This 8-week virtual program combines weekly 2-hour live sessions with flexible asynchronous learning, designed for working professionals balancing full-time roles. Participants complete a phased final project grounded in their own organization, including:
- Enterprise risk assessment
- Maturity model evaluation
- Multi-year roadmap and budget
- Executive-ready presentation
Beyond course content, LevelSec provides professional development opportunities, including expert panels, peer networking sessions, and optional career coaching to support long-term career growth and leadership visibility.
What You Will Gain
By completing this course, participants will:
- Translate technical cybersecurity risk into executive-ready insights
- Apply frameworks such as NIST CSF and CMMI to assess organizational maturity
- Develop multi-year cybersecurity roadmaps and budgets
- Present strategic findings to executives with clarity and confidence
- Expand professional networks and access leadership guidance
Course Modules and Schedule
- Week 1: Cybersecurity Governance and Risk Management Introduction | Introduction to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). The session explores how cybersecurity governance supports risk management and how maturity models help communicate security posture to executives.
- Week 2: NIST CSF – The Govern and Identify Functions | Learn how organizations establish cybersecurity governance structures and identify risks across their environment. This week focuses on understanding key assessment questions and gathering evidence to evaluate risk management maturity.
- Week 3: NIST CSF – the Protect and Detect Functions | This module explores the controls and monitoring practices that protect systems and detect potential threats. Participants examine how organizations safeguard assets and identify gaps in operational security.
- Week 4: NIST CSF – the Respond and Recover Functions | Examine how organizations prepare for and respond to cybersecurity incidents and recover from disruptions. This module highlights the processes and capabilities required for effective incident management.
- Week 5: Identifying Strategic Projects | Analyze risk assessment results to identify key security gaps and translate them into strategic cybersecurity initiatives aligned with organizational priorities.
- Week 6: Building a Multi-Year Roadmap and Budget | Develop a multi-year cybersecurity roadmap that sequences initiatives and estimates costs. This module focuses on prioritizing investments based on risk, maturity goals, and available resources.
- Week 7: Storytelling and Executive Presentations | Learn how to communicate cybersecurity strategy effectively to senior leadership. The session focuses on framing risk, justifying investments, and presenting complex technical topics clearly to executives.
- Week 8: Presentation Delivery
This course is designed for professionals who:
- Are moving into leadership, management, or strategic cybersecurity roles
- Need to communicate technical risk to executives or boards
- Want to design, evaluate, and govern enterprise cybersecurity programs
- Seek to expand professional networks and access leadership guidance
Ideal participants include cybersecurity analysts, architects, risk and compliance practitioners, and IT professionals responsible for systems, controls, or secure operations.
Participants should have foundational cybersecurity or IT experience. This course is not a certification program, but a completion-based credential focused on governance, risk, and strategic leadership skills.
Through funding from the Government of Nova Scotia’s One Journey Initiative, 10 full scholarships are available for Nova Scotian's to complete this course in our LevelSec program.
To be eligible for this scholarship, professionals:
- Must reside in Nova Scotia
- Currently unemployed or underemployed
- Actively looking for a full-time role in IT / tech
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This program is made possible through funding by Nova Scotia's Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration's One Journey Initiative.
