A self-paced, lab-driven prep course for the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity exam. Across 35 weeks of curriculum, your learner moves from cybersecurity foundations through networking, wireless and endpoint security, threat intelligence and incident response, ending with four weeks of test prep and the actual industry certification.
Earn transferable college credit through our partnership with Smarter by 1 Degree.
Most "high school cybersecurity" courses are vocabulary lessons: students memorize terms like "phishing" and "firewall" without ever doing the work. CCST Cybersecurity takes a different path. The course is built around the actual Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity certification — a real industry credential. Pass the exam, and your learner ends with a Cisco-issued cert, not a participation slip.
Self-paced is the right format because cybersecurity rewards depth. Some learners need a week on cryptography, others need three. The hands-on labs — Wireshark traffic analysis, secure system configuration, simulated incidents — happen at the pace each learner needs to actually understand them, not when the calendar says they should.
Real curriculum. Real labs. Real Cisco certification at the end.
Most "intro to cybersecurity" courses just survey the field. CCST Cybersecurity is built around the actual Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity exam — an industry credential issued by Cisco itself. Topics, depth, and pacing all align to what the exam tests. Pass it, and your learner finishes with a real cert that means something on a college application or first résumé.
Cybersecurity isn't a vocabulary subject. The course bakes in real labs throughout: students analyze actual network traffic in Wireshark, harden Windows and Linux systems, work through simulated security incidents, and study real-world attack case studies. By the time they sit the cert exam, the questions feel familiar because they've already done the work.
Some learners zip through the fundamentals and need extra time on cryptography. Others need the opposite. The course is self-paced because real cybersecurity knowledge isn't something you cram on a fixed weekly schedule — it's something you build at the speed your learner actually needs. Year-round enrollment means starting whenever your family is ready.
Five modules across 35 weeks of curriculum, from cybersecurity foundations through risk and incident response to the actual Cisco CCST certification exam.
The mental model and the math that the rest of the year builds on. Students start with the cybersecurity landscape, careers, and ethics, then move into how attackers actually operate: common threats and vulnerabilities, insider threats, social engineering, on-path (man-in-the-middle) attacks. The module pivots into a deep dive on the cryptography that protects modern systems, from symmetric and asymmetric encryption through certificates and full public key infrastructure (PKI). Eight weeks. Closes with a complete review before networking begins.
Cybersecurity is impossible without networking. Students learn how packets actually move across networks, then how to defend those flows. The module covers basic networking concepts and protocols, common networking vulnerabilities, IP addressing and subnetting, and VLANs (with hands-on simulator labs where students design and segment real network layouts). From there it goes into network infrastructure and technologies, then two full weeks on controlling network access (firewalls, ACLs, access control lists). Closes with a semester 1 review that consolidates everything from foundations through network defense.
Now we lock down the actual devices. Students start with two full weeks on wireless SOHO security (the wifi setups your learner will actually encounter at home and in small offices), then move through three deep weeks on operating systems and tools across Windows, Linux, and macOS. Linux security with log analysis gets its own dedicated week. The module also includes Wireshark for live network traffic analysis, DNS security, endpoint policies and standards, and detection plus remediation of malware on both networks and endpoints. Nine weeks of hands-on device security.
This is where students learn to think like a working cybersecurity professional. The module covers risk and vulnerability management (assessing what could go wrong and prioritizing what to fix first), threat intelligence (consuming threat feeds, recognizing indicators of compromise, and turning raw data into actionable defense), disaster recovery and business continuity planning, and incident handling across the full lifecycle: detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons-learned. Includes a self-directed lab week for deepening on one focus area before the test prep run.
The final four weeks are dedicated, structured test prep. Students work through timed practice exams calibrated to the actual Cisco CCST format, focused review of weak areas across every domain from the previous 31 weeks of curriculum, exam strategy and question patterns, and full-length mock exams. The module ends with the actual Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity certification exam itself, earning your learner an industry-recognized credential they can put on a resume, transcript, college application, or job search.
Download the complete scope and sequence for CCST Cybersecurity, including week-by-week pacing and lesson topics.
Scope & Sequence (PDF)CCST Cybersecurity is offered as a self-paced course, available year-round. Start whenever your family is ready, work at the pace your learner needs, and finish with a real Cisco-issued certification.
Eligible for ESA / scholarship payments in 12 states. See your state →