Our lives depend on online services. Gain essential cyber security knowledge and skills, to help protect your digital life. We shop online. We work online. We play online. We live online. As our lives increasingly depend on digital services, the need to protect our information from being maliciously disrupted or misused is really important.

This free online course, Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online, will help you to understand online security and start to protect your digital life, whether at home or work. You will learn how to recognise the threats that could harm you online and the steps you can take to reduce the chances that they will happen to you.

With cyber security often in the news today, the course will also frame your online safety in the context of the wider world, introducing you to different types of malware, including viruses and trojans, as well as concepts such as network security, cryptography, identity theft and risk management.

After completing this course you will be able to:

• start to protect your digital life
• recognise threats to your online safety
• take steps to reduce the risk of online threats
• understand concepts including malware, viruses and trojans
• consider network security, cryptography and identity theft.