Foundations of Cybersecurity

The front door to Google's Cybersecurity Certificate

As the opening course in Google's Cybersecurity Certificate track, this is deliberately built as an on-ramp — it introduces the vocabulary and mental models of the field before any hands-on technical work begins. That makes it a genuinely accessible starting point rather than a course that assumes prior IT experience.

• Core cybersecurity concepts: cyber attacks, cyber risk, and security controls
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) at a foundational level
• Security management and strategy for organizations
• Network analysis and information assurance basics

Set at a beginner level, it's designed for career-changers with no security background as much as IT professionals looking to specialize. The framing throughout is how an organization actually gets attacked and defended, not abstract theory.

With an extraordinary 1,797,175 learners enrolled, it's one of the most-taken courses on the platform in any category — a reflection of just how much demand there is for entry points into cybersecurity careers right now.