STAGE 1: Network Fundamentals & Defensive Security (Cybersecurity Foundations)

Duration: 35 Hours

Focus: Anatomy of network protocols, system hardening, and core defensive mechanisms.

• Hours 01-10: Network Infrastructure & Protocol Security: Deep dive into OSI and TCP/IP models. Packet analysis (Packet Sniffing) with Wireshark. Security vulnerabilities of DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, SSH, and FTP protocols.

• Hours 11-20: Threat Landscape & Malware: Cybersecurity attack vectors (Phishing, Ransomware, MitM, DoS/DDoS). Social engineering analysis and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) techniques.

• Hours 21-30: System & Endpoint Security: Hardening Windows and Linux operating systems. Understanding Access Control Lists (ACL), antivirus software, and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) mechanics.

• Hours 31-35: Hands-on Lab: A practical lab scenario capturing unencrypted traffic (Clear-text bypass) within a network simulation using Wireshark and analyzing a simulated phishing attack.

STAGE 2: Data Protection, Cryptography & Identity Management (Data & Identity Security)

Duration: 35 Hours

Focus: Safeguarding data throughout its lifecycle, cryptographic science, and enterprise access management.

• Hours 36-45: Applied Cryptography: Symmetric (AES) and Asymmetric (RSA, ECC) encryption algorithms. Operating principles of Hashing (SHA-256, bcrypt) and digital signatures. Database-level encryption.

• Hours 46-55: Data Protection & Privacy Standards: Data-at-Rest, Data-in-Transit, and Data-in-Use protection strategies. Architecture of DLP (Data Loss Prevention) systems. Technical compliance infrastructure for GDPR and KVKK.

• Hours 56-65: Identity & Access Management (IAM): Enterprise authentication protocols (LDAP, Active Directory, OAuth 2.0, SAML). Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) integration and the Zero Trust architectural philosophy.

• Hours 66-70: Project: Designing an end-to-end encrypted data transmission pipeline for an enterprise network, securing sensitive data with DLP rules, and mitigating Privilege Escalation vulnerabilities.

STAGE 3: Advanced Network Architecture, SecOps & Incident Response (Advanced Network & Operations)

Duration: 30 Hours

Focus: Large-scale network security architectures, monitoring (SIEM), penetration testing, and incident response.

• Hours 71-75: Advanced Network Defense: Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), writing IDS/IPS (Snort/Suricata) rules. Network Segmentation, DMZ design, and secure VPN (IPsec/OpenVPN) tunneling architectures.

• Hours 76-80: Cyber Threat Hunting & SIEM: Log management and analytics. Developing log correlations, anomaly detection, and alerting mechanisms using open-source SIEM (e.g., Wazuh, ELK Stack) or Splunk.

• Hours 81-85: Vulnerability Assessment & Pen-Testing Basics: Scanning networks and systems for vulnerabilities (Nessus/Nmap), penetration testing methodologies, and exploitation mechanics.

• Hours 86-90: Incident Response & Digital Forensics: First response steps during a cyberattack, system isolation, live memory (RAM) imaging, and the fundamentals of digital forensics analysis.

• Hours 91-100: Final Capstone (Blue Team / Red Team Simulation): A live “Capture The Flag (CTF)” or “Cyber Range” scenario where students split into groups or defend against instructor-led attacks. Real-time defense of a corporate network under fire via SIEM and IDS dashboards, blocking exploitation attempts, and preparing a formal forensics report.

📊 Curriculum and Investment Value Summary