.

In the third semester, you will learn advanced techniques in ethical hacking incident response. A capstone group project will provide you with an opportunity to showcase your skills and talents for potential employers. These skills include:

• digital forensics and incident response management
• ethical hacking and analyzing malware
• delivering security training
• applying cryptography

In addition to traditional technical skills, the cyber security professionals of today require many non-technical skills and talents, such as:

• analytical skills
• written and verbal communication
• project and time management skills
• interpersonal and conflict management skills

Students graduating from this program are prepared to help defend organizations from the many current and emerging cyber threats, including malware, network attacks and data compromise. They will have the capabilities to monitor, assess and evaluate security risks and threats to physical and digital infrastructure, develop and implement security contingency planning, and lead the development of policies and procedures to ensure the mitigation of security risks.

Delivery

• This full-time program is delivered in a blended format, combining face-to-face sessions with online delivery, designed to accommodate those who wish to work while taking the program.
• This schedule will require that learners attend classes that generally take place in the late afternoons and evenings through the week, plus all day Saturday.

Technology Requirements

This program requires students to have access to a personal laptop with the following specifications: 

• 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended) 
• Support for virtualization 
•  256 GB SSD Hard Drive (500+ GB is optimal) 
•  2 TB (minimum) external hard drive 
• Webcam + mic 
• Consistent access to a reliable high-speed internet connection