Course Description


Human behavior remains one of the greatest cybersecurity vulnerabilities facing government agencies today. Attackers increasingly target employees through phishing emails, social engineering, impersonation, business email compromise, and psychological manipulation rather than directly attacking technical systems.

This course provides federal workers with practical cybersecurity awareness strategies to recognize, prevent, and respond to social engineering attacks. Participants will learn how cybercriminals exploit trust, urgency, fear, authority, and emotional manipulation to gain access to sensitive information and systems.

The course emphasizes real-world attack scenarios, federal workplace risks, and actionable defensive behaviors that strengthen the human firewall across government environments.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Define social engineering and explain its impact on federal agencies
  2. Identify common social engineering attack methods
  3. Recognize phishing, smishing, vishing, and impersonation attempts
  4. Understand psychological manipulation techniques used by attackers
  5. Apply cybersecurity best practices to reduce human-centered risk
  6. Safely respond to suspicious communications and incidents
  7. Protect sensitive government and personal information
  8. Support a culture of cybersecurity awareness within their organization

NICE Framework Alignment

This course aligns with the NICE Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity by supporting cybersecurity awareness, risk management, and workforce protection initiatives.

Relevant NICE Categories

  • Protect and Defend (PR)
  • Securely Provision (SP)
  • Oversee and Govern (OV)

Specialty Areas

  • Cybersecurity Awareness
  • Risk Management
  • Security Program Management
  • Cyber Defense Support

Required Materials

Student Requirements

  • Internet connection
  • Computer or tablet
  • Access to the course LMS
  • PDF reader

Provided Materials

  • Downloadable workbook
  • Awareness checklist
  • Social engineering examples
  • Incident reporting guide
  • Final assessment

 

Key Takeaways

Participants will leave this course understanding:

  • Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility
  • Human behavior is often the first attack surface
  • Awareness can significantly reduce organizational risk
  • Attackers exploit trust more than technology
  • Employees are the first line of defense

About Vanderson Cyber Group

Vanderson Cyber Group provides cybersecurity awareness training, consulting, and resilience education for businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and community organizations.

Led by Dr. Mack Jackson Jr., Vanderson Cyber Group specializes in translating complex cybersecurity threats into practical, human-centered education that helps organizations reduce risk and strengthen cybersecurity culture.

Cyber Security Awareness Professor Dr. Mack Jackson Jr

Dr. Mack Jackson Jr. is a cybersecurity expert, TEDx speaker, keynote presenter, university professor, and founder of Vanderson Cyber Group , where he helps organizations strengthen cybersecurity awareness, resilience, and risk management strategies. His TEDx presentation, “When the Streetlights Come On: Protecting Our Children in the Digital Age,” focused on the growing challenges families face in raising children safely in a hyperconnected world and the importance of digital leadership, cybersecurity awareness, and parental engagement. Dr. Jackson has trained business leaders, government agencies, healthcare providers, and educational institutions on topics including social engineering, AI threats, data protection, and cybersecurity culture. He holds a doctoral degree in Information Technology with a specialization in Cybersecurity Assurance and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress for his contributions to cybersecurity awareness education while also hosting Cybersecurity Awareness TV, where he educates audiences on emerging cyber threats and practical digital safety strategies.

Course curriculum

    1. Human-Centered Cybersecurity: Defending Against Social Engineering Attacks

    1. Customer Support Using ChatGPT

    2. Customer Support Using ChatGPT - PDF

    3. Knowledge Check of Course Material Quiz

    1. Automating Tasks with ChatGPT

    2. Automating Tasks with ChatGPT - PDF

    1. Generating Responses Using ChatGPT

    2. Generating Responses Using ChatGPT - PDF

    1. Live Demo 1

    2. Live Demo 2

    3. Live Demo 3

    4. Live Demo 4

    5. Live Demo 5

    6. ChatGPT Business Prompts

    1. Professor Mack - Review of MS-Copilot

About this course

  • $47.00
  • 23 lessons
  • 1 hour of video content