Cybersecurity Basics

Explore & Discover

Every account you have online is a target — but most attacks succeed because of simple, avoidable mistakes. Start by going to haveibeenpwned.com and entering your email address (no password needed). It shows you if your info was leaked in any major data breaches. Then watch "Cybersecurity Explained in 5 Minutes" on the NetworkChuck YouTube channel — he makes this stuff genuinely interesting. Read through Google's Safety Center at safety.google to see what protections you might be missing right now. Notice how most attacks are not movie-hacker stuff — they are phishing emails, weak passwords, and reused credentials. You're ready for the next step when you can describe three common ways attackers get into accounts and explain what "phishing" means in your own words.

Learn the Basics

Passwords are the front door to your digital life. Learn how to make them unbreakable. Go to security.org/how-secure-is-my-password and test a few password styles — notice how adding length and randomness skyrockets crack time. Then learn about password managers: watch "What is a Password Manager?" by Bitwarden on YouTube. Bitwarden is free at bitwarden.com and is open-source, meaning security researchers worldwide check its code. Learn what two-factor authentication (2FA) is and how authenticator apps like Google Authenticator work differently from SMS codes. The Utah State Board of Education uses 2FA to protect student data — it's standard practice everywhere now. You're ready for the next step when you have set up a password manager with at least five unique passwords and enabled 2FA on at least one account.

Build Your First Project

Now you are going to think like a defender. Your project: conduct a security audit of your own digital life. Make a spreadsheet (Google Sheets is free) with three columns: Account Name, Password Strength (Weak / OK / Strong), and 2FA Enabled (Yes / No). Go through at least 10 accounts — email, gaming, social media, school login. For each weak password, update it using your password manager. Check which accounts offer 2FA at twofactorauth.org and enable it wherever you can. Learn to spot phishing emails by practicing at phishingquiz.withgoogle.com — Google's free quiz shows real vs. fake emails. You're ready for the next step when your spreadsheet shows at least 8 of 10 accounts have strong unique passwords and at least 5 have 2FA enabled.

Experiment & Iterate

Deepen your skills through practice and experimentation.

Advanced Techniques

Learn ethical hacking basics using legal, purpose-built practice environments. Go to tryhackme.com — it is free for beginners and runs entirely in your browser. Complete the "Pre-Security" learning path, which covers networking, the web, and Linux basics. Then try "OWASP Top 10" — the ten most common web vulnerabilities every security professional knows. Watch John Hammond on YouTube for beginner CTF (Capture the Flag) walkthroughs. Important: only ever practice on systems you own or platforms built for learning. Utah Valley University and the University of Utah both have cybersecurity programs that run annual CTF competitions open to high school students. You're ready for the next step when you have completed at least 3 rooms on TryHackMe and earned your first badge.

Final Project Showcase

Your final project: create a cybersecurity guide for your family or school and teach it to real people. Research the five biggest threats facing people your age — phishing, weak passwords, public Wi-Fi risks, social engineering, and malware — and write a one-page plain-English guide for each. Design a short quiz using Google Forms to test whether readers actually learned something. Present your guide to at least five people: family members, classmates, or neighbors. Record their quiz scores before and after reading. Publish your guide as a Google Doc or simple website using Google Sites (free). Share the link with your school's tech coordinator. You're ready for the next step when your guide is published, you have taught it to five people, and your quiz shows an average score improvement of at least 20%.