Software Engineering Institute

Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has made remarkable strides. From deep neural networks that can identify and label objects in images, to AI systems that outperform humans in complex games like chess, to the emergence of large language models like ChatGPT that can respond to a wide range of queries, we have entered a new era of AI.

These AI advancements are transforming many fields, including cybersecurity. AI technologies can streamline existing cybersecurity processes and enable entirely new approaches. However, these technologies also introduce new potential attack vectors for adversaries.

This professional certificate program is intended for cybersecurity professionals who operate in technical roles. The course content and hands-on laboratory exercises will prepare learners to apply AI techniques to their work.

After successful completion of this course, you will understand

• AI technologies in cybersecurity
• strengths, limitations, and appropriate use cases for AI
• how to apply AI tools in a real-world setting

In this course, learners will study the technologies, characteristics, and applications of AI for cybersecurity, including

• constructing machine learning (ML) models
• applying deep neural networks (DNNs)
• interacting with large language models (LLMs)
• analyzing text data
• creating automated planners
• selecting and implementing appropriate AI tools for various cybersecurity challenges

This eLearning course is presented in the form of video instruction by an SEI CERT cybersecurity expert. Course lessons are sequential, gradually building the knowledge and skills of learners with independent exercise labs inserted at key points where attendees can apply what they learned. Learners can perform the hands-on exercises in Google Colabs, a hosted Jupyter Notebook service, or on their local machine. The course also contains interactive exercises and knowledge check questions to reinforce learners’ newly acquired knowledge.

Downloadable materials include course presentation slides, Google Colab files, and instructions for the development environment.

Learners should have a basic understanding of cybersecurity, statistics, mathematics, and computer programming. Experience with Python is helpful but not required.

The exercise labs can be performed using Google Colab, which requires a Gmail address.

Alternatively, exercise labs can be performed on a local computer with

• 8GB of RAM or more
• Windows 7 or greater, macOS 10.15 or greater, or various Linux distributions
• Python 3.8 or greater

To access the SEI Learning Portal, your computer must have the following:

• For optimum viewing, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari browsers
• Microsoft Windows 8 (or higher), OSX (last two major releases), or most Linux distributions (These operating systems support the recommended browsers.)
• Mobile Operating Systems: iOS 9, Android 6.0
• Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari (These browsers follow a continuous release policy that makes it difficult to fix a minimum version. For this reason, following the market recommendation, we support the last two major versions of each of these browsers. As of January 2018, we do not support Safari on Windows.)