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Introduction to
Cybersecurity

This module introduces core principles that are essential to forming a security mindset, which include the CIA Triad (Confidentiality / Integrity / Availability), Defense-in-Depth, Authentication, and Authorization. Cybersecurity is a broad subject so this module provides a general overview of the different domains within security including Application Security, Network Security, Hardware Security, Physical Security, Mobile Security, Operational Security (SecOps/OpsSec), Incident Response, Identity and Access Management, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), and Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity.

TOPICS: Key Elements, CIA Triad, Defense-In-Depth, Domain Landscape, AAA Services, OWASP Top 10: NIST Special Publications

Networking

Networking is the process of how connections are made and how computers and systems communicate with each other which forms the basis of cybersecurity. This module provides the foundational understanding for computer networking and covers network protocols that are used for data communication, networking hardware, subnetting, networking utilities and traffic analysis.

TOPICS: LAN / WAN, OSI Model, TCP / IP Model, Network Protocols, IP v4 & IP v6, TCP, UDP, ICMP, Ports and Services, Routing & Switching, NAT / PAT, DNS, Network segmentation, Subnetting, VLANS.

TOOLS: Kali Linux, TCPDUMP, Netcat, Netstat, Dig, Nslookup, Whois, Packet Tracer, Nmap, Wireshark.

Security Program

This module focuses on how to understand, implement and manage a security program within an enterprise. Security professionals must have strong knowledge of how a company operates to implement effective security policies and procedures. You must understand who the organization’s employees, customers, suppliers and competitors are and how digital information is created, accessed, and shared. Students will learn about the various compliance standards and security frameworks that are most commonly used in the industry.

TOPICS: Cybersecurity governance and strategy, Risk management (Rating methodologies), Compliance (Legal / Regulatory / HIPAA / PCI - DSS).

TOOLS: NIST Cyber Security Framework, CIS Top 20 Framework.

OSINT & Social Engineering

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is a tradecraft used for conducting reconnaissance and information against an adversary or target to gain insights into people or organizations. Students will learn how to gather information about a victim and craft a phishing campaign to compromise the victim’s organization. Knowledge of these simple offensive techniques will help students understand how to craft security awareness campaigns and defend against phishing attacks.

TOPICS: Information gathering with open source tools, Network and Domain enumeration, Anonymization on the Internet, Security Awareness, Social Engineering (Email / Phishing / In-Person /Telephony).

TOOLS: Kali Linux, Google Hacking Database, VPN, TOR Browser, Whois, DNS records, Traceroute.

Threat Landscape

An enterprise cannot properly defend their information unless they understand who they are defending against. This module discusses the current threat landscape and dives into where threats are coming from and what is motivating the threat actors.

TOPICS: Threat Sources & Events, Adversarial (Fraud / Theft , Insider Threat, Malicious Hackers, Malicious Code, Malware, Ransomware, Espionage), Non-adversarial (Errors and Omissions, Physical Infrastructure, Privacy and Data Sharing), Threat Motivations (Monetary, Hacktivism, IP Theft, Espionage).

TOOLS: Data Breach Reports, MITRE & CK Framework.

AI Tools for Cybersecurity

As AI becomes a core part of the modern security stack, cybersecurity professionals who can harness it have a decisive advantage. This module is the hands-on AI cybersecurity training built for the next generation of security analysts — teaching students to work smarter using AI-powered tools across real-world Blue Team operations. Students learn to apply large language models (LLMs), prompt engineering, and AI-driven automation to accelerate threat detection, streamline incident response, and reduce analyst workload in SOC environments. The module also introduces AI red teaming — giving students practical exposure to how AI systems are attacked and manipulated, and how to build defenses against adversarial inputs. Whether you're launching your cybersecurity career or upskilling into AI-augmented security roles, this module delivers the practical AI cybersecurity skills employers are looking for.

TOPICS: AI-Augmented SOC Operations, Large Language Models (LLMs) for Security, Prompt Engineering for Cybersecurity, AI-Assisted Log Analysis & Alert Triage, Threat Detection & Behavioral Pattern Recognition, AI-Generated Detection Rules (Sigma-Style Logic), Incident Reporting Automation, Intro to AI Red Teaming, Prompt Injection Attacks & Exploitation, Adversarial AI Defense Strategies

TOOLS: LLM Platforms, SIEM Augmentation Tools, Sigma Rule Framework, AI-Assisted Threat Investigation Workflows

Security Operations Architecture

The ability to prevent and detect cyber-attacks as they occur in real time is the epicenter of defending against cybercrime. Good defense starts with thoughtful network architecture design that leverages Cloud and on-prem technologies. In this module, students will learn about network architecture / design, virtual private cloud (VPC) configuration, end-point hardening and deployment, and secure two- factor authorization.

TOPICS: Network Architecture Design, Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) design, configuration and deployment, Firewalls (Access Control Lists / Filters / Rules / White List / Black List), Proxies, Remote Access, Virtual Private Network (VPN) configuration and deployment, Access Control, Infrastructure as Code, Cloud Infrastructure Auditing, Systems Hardening.

TOOLS: Kali Linux, AWS, Terraform, ScoutSuite, DUO, Lynis, Windows Security Policies, OpenVPN.

Security Operations Threat Modeling

Cybersecurity should always be proactive rather than reactive. It is much more difficult and expensive to address security after a system has been deployed. In this module, students will learn best practices for network threat modelling, prevention, and continuous monitoring and mitigation.

TOPICS: Detect / Defend, Traffic Analysis, Logging / Log Management, Security Information Event Management (SIEM), Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Data Loss Prevention (DLP).

TOOLS: Kali Linux, IPtables, Snort, Splunk, Security Onion, Carbon Black, SIEM Dashboards.

Cryptography

A cyber-criminal cannot do as much damage to an enterprise if they are unable to read the stolen data. This module first focuses on the core concepts of encryption (Boolean Logic, Modulus Arithmetic, hashing) and how it is used within secure protocols (SSL, TLS, SSH). It focuses on how to implement and manage encryption policies within an enterprise (signatures, key management, PKI). Students will learn the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that most commonly go wrong during implementation. At the end of the module, students use brute force, rainbow tables and various other hacker tools to crack passwords from hashed data.

TOPICS: Boolean Logic, Modulus Arithmetic, Symmetric / Asymmetric, Hashing, TLS / SSL, Disk encryption, Key Derivation Functions, Digital Signatures, Key Management: Public Key Infrastructure, Password Cracking: Rainbow Tables.

TOOLS: OpenSSL, CertBot, Nginx, MD5 / SHA, VeraCrypt, Bcrypt, Hydra, Hashcat.

AppSec & Offensive Security

How do we know if all the policies, procedures, firewalls, ACLs, or intrusion detection and prevention systems are working unless we test them? This module focuses on how to review security programs and perform various security vulnerability assessments throughout an enterprise. Students will embody the mindset of a hacker and perform penetration tests where they mimic real-world attacks to identify methods to circumvent the security features of an application, system or network. A successful penetration tester has in-depth knowledge of how networks, systems, and applications are defended. This module allows students to test everything they have learned thus far. Students participate in a competitive red team / blue team exercise to showcase their skills in a team environment.

TOPICS: Assessment Approach, Testing Viewpoints (Internal / External, Overt / Covert, White box / Gray Box / Black Box), Mitigation and Remediation, OWASP Top 10, Vulnerability Scanning, Penetration Testing, Bug Bounty, DevSecOps, Red Team / Blue Team.

TOOLS: Nmap, Bettercap, Metasploit, Nikto, Nessus, Burp Suite, Veracode, Shodan, Discover scripts, DNS Exfiltration, OWASP Zap, Qualys.

Threat Hunting & Incident Response

There are two types of companies: companies that know they have been breached and companies that do not know they have been breached. One-third of U.S. businesses were breached last year and nearly 75% were unaware of how the incident occurred. In this module, students learn why it is vital for companies to properly respond after a breach and have a process to perform a forensics analysis to learn how the breach occurred and understand how it affects the company.

TOPICS: CSIRT, NIST: IR Methodology (Preparation / Detection & Analysis / Containment, Eradication & Recovery / Post-Incident Activity), NIST: Forensics Process (Data Collection / Examination / Analysis / Reporting), Threat Intelligence (Cyber Kill Chain / Diamond Model).

TOOLS: FireEye Redline (Mandiant), Volatility, BinText, Incident Response Tabletop exercises.

Cybersecurity Internship

Cybersecurity skills are proven in the field — not just the classroom. In the final two weeks of the bootcamp, students complete a hands-on, supervised cybersecurity internship embedded directly into class time. Working in teams under instructor supervision, students partner with one of Evolve Security's non-profit partners to conduct a full-scope security engagement against live infrastructure, real data, and actual users. This is not a simulation.
Following Evolve Security's proprietary cybersecurity assessment methodology, students perform an internal vulnerability assessment, an external vulnerability assessment, and a phishing engagement — applying every tool and technique from the bootcamp in a professional context. On the final day of class, students present their findings directly to the non-profit's IT leadership, delivering a structured report that covers discovered vulnerabilities, methodology, organizational impact, and prioritized remediation strategies.
This unpaid internship — completed entirely during scheduled class hours — provides students with the real-world experience that sets Evolve Academy graduates apart. Employers don't just see a bootcamp certificate. They see a candidate who has already delivered a professional security engagement to a real client, using an industry-tested methodology.

TOPICS: Internal Vulnerability Assessment, External Vulnerability Assessment, Phishing Engagement, Evolve Security Assessment Methodology, Security Reporting & Documentation, Findings Presentation to IT Leadership, Remediation Strategy Development, Professional Client Communication

tools:

Nmap, Nessus, Burp Suite, GoPhish, NIST 800-115.

Job Preparation

In addition to the technical cybersecurity training, students will learn the skills and strategy to confidently navigate their job search with our support. Job preparation training is integrated throughout the bootcamp and available after graduation. Through career coaching, cybersecurity resume prep, mock interviews, networking strategies, alumni connections and employer partners, students land jobs that launch their cybersecurity careers. Students are encouraged to take advantage of virtual and in-person EvolveSec Meetup events to connect with industry professionals and expand their network. We know what it takes to get a job in cybersecurity and support our students throughout their job search process.

TOPICS: Networking, LinkedIn Profile, Resume Prep, Interview Prep, Career Coaching, Job Search Strategy, Continuing Education, CompTIA Security+.