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SEC-103 Security

Applied Cryptography & PKI Essentials

Enough cryptography to make correct engineering decisions: symmetric vs asymmetric trade-offs, hashing and signatures, TLS internals, certificate lifecycles and PKI trust chains — plus the classic implementation mistakes that turn good algorithms into bad security.

B2Foundation
5modules
35skill atoms
3role journeys
Curriculum

What this course covers.

5 modules, 35 named skill atoms. Expand any module to see them.

1Crypto Building Blocks7 skill atoms
symmetric/asymmetrichashingsignaturesAES-GCM authenticated encryptionSHA-2 vs deprecated MD5/SHA-1HMAC vs digital signatureentropy & secure RNG sources
2TLS Under the Hood7 skill atoms
handshakecipher negotiationmTLSTLS 1.2 vs 1.3 differencesforward secrecyhostname & chain validationSNI/ALPN basics
3PKI in Practice7 skill atoms
CAschainsissuancerevocationroot vs intermediate trust anchorsCSR & SAN constructionCRL vs OCSP stapling
4Certificate Operations7 skill atoms
rotationautomationexpiry incident drillACME issuance automationcertificate inventory & expiry alertingzero-downtime key rolloverpinning pitfalls
5Mistake Museum7 skill atoms
real misuse patternshow to spot them in reviewECB mode & IV reusehardcoded keys in sourceroll-your-own cryptounauthenticated encryptiondisabled certificate verification
Where it fits

SEC-103 in the role journeys.

This course appears in 3 of our 45 role journeys. Here is what a learner takes immediately before and after it in each.

Security Engineer

Foundation stage
SEC-102SEC-103SEC-106

AppSec Engineer

Foundation stage
SEC-303SEC-103SEC-304

Cryptography / PQC Engineer

Foundation stage
SEC-101SEC-103SEC-106

Roles this course serves

The capability ladder

This course is authored to band B2.

Every course we run is written to one rung of the CASI ladder, so a plan can be assembled to take a team from where they are to where they need to be.

What do B1–B6 mean?The CASI Capability Ladder — click to expand

Every course targets a band on the CASI Capability Ladder — our six-band proficiency scale, anchored to open standards (O*NET, ESCO, NICE, NIST AI RMF, Bloom's). A band tells you how deep a course goes, and what evidence proves it.

What the learner can doTypical evidence
B1
AwareUnderstands concepts and vocabulary; uses tools with guidance
Knowledge checks
B2
FoundationPerforms standard tasks correctly in familiar contexts
Guided labs, autograded exercises
B3
PractitionerDelivers complete pieces of work independently
Scenario labs, proctored hands-on exams
B4
ProfessionalHandles production-grade complexity, trade-offs and failure modes
Break-fix drills, design defenses
B5
AdvancedEngineers systems end-to-end under constraints; leads others
Rubric-scored capstones, vivas
B6
ExpertSets direction; recognised authority across teams
Portfolio + panel evaluation

A note on B6. Courses in this catalog target B1–B5. B6 is not taught — it is recognised, through a portfolio and a panel, once someone is setting direction for others. Every journey here is built to land a learner at B5.

Next step

Run SEC-103 for your team.

This course runs at several lengths depending on how deep you need to go and how much of it your people already have. Tell us who is being trained and we will scope it.

Add it to a training plan Talk to our team Check your team’s level free