About the Programme
This Cyber Security Certification Programme by IIT Ropar and TCS iON is a 4-month, industry-focussed course designed in collaboration with CoE-SARDS (Centre of Excellence for Studies and Applied Research in Defence and Security) to equip graduates and professionals with in-demand Cyber Security skills. Taught by IIT professors and industry experts, this programme covers Network Security, Vulnerability Management, Malware Analysis, Cryptography and Cyber Forensics, along with hands-on training to ensure that learners gain practical experience with tools like Nmap, WireShark, Nessus and OWASP, enabling learners to solve complex problems and transform their professional journey.
This course is ideal for graduates and professionals looking to build expertise in Cyber Security. With interactive live sessions and practical training, learners will gain job-ready skills to defend against evolving threats.
Future Outlook
Cyber Security is one of the most lucrative and most preferred fields by top IT professionals. Demand for information security analysts, a top cyber security related job, is expected to grow by 35% from 2021 to 2031, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It is estimated that Cyber Security is about US$2.5-3 billion (₹16,631.9 crores to ₹19,958.3 crores) or about 2%, close to US$150 billion (nearly ₹9.97 lakh crores) compared to the Indian IT sector. With the sector on track to reach US$350 billion (nearly ₹23.3 lakh crores) by 2025, it is estimated that 10% of the same would be Cyber Security.
Companies worldwide are struggling to fill positions, with a global shortfall of 1.5 million Cyber Security professionals predicted by 2025. In India, job openings in Cyber Security remain largely unfilled, with this demand being fuelled by the alarming rise in cyberattacks, with global damages projected to reach US$10.5 trillion by 2025. More than 59% of companies report having vacant Cyber Security positions, this presents a unique opportunity for tech professionals and aspiring Cyber Security to step into high-impact roles that shape the future of digital security.
Key Highlights
Offered by IIT Ropar and TCS iON
4-month industry-focussed course
120+ hours of overall world-class experiential learning
Live Lectures every week for interactive learning and doubt clearing
Learn from IIT professors and TCS industry experts
Comprehensive curriculum with dedicated hands-on sessions
2 weeks of dedicated project
Exposure to cutting-edge tools
Develop the Skills
The participants are expected to develop the following skills by the end of the programme:
- Understand Cyber Security fundamentals, including network security, cryptography and cyber forensics
- Perform risk assessments and respond effectively to security incidents
- Identify and mitigate cyber threats by detecting vulnerabilities and analysing malware
- Apply best Cyber Security practices to protect systems, networks and data
- Use industry-standard tools like Nmap, Nessus, Wireshark and OWASP ZAP
- Develop job-ready skills for roles in ethical hacking, security analysis and cyber defence
Develop Hands-on Expertise In
Potential Career Path
The field generates a variety of job roles, including but not limited to:
The average salary range of the mentioned job roles is ₹5LPA - ₹12LPA.
Cyber Security Engineer
- Network Security Engineer
- Cyber Security Associate
- Penetration Tester
- Cloud Security Engineer
Cyber Security Analyst
- Information Security Analyst
- SOC Analyst
- Compliance Analyst
- Risk Analyst
Information Architect
- System Architect
Certificate Programme Recommended for
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Freshers and individuals pursuing Bachelor's/Master's degree, aspiring for a career in the field of Cyber Security
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Junior and mid-career professionals looking for an accelerated career growth and salary hike
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Individuals interested to pursue research in the field of Cyber Security to gain foundational skills and apply domain knowledge to run a start-up
Programme Pedagogy
Expert-led live sessions
Engage in dynamic training sessions conducted by distinguished faculty from IIT Ropar along with seasoned industry professionals.
Recorded session videos
Access educational content on-demand, available for learning on any device, at any time, ensuring flexibility and convenience for revisiting the material.
Industry use cases
Get real-world experience and enhance your understanding of complex business situations through use cases.
Peer networking and expert connect
Expand your professional network and engage with experts through our interactive community platforms, facilitating enhanced learning and problem-solving.
Hands-on learning experiences
Participate in practical sessions where you will work with real-world data and public datasets, fostering a deep, experiential understanding of the material.
Live doubt solving sessions
Address your queries in real-time with direct access to experts during live sessions, ensuring clarity and immediate assistance.
Dedicated learning management team
Receive continual guidance and support from our committed learning management team, tailored to meet your educational needs and enhance your learning journey.
Programme Syllabus Overview
This comprehensive syllabus covering the latest industry practices and techniques on Cyber Security is structured into ten modules as a structured path which is spanning across 14 weeks with 2 weeks of project. This course curriculum is designed in a way that it aligns with the current industry trends and practices, making graduates job-ready and valuable to organisations. In addition, guiding the learners through the intricacies of the concepts with hands-on implementations on case studies and scenarios as per the industry standards. Each module provides a solid foundation in building proficiency by ensuring a cohesive and thorough understanding from the basic to the advanced topics leveraging extensive hands-on implementations.
- Networking Basics
- Physical Layer Basics
- Overview of Data Link Layer
- Network Layer
- Transport Layer
- Application Layer
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- Introduction to Network & Cyber Security, Security threats & vulnerabilities, Current state of Cyber Security, Introduction to Malware, CIA triad of Information Security
- Reconnaissance, Weaponize, Deliver, Exploit, Install, Command and control, Act on objectives
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- Understanding Cyber Reconnaissance
- Active and passive footprinting, footprinting methods and tools, network footprinting and reconnaissance using Nmap
- Open-source intelligence gathering, Google directives, Shodan, DNS basics, DNS footprinting
- Working with Shodan and Nmap
- Working with Social Engineering Toolkit
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- Introduction to Enumeration concepts and types ( CWE, CPE, CVE)
- Analysis of a vulnerability and correlation of (CWE, CPE, CVE)
- MITRE framework, Introduction of different stages of Vulnerability management and Vulnerability Discovery, Vulnerability assessment, Vulnerability prioritization, Vulnerability remediation, Vulnerability Verify/Monitor
- Scanning methodologies, Port scanning, Nmap, Hping, other scanning tools, Vulnerability scanning, Nessus
- Enumeration techniques - Banner grabbing, Windows and Unix system basics
- Project: Develop a small Vulnerability management tool
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
Network attack types:
- Denial of Service (DoS) attack
- Distributed DoS (DDoS) attack
- IP packet fragmentation attack
- DNS poisoning attack
- Man in the middle and digital twin attack
- Session hijacking
- SQL injection
- Authentication, password attacks, active and passive online attacks
- Tools: hydra, john-the-ripper
- Offline attacks - windows and unix password storage methodologies
- Rainbow tables
- Privilege escalation - metasploit , application execution, hiding files, rootkits
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
Cyberattacks and malware:
- Introduction to malware families: Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Spyware, Ransomware and other malware
- Malware reverse engineering tools and techniques
Tools and techniques:
- Static Analysis: HxD Hex Editor, Ghidra, IDA Pro
- Dynamic Analysis: Sandboxes and emulators
- Code Analysis: Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, and Radare2
- Memory Analysis: DumpIt, Volatility, and Rekall
- Network Analysis: Wireshark, Tcpdump, and NetworkMiner
- Malware classification: MD5, YARA, and CuckooML
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
Concepts and Cryptanalysis:
- Terminology, Encryption algorithms and techniques, Symmetric encryption, Asymmetric encryption, examples - DES, 3DES, AES, RC, Twofish, Blowfish, Diffie-Hellman, ECC, RSA, El Gamal, etc, Hash algorithms, examples - MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, collisions, Steganography, Hardware encryption - HSM, TPM
Digital Certificates:
- PKI, Digital Signatures, Digital Certificates, Encrypted communication - SSH, SSL, TLS, IPSec, PGP, Cryptography attacks - Known plain text attack, Chosen plain text attack, Cipher text only attack, Chosen cipher attack, Replay attack, MITM
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- Cloud Computing overview
- Service types and deployment models
- Threats in Cloud Computing
- OWASP Cloud top 10
- Mitigations of cloud attacks
- Identity and Access Management
- Tools to secure data on cloud
- Attacks on Web servers, Attacks on Web applications - buffer overflow, XSS, CSRF, Cookies, SQL injections, Counter Measures
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- CTF, Fundamentals of digital forensics, Computer forensic evidence, Cyber laws, Data acquisition in various operating systems, Email forensics, Incident reporting
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
- Introduction to the basics of ML, Supervised and Unsupervised Learning
- Different stages of ML
- Anomaly detection and its applications in Cyber Security
- Vulnerabilities/attacks on/by ML models
- Small projects using ML techniques for security
- Modular Case Study
- Formative Assessment
Certificate Eligibility Criteria
Learners will be awarded a co-branded certificate upon successful completion of the programme. The course evaluation components are modular quizzes and the 2-week project.
- Certificate of Participation (CoP): If a learner has scored less than 35% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoP will be awarded.
- Certificate of Achievement (CoA): If a learner has scored within the range of 35% to 75% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoA will be awarded.
- Certificate of Excellence (CoE): If a learner has scored greater than 75% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoE will be awarded.
Meet the Mentor(s)
Dr. Basant Subba
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Basant Subba is an Assistant Professor in the department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. His area of research includes Network & Cyber Security, Intrusion Detection Systems, Malware analysis, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing.
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Dr. Geeta
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Geeta is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. Before joining IIT Ropar, she worked as a Cyber Security researcher at Hitachi India Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru.
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Dr. Mudasir Ahmad Ganaie
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Mudasir Ahmad Ganaie is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. He is also working as an Associate Faculty in the Centre for Applied Research in Data Science at IIT Ropar.
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Debashis Roy
Domain Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services (Industry Expert)
Debashis Roy has completed ME in Software Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He works as a Domain Consultant and Subject Matter Expert at Tata Consultancy Services. He has been working with Higher Education and Corporate Learning Programmes for 18+ years, providing end-to-end learning solutions to domestic and international corporate customers.
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Prathap Kolla
Domain Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services (Industry Subject Matter Expert)
Prathap Kolla has completed M.Tech in Design Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He currently works as a Domain Consultant and Subject Matter Expert at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and has been working with TCS for 30+ years. In his current role, he provides end-to-end learning solutions to Domestic and International Corporate Customers.
Read MoreFAQs
Please take a look at the most frequently asked questions, you might have your query answered here.
2. Login with your TCS iON Digital Learning Hub credentials or sign up as a new user.
3. You need to proceed to make the payment by clicking on "Click to Pay".
4. You will receive a successful purchase message on your registered email ID/mobile number.
a. Device: A standard Desktop/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone with camera and mic
b. Internet: A regular broadband/Wi-Fi connection or a mobile 4G connection
Towards the final score, the quizzes will carry 60% weightage and the project will carry 40% weightage.
a. Certificate of Participation (CoP): If a learner has scored less than 35% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoP will be awarded.
b. Certificate of Achievement (CoA): If a learner has scored within the range of 35% to 75% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoA will be awarded.
c. Certificate of Excellence (CoE): If a learner has scored greater than 75% in the course evaluation criteria, then a CoE will be awarded.
• For Assignments, solutions would be provided after 1 week to the learners along with feedback to self-assess their assignments. The Final Project would be evaluated by the course instructors and results will be shared within 15 working days.
Dr. Geeta
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Geeta is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. Before joining IIT Ropar, she worked as a Cyber Security researcher at Hitachi India Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru.
Dr. Mudasir Ahmad Ganaie
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Mudasir Ahmad Ganaie is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. He is also working as an Associate Faculty in the Centre for Applied Research in Data Science at IIT Ropar.
Dr. Basant Subba
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Ropar
Dr. Basant Subba is an Assistant Professor in the department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. His area of research includes Network & Cyber Security, Intrusion Detection Systems, Malware analysis, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing.
Debashis Roy
Domain Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services (Industry Expert)
Debashis Roy has completed ME in Software Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He works as a Domain Consultant and Subject Matter Expert at Tata Consultancy Services. He has been working with Higher Education and Corporate Learning Programmes for 18+ years, providing end-to-end learning solutions to domestic and international corporate customers.
Currently, he conducts live sessions for various online certificate programmes conducted in association with different INI's like IIT Dhanbad, IIT Ropar, ISI Kolkata among others.
He works as a Subject Matter Expert and Technical Lead, focusing on the demonstration and implementation of advanced conceptual aspects of different tech domains like Data Engineering, Data Science, Cloud Computing and Architecture, Artificial Intelligence and GenAI along with MLOps, DataOps, Cybersecurity, IoT and more.
His role provides him the opportunity to engage in creating hands-on environments for leveraging distributed applications and pipelines.
Prathap Kolla
Domain Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services (Industry Subject Matter Expert)
Prathap Kolla has completed M.Tech in Design Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He currently works as a Domain Consultant and Subject Matter Expert at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and has been working with TCS for 30+ years. In his current role, he provides end-to-end learning solutions to Domestic and International Corporate Customers.
He conducts live sessions for various online courses conducted in association with various INIs (Institutes of National Importance), eg., IIT Ropar, IIT Bhuvaneswar among others. He conducts sessions on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics, Cryptography, DBMS, Operating Systems, Software Engineering, Quality Assurance, among others. In his previous roles at TCS, he has headed the Freshers Training Program (ILP - Initial Learning Program), worked as Operations Head in TCS Hungary, Cluster Head for Telecom Customers in Quality Assurance Domain, Database Administrator for several Industry Verticals in India and in other countries. He is a certified Database Administrator and Ethical Hacker.
He is also a member of Board of Studies (BoS) for various Deemed-to-be, Autonomous, and State Universities.