Cybersecurity Compliance and System Administration

Title: Cybersecurity Compliance and System Administration

Author for citation: Coreen Ryskamp

License for content: Unknown

Publication date: 2023

This is an IBM-created course that is released on the edX platform. The four-week course is designed to help learners "Build the background needed to understand key cybersecurity compliance and industry standards." The course is free to take and requires three to four hours of focus per week. A verified certificate of completion from IBM is available afterwards for $149 USD.

The edX course description:

"In this course you will hear from IBM Cybersecurity specialists who will share their expertise from supporting some of the world’s largest organizations.

Various compliance and industry standards will be discussed including standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Center of Internet (CIS) controls and International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Global considerations will be addressed around the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Data protection regulations concerning personal data including phone number, credit card information and other sensitive data for healthcare and credit cards are reviewed.

You will learn the basic commands for user and server administration as it relates to information security. You will need this skill to be able to understand vulnerabilities within your organizations operating systems.

You will learn the concepts of endpoint security and patch management. Both of these topics are important to keep systems current to avoid cybersecurity risks against an organization.

Finally you will learn in depth skills around cryptography and encryption to understand how these concepts affect software within a company.

What you'll learn:

• Describe the challenges organizations face which require compliance and regulation.
• Describe the key privacy and data protection requirements for GDPR.
• Define the three rules established as standards for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Describe the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
• Describe the differences between basic, foundational and organizational Center for Internet Security (CIS) controls.
• Describe the basics of endpoint protection and response.
• Understand why patching is important to avoid cybersecurity threats.
• Describe the principle of least privileges.
• Describe Windows and Linux security management considerations.
• Define cryptography and encryption.
• Define common pitfalls of cryptography."

About the authors

The course is taught by Coreen Ryskamp, Program manager with IBM Security Learning Services. "Coreen has many years of experience collaborating with business partners, startups and academia to create unique programs around technology, industry and skills development. Most recently Coreen has over 30 years experience in Project Management and Information Technology."

General layout and contents of the course

The course is split out into four modules. The first module describes cybersecurity compliance frameworks and standards and how they are best approached. Next, the second module discusses the concept of client systems administration, endpoint protection, and patching. The third module examines the use of system tools to administrate users and servers. The final module then closes with the application of cryptography to data and its different digital states, as well as the discussion of common compliance pitfalls.

The course

: The course can be found on the edX site, under the Computer Science category. The session opened in the spring of 2023, with eligibility for the audit track closing July 10.