Learn the essential concepts behind digital certificates, how they work, and why they are critical for secure communication. This course provides a strong theoretical and practical foundation for IT and cybersecurity professionals.
🎯 What You’ll Learn
- Understand the public key infrastructure (PKI) model
- Differentiate between symmetric and asymmetric encryption
- Learn how digital certificates are created, validated, and revoked
- Explore common certificate types (SSL/TLS, S/MIME, Code Signing)
- Generate, sign, and manage certificates in a lab environment
Course Content
🔹 Section 1: Introduction to Cryptography and Digital Certificates
Lecture 1: Welcome to the World of Cryptography
A quick introduction to the importance of encryption in today’s digital world.
(Preview available)
Lecture 2: Discover the Secrets of Digital Security
Why data protection is critical, and how cryptography helps us stay secure.
(Preview available)
Lecture 3: The Art of Data Protection – Symmetric Cryptography
Understand how symmetric encryption works and where it’s used.
(Preview available)
Lecture 4: Unlocking the Future – Asymmetric Cryptography
Explore public and private keys, and the fundamentals of asymmetric encryption.
(Preview available)
Lecture 5: Securing Your Digital World
The role of cryptography in everyday life: devices, applications, and communication.
Lecture 6: Keep Your Secrets Safe – Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authenticity
Core principles of cybersecurity and how cryptography ensures them.
Lecture 7: Practical Applications of Digital Security
Real-world examples of how cryptography is used in modern IT systems.
Lecture 8: Master the Basics – Cryptography Summary
A recap of essential concepts before diving into digital certificates.
Lecture 9: Navigating the Digital Certificate Landscape
Introduction to the role of digital certificates in secure communications.
Lecture 10: Your Digital Key to Security – What is a Digital Certificate?
A beginner-friendly explanation of certificate structure and function.
Lecture 11: Breaking Down the Core – Components of an X.509 Certificate
Deep dive into the anatomy of digital certificates: subject, issuer, public key, etc.
Lecture 12: The Root of Trust – Certificate Authorities (CA)
How trust is established through CAs, and how they issue certificates.
Lecture 13: Key Generation & Management
Learn how cryptographic keys are generated and securely handled.
Lecture 14: Break the Code – Key Calculation Exercise
Step-by-step activity to understand how encryption keys are derived.
Lecture 15: Secure Access – Certificate Issuance Process
How a certificate request is made, validated, signed, and issued.
Lecture 16: Trust But Verify – Certificate Validation
Certificate chains, expiration dates, and revocation checks.
Lecture 17: Explore the Secret Handshake – TLS 1.3 and HTTPS
See how certificates are used in TLS handshakes to secure web traffic.
Lecture 18: Don’t Be Fooled – Verifying Certificate Validity
Hands-on techniques to check if a certificate is still trustworthy.
🔹 Section 2: Hands-On Practice
Lecture 19: Let’s Get Practical – Introduction to the Lab Section
Overview of what you’ll build and practice in the labs.
Lecture 20: Crack the Code – Encryption & Decryption Exercise
Try both symmetric and asymmetric encryption step-by-step.
Lecture 21: Protect & Share – Symmetric Encryption Example
Create and test a secure message exchange using symmetric keys.
Lecture 22: Unlock New Possibilities – Asymmetric Encryption Example
Encrypt data with a public key and decrypt with the private key.
Lecture 23: Build Your Own Certificate Authority
Generate your own root CA and issue certificates using OpenSSL.
Lecture 24: Final Thoughts – Stay Secure Beyond the Course
Closing remarks and guidance on next steps for your cybersecurity journey.