The Weakest Link - How Phishing, Passwords & Clicks Can Bring You Down

Course Description

Cybercriminals don't always break into systems by hacking sophisticated technology. More often, they exploit the weakest link in cybersecurity: people. A single weak password, phishing email, or careless click can lead to identity theft, financial loss, ransomware attacks, or compromised organizational data. In this practical and engaging cybersecurity awareness course, you'll learn how modern cyber threats target individuals and organizations through phishing, password attacks, social engineering, fraudulent websites, and AI-generated scams. Discover how cybercriminals use urgency, trust, and deception to manipulate people into revealing sensitive information or granting access to valuable systems. This course is perfect for anyone who uses email, online accounts, cloud services, or digital devices at work or at home. No technical background is required. This practical course covers:

• Creating strong, memorable passwords that resist modern cracking techniques

• Identifying and eliminating weak, reused, and compromised passwords

• Using password managers effectively and securely

• Strengthening accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• Recognizing phishing, smishing (text message scams), and vishing (phone scams)

• Spotting suspicious emails, websites, links, and online shopping scams

• Protecting personal and workplace data stored in cloud services

• Understanding how artificial intelligence is making cyber scams more convincing

• Applying practical strategies to avoid becoming a target of social engineering attacks

Through live instruction, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence to make safer decisions online, protect your personal information, and help safeguard your workplace from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Recommended Prerequisites

• Windows Basics & File Management or equivalent experience.

A prerequisite is a course or series of courses required as preparation for entry into another course. Prerequisites are important in order to ensure a uniform level of skills in a course. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that prerequisites are met. For more information, contact us by phone at 403-777-7550 or email at chinookconted@cbe.ab.ca.

Textbooks & Materials

All required learning resources and course materials are included in the fee.