How To Write Learning Objectives For Cyber Security Training

Regardless of your company's structure, it is vital to implement clear learning objectives for cyber security training and implementation. The majority of concerns that are usually addressed with the help of cyber security training sessions often ignore the basic knowledge about the very culture of cybersecurity. In other words, it is necessary to focus not only on the work of specific software and approaches for incident analysis and response but also on the coordination and assembly of a team that would be responsible for certain duties.

After all, when a problem related to cyber security takes place, it is vital to have the roles coordinated correctly and have a single person assigned for problem reporting. 

Top 7 Cyber Security Training Learning Objectives To Write 

1. Start with the general introductory information to determine the experience and skills of your employees. 

You should either write the list of questions to estimate the level of your target audience or start with the general verbal discussion of the basics to save time and funds by letting people ask questions. In either case, you should have this step as the introductory element of your learning objectives for cybersecurity training sessions. 

2. Provide a practical example of analysis and resolving security issues in existing networks and computer systems. 

It is a known fact that the majority of people who are not dealing with IT systems all the time will understand complex concepts when they have an example. When planning your learning objectives, you can use isolated existing IT systems to provide examples and the ways how security issues can be resolved. It is always possible to use basic cybersecurity  emulations that would explain things based on existing company’s departments to let every person in the audience see their roles and potential vulnerabilities. 

3. Explain the major points of your IT infrastructure. 

It should serve the role of a mindmap where you mark the points of your company’s infrastructure to let each employee connect the dots. It would be helpful to implement various written exams to make sure that everyone has understood the existing network topology correctly. 

4. Have your employees test and update installed security software. 

Get quality software from software development companies. The basic use of antivirus software and enterprise firewalls is a crucial part of daily operations that every employee of the company must know. Use it as the next step of cyber security training to provide so-called intra-protection. 

5. Explain and test policies and procedures that help manage enterprise security risks. 

Once your target audience already knows the basics, it is high time to continue with an in-depth explanation of the existing company’s security policies and the ways to manage various risks from immediate reporting to blocking the system manually in case of risks. Provide various scenarios and let people choose correct answers. 

6. Explain and communicate the human role regarding your company's security. 

It must include social engineering vulnerabilities, ethics and online behaviours. This part of your cyber security training learning objectives must combine both the spoken word and the list of writing rules. It is recommended to start with the company’s policies that contain both correct and incorrect actions. You can create a visual implementation of right and wrong by using colour schemes and various examples. 

7. Explain the basics of incident control and reporting system, including investigation of security incidents and legal side of things. 

You should provide a general explanation of the cyber security analysis process that focuses on the identification of what has happened, why, and how exactly it can be prevented from happening again. Provide an incident analysis report template as a part of the learning objectives. The role of the analysis part should always come first because all the subsequent steps would be useless without analytical work. Finish your writing by summing things up with the reports of any abnormal behaviors and the ways how they can be reported. Do not forget about log management tools, the use of intrusion detection, and net-flow analysis tools.  

The Importance Of Online Ethics    

While learning all the objectives will always be helpful, everyone with access to sensitive information should also learn the basics of safe online behaviour and general ethics. The intruders these days mostly focus on those individuals who can share valuable information and provide hints instead of turning to brute-force attacks or monitoring certain remote machines. Since it is much easier to find a talkative person who shares information on social media or takes an enterprise laptop to a nearby cafe with a public WiFi network, attackers will always focus on these aspects as well.

It is one of the reasons why learning the basics and passing relevant tests in cyber security training matters just as much as knowing how to update one's security solutions and report suspicious behaviours. 

About the author: Jessica Fender is a professional writer on topical issues in sales & marketing at Essay Supply

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