AP Cybersecurity

AP Cybersecurity is an engaging course designed for all students to explore cybersecurity through hands-on, student-centered projects. 

Course Overview

In this hands-on, project-based curriculum, students explore core cybersecurity skills through practical lessons focused on topics like common threats and vulnerabilities, risk management, and a defense-in-depth strategy for securing spaces, networks, devices, applications, and data. 

Throughout the units, students prove their cyber defense skills through real-world challenges from a fictional hacker group that has "hijacked" the course. Students connect classroom learning to practical application with unit projects, easy-to-understand videos, collaborative research activities, and skills-focused labs. View syllabus. 

The UTeach AP Cybersecurity curriculum, developed in collaboration with Teach Cyber, is fully aligned with College Board’s AP Cybersecurity course framework.   

UTeach Cybersecurity is a versatile curriculum that can be offered either as a 9th-grade foundation to spark interest in CS, a 10th- or 11th-grade AP elective to earn college credit, or a 12th-grade capstone supplemented by teachers to support students in pursuing industry certification.   

"This is by far the best Cybersecurity curriculum I’ve accessed. It allows me to concentrate on what students need instead of lesson planning!" — Texas Teacher

Included with Your License

  • Comprehensive teacher materials
  • Complete student-facing curriculum
  • Unlimited teacher support
  • Codio platform access, with student accounts

 

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Schedule a demo to discover the hands-on projects, engaging labs, AP-aligned syllabus, and comprehensive teacher resources provided by UTeach CS. 

Curriculum Features

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UTeach AP Cybersecurity Unit Descriptions

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Unit 1: Introduction to Security

Students are introduced to foundational cybersecurity concepts through engaging, real-world scenarios that highlight the complexity of securing modern digital environments. Students explore cyberspace as an interconnected system shaped by both technical components and human behavior, while developing a shared understanding of cybersecurity and its challenges. 

Additional topics include:  

  • Understanding Social Engineering 

  • Suspicious Website Logins 

  • Best Practices for Public Networks 

  • AI-Based Cybersecurity Attacks 

  • Leveraging AI in Cyber Defense 
     

Unit 2: Securing Spaces

Unit 2 introduces students to the core concepts that underpin modern cybersecurity. Students examine common social engineering attacks, explore the motivations and methods of different types of adversaries, and analyze the phases of a cyberattack. They learn how organizations assess and manage cybersecurity risk, implement a variety of security controls, and apply the defense-in-depth strategy to protect systems and data through multiple layers of security.  

Additional topics include: 

  • Physical Vulnerabilities and Attacks 

  • Protecting Physical Spaces 

  • Detecting Physical Attacks 
     

Unit 3: Securing Networks

In this unit, students explore how computing devices and networks function and how these systems support modern communication and data exchange. The unit begins with an introduction to computing devices, examining how hardware and software interact and the role of operating systems in managing device resources. Students then investigate computer networks, learning how devices connect and communicate within local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the internet.  

Additional topics include: 

  • Network Vulnerabilities and Attacks 

  • Protecting Networks: Managerial Controls and Wireless Security 

  • Protecting Networks: Segmentation 

  • Protecting Networks: Firewalls 

  • Detecting Network Attacks
     

Unit 4: Securing Devices

In Unit 4, students focus on how individual devices are secured and how adversaries target them. They begin by exploring different types of common malware, then examine how vulnerabilities—such as unpatched software, weak authentication, and misconfigurations—can be exploited. Students assess risk by considering the likelihood and impact of these vulnerabilities. 

Additional topics include:  

  • Authentication 

  • Protecting Devices 

  • Detecting Attacks on Devices 
     

Unit 5: Securing Applications and Data

Unit 5 wraps up the course with students focusing on how applications and data are secured and how adversaries exploit vulnerabilities. They begin by examining common application and data vulnerabilities, learning how attacks occur and how to assess risk based on likelihood and impact. 

Additional topics include: 

  • Protecting Applications and Data: Managerial Controls and Access Controls 

  • Protecting Stored Data with Cryptography 

  • Asymmetric Cryptography 

  • Protecting Applications 

  • Detecting Attacks on Data and Applications 
     

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