DRDO Launches Online Certification Course on Cyber Security

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a government agency that develops defence technologies, has launched an online certification course on cyber security. The course is offered by the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), a deemed university under DRDO. The course aims to provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to deal with the emerging challenges and threats in the cyber domain.

What is Cyber Security?

Cyber security is the practice of protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and systems from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks are malicious attempts to access, manipulate, or destroy data, networks, devices, or services. Cyber attacks can have serious consequences for individuals, organizations, and nations, such as identity theft, financial loss, reputational damage, espionage, sabotage, or cyber warfare.

Cyber security is a multidisciplinary field that involves various aspects such as technology, policy, law, ethics, and human factors. Cyber security professionals need to have a comprehensive understanding of the cyber environment, the potential threats and vulnerabilities, the best practices and standards, and the tools and techniques to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber incidents.

Why is Cyber Security Important?

Cyber security is important because the world is increasingly dependent on digital technologies and interconnected systems. The rapid growth of the internet, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and other emerging technologies has created new opportunities and benefits for various sectors and domains, such as education, health, agriculture, defence, and governance. However, it has also increased the exposure and risk of cyber attacks from various actors, such as hackers, criminals, terrorists, or state-sponsored adversaries.

Cyber security is especially important for the defence sector, as it is responsible for safeguarding the national security and sovereignty of the nation. The defence sector relies on various cyber systems and assets, such as communication networks, command and control systems, weapons systems, satellites, and drones, to perform its functions and operations. These systems and assets are constantly under the threat of cyber attacks from hostile forces, who may seek to disrupt, degrade, or destroy them. Therefore, the defence sector needs to have a robust and resilient cyber security posture to protect its critical infrastructure and capabilities.

Course Details

The online certification course on cyber security is a 12-week course that covers the fundamentals and advanced topics of cyber security. The course content includes:

• Forensic and incident response: This module covers the concepts and techniques of digital forensics and cyber incident response, such as evidence collection, preservation, analysis, and reporting. It also covers the legal and ethical issues related to cyber forensics and incident response.
• System programming: This module covers the basics of system programming, such as operating systems, processes, threads, memory management, file systems, and system calls. It also covers the concepts and applications of shell scripting, assembly language, and debugging tools.
• Reverse engineering and malware analysis: This module covers the principles and methods of reverse engineering and malware analysis, such as static and dynamic analysis, disassembly, decompilation, debugging, and unpacking. It also covers the types and characteristics of malware, such as viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, ransomware, and botnets.
• Basic and advanced vulnerability analysis: This module covers the techniques and tools for identifying and assessing the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in cyber systems and applications, such as network scanning, port scanning, service enumeration, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing. It also covers the common types and sources of vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflow, injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, and broken authentication.
• Exploit mitigation and penetration testing: This module covers the strategies and mechanisms for mitigating and preventing the exploitation of vulnerabilities, such as address space layout randomization, stack canaries, data execution prevention, and code signing. It also covers the process and methodology of conducting ethical hacking and penetration testing, such as reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, post-exploitation, and reporting.
• Drone and anti-drone technology: This module covers the concepts and applications of drone and anti-drone technology, such as drone components, types, functions, capabilities, and limitations. It also covers the threats and challenges posed by drones, such as privacy, security, safety, and regulation. It also covers the techniques and tools for detecting, tracking, and neutralizing drones, such as radar, jamming, spoofing, and interception.
• Tools and techniques for cyber security professionals: This module covers the various tools and techniques that are used by cyber security professionals in their daily work, such as encryption, hashing, digital signatures, certificates, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, antivirus, and VPN.

The course will be conducted for two hours every day, five days a week, for a total of 120 hours. The course fee is Rs 15,000, which can be paid online. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate from DIAT.

Eligibility and Application

The online certification course on cyber security is open to students and graduates from any discipline, IT professionals, officers from tri-services, and research and development professionals. The minimum qualification required is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline with at least 50% marks. The candidates should also have basic knowledge of computer science and programming.

The interested candidates can apply for the course by registering on the DIAT website and submitting their details. After submission, they will receive an email regarding the further process within two working days. The last date to register for the course is 15 February 2021. The course is scheduled to begin on 28 February 2021.

Benefits of the Course

The online certification course on cyber security is a valuable opportunity for those who want to enhance their career prospects in the field of cyber security. The course will provide them with the theoretical and practical knowledge of the latest trends and technologies in cyber security. The course will also help them to develop the skills and competencies required to protect and defend the cyber infrastructure and assets of the nation.

The course is designed and delivered by the experts and faculty members of DIAT, who have rich experience and expertise in the domain of cyber security. The course will also feature guest lectures and interactive sessions by eminent personalities and practitioners from the industry and academia.

The course will also provide the participants with a platform to network and collaborate with the peers and mentors from the diverse backgrounds and domains. The course will also enable them to access the resources and facilities of DIAT, such as the library, e-learning portal, and cyber security lab.

Conclusion

The online certification course on cyber security is a unique and innovative initiative by DRDO and DIAT to impart the knowledge and skills of cyber security to the interested and eligible candidates. The course will help them to prepare for the challenges and opportunities in the cyber domain and contribute to the national security and development. The course is a great chance for those who want to pursue a career in cyber security and learn from the best in the field. To apply for the course, visit the DIAT website and register before 15 February 2021.