Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

PLANT SAFETY NETWORK

SEMINAR / TRAINING REPORT

Niel Angelo L. Soriano

CPET 3202

Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online

May 4, 2024
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Introduction

You may start protecting your digital life at home or at work by taking this free
online course, Introduction to Cyber Security: Stay Safe Online, which will help you
understand online security. You'll discover how to identify risks that could endanger your
online safety and preventative measures that you can take.

Since cyber security is a hot topic in the media these days, the course will also put
your online safety in perspective by introducing you to various infections, such as viruses
and trojans, as well as ideas like risk management, network security, cryptography, and
identity theft.

This course has been developed by The Open University with support from the UK
Government's National Cyber Security Programme and can be accessed free of charge.

Objectives

After studying this course, you should be able to:

 start to protect your digital life

 recognize threats to your online safety
 take steps to reduce the risk of online threats
 understand concepts including malware, viruses and trojans
 consider network security, cryptography and identity theft.
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Seminar / Training Detaills

Organizers

Openlearn University

OpenLearn is a free learning platform, delivered by The Open University as part

of its Royal Charter commitment to support the wellbeing of the community. Since its
launch in 2006, OpenLearn has become an integrated part of The Open University, with
the site attracting over 100 million visitors. Many of these visitors go on to make an enquiry
about becoming a formal student, strengthening the journey between informal and formal
learning.

CPD Standards Office

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office . It can be used to provide
evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the
course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is
provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion. Anyone wishing
to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their
Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the
course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

Presenters

The presenter isn't afraid to question authority figures. He challenges the audience to
consider these important topics regarding the future of technology and its possible effects
on society. He can talk authoritatively on these subjects because of his extensive
knowledge of digital rights and technology. His arguments and viewpoints are heavy from
this credibility. Speeches are more engaging and memorable when he adds comedy to
them. This humor can serve to keep the audience interested and lighten difficult subjects.
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Topics Covered

Week 1 Threat Landscape

Week 2 Authentication

Week 3 Malware

Week 4 Networking and communications

Week 5 Cryptography

Week 6 Network Security

Week 7 When your defences fail

Week 8 Managing Security Risks

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Week 1 – Threat Landscape

This topic covered the basic cybersecurity threats in the online world which is “Phishing”.
Cory explained it as social engineering focused to get your credentials / account email
and passwords. The size of your company doesn’t matter to criminals whether small or
big. “CIA” appeared in this topic which is already discussed by our instructor in this course.
Nobody should use a computer owned by someone without their permission, not abiding
to do so will lead to criminal activity – Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Week 2 – Authenticaiton

This topic shows us how to create the ideal password. We should create password with
combination of letters, numbers, and symbols to protect ourselves from hackers. The
use of password manager is highly recommended because using different passwords
for your accounts like fb, gmail, windows, and many more could be confusing. It also
emphasized the use of “Two-Factor Authentication” or “2FA” this allow us to be more
secure than using a simple single authentication.

Week 3 – Malware

The topic highlighted two threats to consumers which is Phishing and Malware. Malware
as explained in the training is the collective name for software that has been designed to
disrupt and damage data. To protect ourselves we must know how computer viruses
enters our computer. The most common way for hackers to get in our system is by offering
free paid software and embedding viruses in email links. Spotting a phishing email is
somewhat tricky, attackers disguise themselves as staffs or employee of a company.
Using antivirus software can help a lot to general consumers as it protect as to most
common viruses, installing one wouldn’t hurt. The best way to test out applications that
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

are suspicious is to run it on a sandbox, a virtual machine that can be run on your
computer this allows the user to run a suspicious application without the risks.

Week 4 – Networking and Communications

The internet is not a single entity with a single owner it comprises a hierarchy of individual
networks that have been connected to one another. These networks range from local
area networks (LANs) that can be found in many businesses and universities to the
telephone and data networks that link cities and countries by fibre optic cables and
satellite links. Data are not sent by a single chunk instead it is made up of small sized
blocks called datagrams which also called as packets. In this topic several type of
wireless security is explained which everyone should know, connecting to a public wifi
can be risky because the owner of that wifi can access incoming and outcoming data from
the users.

Week 5 – Crpytography

Cryptography is a specialized area of mathematics concerned with protecting information

so that it can be transmitted and received securely even when there is a risk that a hostile
third party might intercept or modify the data. Digital signatures are also tackled in this
training, it uses the sender’s private key to encrypt the hash. Hashing can show that data
is not changed in transmission. To know if a website is secure it should begin with “https://”
we can easily identify it by looking at the address bar of the browser showing a closed
padlock symbol.

Week 6 – Network Security

Most of the subject in week 6 are about security within our computer which consist of
firewalls and how to configure firewalls. VPNs are a good way to prevent online
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

information theft as it secures your connection. Though using VPN can be risky, we
should use VPN servers that are credible and widely known. Intrusion Detection System
(IDS) support our network firewall it is used to scan any traffic passing through the firewall
for potential attacks.

Week 7 – When you defences fail

In this topic it will show you what happens when your defences fails. Identity theft, believe
it or not it’s very easy for hackers to gain your personal information if you’re not protecting
yourself with common security. We must always be cautious, run antivirus program and
keep it up to date and never associate with obvious phishing emails and websites. Stated
in the training, security breaches happens and we cannot prevent the loss dealt by
malicious hackers. When your credentials are stolen the best thing to do is to report it to
the issuer so they can block the transaction and prevent the hackers from viewing your
account regularly.

Week 8 – Managing Security Risks

Keeping backups of important copies of your account should be done regularly. We must
always update our software to prevent hackers getting in our system. Updates are not
just for features it is accompanied by security updates so be sure to get on the latest
version of your software. To keep our information asset protected we must put in to
practice what we learned in the previous topics like setting up firewalls, installing and
running an antivirus and keeping our operating system up to date.
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Key Learnings

Strong Password Management

Creating strong, unique passwords for each account and using a password manager for
better management is crucial to prevent unauthorized access. Two-factor authentication
adds an extra layer of security. Nobody like getting their sensitive information stolen this
should be a general knowledge for everyone to know.

Protecting Against Malware

Understanding how malware spreads (phishing emails, suspicious software) and using
antivirus software and sandboxes for testing suspicious applications helps to protect
your system. For a person who installs a lot of desktop application like me sandboxes is
a must to test out an application and see if it could damage my computer or not.

Network Security Measures

Firewalls, VPNs (with caution), and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) work together to
form a defense system against network attacks. Anyone who manages a network must
know how to defend and fortify defenses of a computer network.

Personal Reflections

The area which I like to develop my knowledge into is encryption. The training only tells
intermediate level information about cryptography and encryption. If I could delve deeper
into this are I think it would be beneficial for me as I wanted to work in an industry revolving
around technology. The only thing I know currently is how to encrypt files in WinRar by
putting a password to it. I wanted to be in a level where I could decipher encryption and
make money or work with these skills I wanted to develop.
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Though not stated in the training I think this training is somewhat close to ethical hacking
as the training encompasses a lot of information about security. I’d like to learn more
about these topics to protect sensitive information that should not be disclose to the
public. Most of my time are at home using a computer and I browse the internet in a daily
basis, as a person that is exposed to security threats I want to be knowledgeable and
how to defend myself on this type or threats.

Application to Work / Field

Regardless of profession we must understand common threats like phishing and

malware, big companies put their information asset in high regard so training employees
are crucial for the company’s security.

Data protection concepts like cryptography and digital signatures are already being
used in the industry, understanding how data can be secured during its transmission can
help you choose appropriate security measure for your projects and research. Example,
if your research involves collecting or analyzing data online, you need to consider
cybersecurity risk. Knowing how to identify websites that are secure from not secure to
protect your data from potential attacks or viruses.

Security professionals, this training will provide as the foundation for understanding
core cybersecurity principles. You can use this knowledge to develop or implement
security protocols within your organization. It also helps you to identify potential
vulnerability in systems and data. Knowledge of firewalls, VPNs, and network
vulnerabilities can be helpful if I were to manage computer systems.
 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Lipa Campus

Conclusion

This training provided me general knowledge about cybersecurity even though

some of it are surface level knowledge, not all people are accustomed with cybersecurity
threats. Being familiar to these concepts can help you to broaden your knowledge and be
aware to the possible risk acquainted while using the internet.

This cybersecurity conference equipped attendees with essential knowledge and

useful tools for safe online navigation. People can greatly lower their risk of identity theft,
data breaches, and other cyberattacks by being aware of the many dangers and putting
the security precautions they've learned into practice. The importance of the training goes
beyond one's own safety. It gives participants the tools they need to make their
workplaces or research initiatives safer. Everyone gains from this as it cultivates a culture
of cybersecurity awareness.