The increased reliance on computer systems, the internet, and connected technologies has made cybersecurity a critical concern for organizations and individuals alike. Cybersecurity is the protection of internet-connected systems, including hardware, software, and data, from cyber threats and cyberattacks.
The Cybersecurity Specialist diploma program at Vancouver Career College will prepare students to access, plan, and implement cybersecurity defense strategies.
In 76 weeks, including a 210-hour practicum, learn how to plan, implement, administer, support, and secure networked computer systems and their users. In addition, you will learn how to monitor and evaluate networks for security risks and vulnerabilities.
Industry and vendor certifications have become a benchmark used by employers during the hiring process. The Cybersecurity Specialist program helps students prepare for certification examinations in the following areas:
Admission Requirements
High school graduation or equivalent* OR mature student status**.
*From an English language teaching institution.
**19 years of age upon starting classes, and pass college’s admissions test.
This program has been approved by the registrar of the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training.
Prepare for your new career with hands-on training and small class sizes in a student-focused environment.
Students will gain a better understanding of themselves through an exploration of their personal attributes, transferable skills and learning styles. This course will introduce techniques for time, conflict, and stress management and develop interpersonal communication skills. Fundamental study and motivation skills will be covered, preparing students to excel in their program of choice. Students will also prepare a professional resume and learn how to write effective cover letters.
This course is a broad-based introduction to using a personal computer. It teaches the fundamentals of an operating system and the most popular application software including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You will also learn about the internet, web browsers, electronic mail, and antivirus software. The course is based on the Windows operating system, Microsoft Office 2013 and a variety of popular software programs for internet- and security-related applications. Extensive hands-on exercises throughout the course will allow you to practise and reinforce the skills you acquire, while progress check questions at the end of every module will give you the opportunity to test your knowledge of the presented material.
This course is the first of two courses that cover the general installation, maintenance and management of computer hardware and software resources. This first course focuses on the hardware resources that make up a computer system course will align to the Comptia A+ learning objectives. Students will learn about the operation of microcomputer systems, the various hardware components that makeup a computer system and how to troubleshoot common hardware problems.
This course is the second of two consecutive courses that align to the Comptia A+ certification requirements. This course focuses on the software installation, configuration and troubleshooting as well as system security. Students will gain an understanding of the various network models, standards and protocols. Students will install configure and troubleshoot operating system software as well as application software packages. Finally the course will explore security issues involving software installations.
This course covering Windows 10 is the first step in pursuing Microsoft’s premiere certifications. In addition, skills learned in this course will give students a foundation to build on in Windows Server courses. Topics include installing Windows 10, performing post-installation configuration, implementing Windows in an enterprise environment, configuring networking, storage, data access, implementing applications, configuring updates, monitoring and remote management, configuring system recovery, authorization and authentication.
This course will provide the students with skills necessary to deploy, configure and support Windows apps, resources and devices. Students will learn how to support the Windows Store and Cloud Apps, Mobility options and devices using Microsoft Intune. The course will explore the configuration of settings to support data storage and security, remote connections, resources, desktop apps, updates and mobility options with Azure RemoteApp. Finally, students will be able to configure system recovery and file recovery settings and manage system updates. The course is intended to align with the objectives of the Microsoft 70-697 MCSA and MCSE certification exam.
Installation Storage and Compute with Windows Server 2016 is the first of the MCSA courses. This course covers the installation and configuration of Windows Server 2016 and its services. Students will learn to configure disks and volumes, implement server storage, create, manage and maintain server images for deployment and configure virtualization with Hyper-V. The course will also explore the deployment of Windows containers and the implementation of failover clustering and high availability disaster recovery options. Students will learn to implement Network Load Balancing and monitor server installations. The course is intended to align with the objectives of the Microsoft 70-740 MCSA and MCSE certification exam.
In this course, students will learn to use PowerShell scripting to automate the common tasks and administrative jobs that can be applied on the client or server version of Windows. The course starts with an introduction to the PowerShell language and scripting environment and then proceeds to a thorough explanation of creating functional scripts that can be used for performing common tasks that involve working with files, Internet-connected scripts, user interaction, and solving tasks in systems and enterprise management deployments such as working with Active Directory and the file system.
This course explores the fundamental concepts in internetworking. The focus of this course is TCP/IP. Students will explore the DOD and OSI reference models and learn to identify TCP/IP protocol suite components and implement IP addressing and Subnet masks. Students will learn about name resolution and TCP/IP naming services and how to navigate the Cisco IOS interface and perform basic operations on Cisco routers and switches.
This course explores the configuration and administration of common Cisco Network devices. Students will learn about layered Internetwork communication, protocols and standards and how to plan and design Internetworked LANs and WANs. This course will allow the students to work with the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) in a simulated environment. Students will learn to implement and manage Cisco routers and switches.
Networking with Windows Server 2016 is the second of the MCSA courses. This course covers the implementation and configuration of networking services under Windows server 2016. The course will cover the implementation of IPv4 and IPv6 addressing as well as the installation of the various networking services and servers such as DNS, DHCP and IPAM. Students will learn to implement Virtual Private Networks and DirectAccess solutions as well as the implementation of Network Policy Server (NPS) and authentication. The course will explore the implementation of Distributed File System and Branch Office solutions. This course is intended to align with the objectives of the Microsoft 70-741 MCSA and MCSE certification exam.
Identity with Windows Server 2016 is the third of the MCSA courses that covers the administering and configuring of Active Directory infrastructure under Windows Server 2016. The course will cover the installation and configuration of domain controllers followed by the creation and management of active directory users, computers, groups and organizational units. Students will learn to configure Service Authentication and account policies, group policies and objects and settings. Students will also explore the installation and configuration of Active Directory Certificate services and Active Directory Federation services. The course is intended to align with the objectives of the Microsoft 70-742 MCSA and MCSE certification exam.
This course provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to secure a Windows Server 2016 implementation. The course will explore the configuration of disk and file encryption, the implementation of malware protection, Windows Firewall and security baselines. The course will cover the securing of network traffic, the implementation of Privilege Access Management and administration as well advanced audit policies and services. After installing and configuring Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, students will learn to work with the Operations Management Suite to determine threat detection solutions. Students will also learn to secure a Application Development Server workload and implement a secure files services infrastructure with dynamic access control. The course is intended to align with the objectives of the Microsoft 70-744 MCSE certification exam.
The increased reliance on computer systems, the internet, connected technologies and smart devices has made cybersecurity a critical concern for organizations and individuals alike. Keeping devices, data and information secure and protected from vulnerabilities is a critical area of activity for all organizations. This course provides the students with an introduction to the field of cybersecurity. Students will be introduced to the four distinct challenges to creating a cybersecurity defense; securing the infrastructure, securing the devices, securing the local network and securing the perimeter. The course will explore the fundamental concepts of each challenge and the types of vulnerabilities associated with each. Students will learn how to identify the risks and vulnerabilities in each area and describe counteractions to mitigate the risks.
This course will explore the role and responsibilities of the cybersecurity specialist in monitoring, detecting and responding to security incidents in information systems and networks. The course will introduce the tools and tactics used to manage cybersecurity risks, identify various types of common threats, evaluate an organizations security, collect security intelligence and handle incidents as they occur. The course is designed to foster a comprehensive approach to security. This course aligns to the objectives of the Comptia Cybersecurity Analyst Certification exam (CS0-001).
This course explores the concepts of Penetration testing. The ever-increasing need of organizations to protect themselves from security breaches and risks require them to invest heavily in understanding their vulnerabilities and design measures to counteract them. In order to protect themselves, organizations turn to the conducting of penetration testing. In this course, students will learn the concepts and methodologies related to pen testing. Students will develop their pen testing skills enabling them to identify information system vulnerabilities and design effective remediation for them. This course aligns to the objectives of the Comptia PenTest+ exam (PT0-001).
In our world of hyper connected technologies, we rely more and more on computers to do work. Unfortunately, computers can also be used to commit crimes such as company policy violations, embezzlement, harassment, stealing of proprietary information, leaks of information to name a few. Fortunately, these actions are typically recorded on the same computers on which they are committed. The need for individuals with the knowledge and skill to properly investigate these wrongdoings is growing. This course introduces students to the field of digital forensics. Students will explore the tools, processes and techniques used to recover and gather data, files and information stored on computer systems and then perform the appropriate analysis and validation. The course will cover how to process digital crime and incident scenes, work with the different operating systems, and use typical file and data recovery tools to gather information from the different devices in use today.
This program includes a practicum component which consists of 210 hours of work at a job site. The practicum work experience is a mandatory diploma requirement and the business organization does not pay for the services of the student during the practicum.