Wrap-up and resources
Key Takeaways
- 1. What is cybersecurity? What we protect, and from what: Security is managing risk, not a promise of perfect safety: know what you protect, who may harm it and where it is weak, then stack controls until the risk is acceptable.
- 2. The 2026 threat landscape: who attacks, why and how: In 2026 exploiting flaws became the top way in, people are involved in most breaches, and ransomware in about half. So: patch, turn on MFA, and keep an offline copy.
- 3. How attackers think: the kill chain and MITRE ATT&CK: The attacker must succeed at every stage; the defender only needs to break one link. Know the stages in order, and tie every alert to an ATT&CK tactic.
- 4. Phishing and social engineering: Any message asking you to act now, enter details or pay a small amount deserves a one-minute pause. Do not tap the link: open the official app yourself, and never give anyone your one-time code.
- 5. Malware and ransomware: how it gets in and how to stop it: Most malware needs a door: a phishing message, an unpatched flaw or a stolen password. Close the doors (updates, MFA, care), keep an offline, tested backup, and if you are hit, unplug the machine from the network, do not switch it off, and report at once.
- 6. Identity, passwords and multi-factor sign-in: A different password for every site, made by a password manager; MFA on every important account; and passkeys whenever you are offered them. On the server: Argon2id or bcrypt with a salt, never a fast hash.
Glossary
| Term | Definition | Part |
|---|---|---|
| The three goals, CIA | Confidentiality: only the allowed read it. Integrity: no change without permission. Availability: there when needed. | 1 |
| Threat, vulnerability, risk | The threat is the source of harm, the vulnerability the weak spot, the risk the likelihood of exploitation times impact. | 1 |
| Defence in depth | Different layers of protection; when one fails, another stops the attacker. | 1 |
| Ransomware | Software that encrypts files and extorts the victim, often stealing them first. | 2 |
| Supply chain attack | Breaching a victim through a supplier or a software component it trusts. | 2 |
| Top way in, 2026 | Exploiting flaws at 31%, ahead of stolen credentials (13%). | 2 |
| Kill chain | Seven stages: recon, weaponization, delivery, exploitation, installation, command and control, objectives. | 3 |
| MITRE ATT&CK | An open knowledge base of real attacker tactics and techniques. | 3 |
| Tactic vs technique | The tactic is the goal (why), the technique the method (how). | 3 |
| Phishing and BEC | Deceptive messages to steal data, and posing as a business by email to divert money. | 4 |
| SPF, DKIM and DMARC | Mechanisms that check mail really came from the claimed domain. | 4 |
| Signs of phishing | An odd sender domain, a generic greeting, urgency and threats, requests for sensitive data, suspicious links and attachments. | 4 |
| Virus | Attaches to a file and needs the user to open it to spread. | 5 |
| Worm | Spreads on its own through network flaws. | 5 |
| Trojan | Malware disguised as useful software. | 5 |
| MFA | Signing in with more than one factor: what you know, have, or are. | 6 |
| Passkey / FIDO2 | Sign-in with a cryptographic key bound to the site, phishing-resistant. | 6 |
| Salt | A random value added to each password before hashing, so hashes differ and precomputed tables fail. | 6 |
Resources for this lesson
Grouped by type. Start with the official docs for precision, or an article or video for the explanation.
Articles4
Lockheed Martin · The Cyber Kill ChainThe original page of the model and its seven stages.lockheedmartin.comCloudflare Learning · DMARC, DKIM and SPFA plain illustrated explanation of the three mail controls.cloudflare.comCloudflare: What is malware?A plain explanation of the kinds of malware and how they spread.cloudflare.comFIDO Alliance · PasskeysWhat passkeys are, how they work, and why they resist phishing.fidoalliance.org
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