Two students collaborating on a laptop, exploring cybersecurity concepts and coding fundamentals as part of an online learning program.

About Intermediate CyberSecurity Certificate Course

Ready to take your cybersecurity skills to the next level? The Intermediate Cybersecurity Certificate is designed for learners who have either completed the Beginner course or already have some experience in the field.

Beyond the Basics

This course dives deeper into real-world cybersecurity challenges and tools, with four intermediate modules that expand your skills:

Cyber Law & Policy in Action – Explore the CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Accessibility), advanced attack types like ransomware and phishing, and the ethical dilemmas of hacking.
Programming for Security – Learn how to secure applications and databases, avoid common coding mistakes, and defend against threats like brute force and SQL injection.
Cloud, Web & Network Security – Get hands-on with tools like Wireshark, analyze network attacks, and understand how encryption and firewalls keep systems safe.
Ethical Hacking – Step into the shoes of a penetration tester. Discover common tools, legal boundaries, and even try out beginner-friendly ethical hacking activities.

Upgrade Your Toolkit

Like the Beginner course, the Intermediate is broken into 4 modules, each housing 10 micromodules, and exercises that give you practice applying your new skills. By the end, you’ll not only understand how cyberattacks happen — you’ll also know the tools and strategies professionals use to defend against them.

The Intermediate course is where theory meets practice. It’s your chance to test out ethical hacking, strengthen your coding, and start thinking like a cybersecurity professional.

Module 1

About Module 1 – Fundamentals of Risk & Mitigation

Module 1 of the Intermediate Cybersecurity Certificate Program provides a foundational understanding of common cybersecurity threats and key protective strategies.

Micromodule 1: What is Cybersecurity and The CIA Triad
Micromodule 2: Physical Security and Security Hygiene
Micromodule 3: Password Attacks
Micromodule 4: Social Engineering Part 1
Micromodule 5: Social Engineering Part 2
Micromodule 6: Social Engineering Part 3
Micromodule 7: Social Engineering Part 4
Micromodule 8: Malware Part 1
Micromodule 9: Malware Part 2
Micromodule 10: Defense in Depth

Module 2

About Module 2 – Applications, Web, & Databases

Module 2 of the Intermediate Cybersecurity Certificate Program explores applications, databases, and how they interact. It begins by defining different types of applications – including traditional, mobile, and web apps – and explains how users navigate and interact with web applications using URLs and browsers.

Micromodule 1: What is an Application
Micromodule 2: Web Overview
Micromodule 3: Browsers
Micromodule 4: What is a Database
Micromodule 5: SQL CRUD
Micromodule 6: Standalone Database
Micromodule 7: SQL Injection
Micromodule 8: SQL Injection Defenses
Micromodule 9: Embedded Databases
Micromodule 10: Secondary & Non-SQL Injection

Module 3

About Module 3 – Networking, Web Security, & Cryptography

Module 3 explores network, web, and encryption security. It begins with network architecture, covering common hardware, software, and protocols, as well as network addressing and how routers manage local and internet traffic. The module then moves on to network attacks like packet sniffing, spoofing, and denial-of-service, before examining web attacks such as Cross-Site Request Forgery and Cross-Site Scripting along with effective mitigation strategies. Finally, the module covers encryption, from historical substitution and transposition ciphers to modern symmetric and public key encryption, and concludes with Virtual private Networks (VPNs) as a method for secure, encrypted communication across networks.

Micromodule 1: Network Hardware
Micromodule 2: Software & Protocols
Micromodule 3: Network Addressing
Micromodule 4: Network Attacks
Micromodule 5: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Micromodule 6: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Defense
Micromodule 7: Cloud Service Models Explained
Micromodule 8: Encryption Part 1
Micromodule 9: Encryption Part 2
Micromodule 10: VPNs

Module 4

About Module 4 – Digital Regulations and Legal Frameworks

In this module, you’ll build a working grasp of cyber law and its real-world impact – from what it is and how it evolved, to who can enforce it across borders, and how it protects creativity (IP) and drives cybersecurity regulation and international cooperation. You’ll examine cybercrime itself (common offenses, motives, dark-web ecosystems, and offender profiles), how cases are investigated, and the ethics and professional responsibilities that guide legitimate security work. You’ll finish by exploring emerging pressures on the legal landscape – ransomware-as-a-service, insecure IoT, and AI used for both attack and defense – and the policy questions they raise about accountability and privacy.

Micromodule 1: Types of Law
Micromodule 2: Cybercrime Laws Part 1
Micromodule 3: Cybercrime Laws Part 2
Micromodule 4: Cybercrime Laws Part 3
Micromodule 5: CA Law & Reporting
Micromodule 6: Example Prosecutions
Micromodule 7: Cybersecurity Policies
Micromodule 8: Cybersecurity Policy Types
Micromodule 9: Security Frameworks and CSF 2.0
Micromodule 10: CIS Controls

Space Woman

About Soft Start Cybersecurity Program

Funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Agency

The program offers two certificates: beginner and intermediate. Each certificate offers four modules, delivered as short video lessons and micromodules that make it easy to follow along at your own pace.

SoftStart.com Cybersecurity Program – A program of the California Cybersecurity Task Force, Workforce Development and Education Subcommittee

Soft Start Program
Empowering California’s Cybersecurity Education

Join an emerging model for tech-driven education — Soft Start Cybersecurity Education is free, flexible, and designed for complete beginners. Our courses make it easy to learn the essentials and take your first step into one of the fastest-growing fields in the world.