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Free short course · Technology & IT

Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

Learn the 13 baseline cyber security controls that the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recommends for small organizations. Five short lessons and a quiz, with a certificate of completion.

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The short version

  • Free, no payment details

    Sign up with your name and e-mail and confirm it with a 6-digit code. There is nothing to buy.

  • About 62 minutes

    5 short lessons and one final quiz. Your progress is saved, so you can stop and come back on any device.

  • Certificate of completion

    Finish every lesson and score 70% or more on the final quiz. Retakes are unlimited.

  • Not a program

    This free short course is not part of a Ucademy diploma or certificate program and gives no program credit.

What you will learn

  • Explain why small businesses are targeted and what the 80/20 idea behind the Cyber Centre baseline controls means
  • Build a one-page inventory of devices, accounts and data and rate the harm of losing each
  • Turn on automatic updates, security software and two-factor authentication in the right order
  • Recognize the warning signs of a phishing or payment-fraud email and set up a safe reporting habit
  • Plan backups you can actually restore and set simple rules for phones, USB drives and cloud services
  • Write a one-page incident response plan and know when Alberta's PIPA requires a breach report

Who it is for

Small business owners, office managers, administrators and career changers in Alberta who want a clear, practical start in cyber security. No technical background is needed.

What you need

  • A computer or phone with an internet connection
  • Access to your own (or an imaginary) small office setup to apply the checklists
  • About 60 minutes in total, which you can split across several days

Lessons

  1. 1Why small businesses are targets and what the baseline controls are12 min
  2. 2Securing devices and the network12 min
  3. 3People, passwords and access12 min
  4. 4Protecting data: backups, cloud, phones and websites13 min
  5. 5When something goes wrong: your incident plan13 min
  6. ✓Cybersecurity for Small Businesses: final quizfinal quiz

Where this course can lead

Security Analyst Certificate

This course is a short, practical introduction. The full program goes much further: 420 hours online of focused security monitoring and analysis training.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

Yes. You create a free Ucademy account, take the five lessons and the quiz, and pay nothing.

Yes. When you finish the lessons and pass the quiz you receive a certificate of completion from Ucademy. The course is not part of a Ucademy diploma or certificate program.

About 60 minutes in total. The course is online and self-paced, so you can take one lesson at a time.

No. The lessons use plain language and everyday examples, and no technical experience is needed.

They are 13 practical measures published by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for small and medium organizations, such as automatic patching, two-factor authentication, backups and an incident response plan.

No. It is a free short course, not part of a Ucademy diploma or certificate program, and it does not give program credit.

Start Cybersecurity for Small Businesses today

Free, online and at your own pace, with a certificate of completion.

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