Course · NCBIS

NSD Certified Basics of Information Security

Strong security fundamentals, with the AI that modern teams now work with.

A course by the Cybersecurity & AI Initiative, an ISAC Foundation centre.

Length
62 hours
Format
Live instructor-led sessions with hands-on labs; short intensive, semester or weekend batches
Certification
NSD certification; two attempts to pass
Before you start
No prior AI or coding background needed

About the course

A beginner-to-intermediate programme that builds strong information-security fundamentals while introducing the AI-driven security used in modern enterprises and SOCs. It blends theory, real-world examples, hands-on labs and AI awareness.

What you become

An NSD-certified security professional ready for SOC, GRC and technical teams, and for the advanced NSD certifications.

Who it is for

  • Students and fresh graduates
  • IT and network professionals
  • System administrators
  • Aspiring security and SOC analysts
  • Auditors and GRC professionals
  • Professionals moving into cybersecurity

Curriculum

  1. Security foundations

    cyber and information security terms, organisational structure, the role of AI

  2. Security layers and vulnerabilities

    network, mobile, cloud and IoT security basics; AI-driven security architecture

  3. Malware, attacks and exploits

    threat profiling, APTs, reverse-engineering basics, AI threat detection

  4. Passwords and data

    password attacks and defence (lab), DLP, AI in IAM, insider-threat detection

  5. Detection and deception

    IDS and IPS, honeypots, AI-based detection and fewer false positives

  6. Penetration testing

    methodology (lab), AI in vulnerability discovery, the ethics of AI in offensive security

  7. Secure development

    SDLC, secure use of COTS, change and release management, DevSecOps, AI-assisted secure coding

  8. Automation

    robotic process automation, SOAR, AI and RPA in incident response

  9. Inside the SOC

    packet capture and reconnaissance (lab), a day in the life of an analyst, SIEM and UEBA

  10. Law and governance

    cyber law, ethics, AI governance and explainable AI, privacy, compliance and AI risk

What is included

  • 60 days of Cyberange virtual labs: penetration testing, social engineering, malware, forensics, password cracking, bug bounty
  • 60 days of e-learning access
  • Tools: Kali Linux, Wireshark, Metasploit basics, SIEM concepts (Splunk, Sentinel), AI security tools

Enrol

Send an enquiry to the Cybersecurity & AI Initiative from this page.