Cybersecurity · Intermediate · 6 live learning hours

Certificate of completion

Learners who meet the course participation and practical assessment requirements receive a Solid Elf certificate of completion.

What you will learn

Explain the role of SHA-256, bcrypt and Argon2 in secure systems
Understand salts, peppers and key stretching
Evaluate password policy strength using controlled offline demonstrations
Recognise common credential-storage mistakes
Design stronger MFA and Zero Trust access controls

Course outline

Session 1: Hashing fundamentals, salts, peppers and password-storage architecture
Session 2: Controlled password-strength testing, attack economics and credential-policy design
Session 3: MFA, phishing-resistant authentication, account recovery and Zero Trust access

Practical project

Review a fictional organisation’s credential-storage and authentication design, identify weaknesses and propose a stronger password and MFA architecture.

Before you start

Basic cybersecurity or systems knowledge. Password-strength demonstrations use only supplied training hashes and authorised lab data.

Learning format

6 live learning hours delivered as three 2-hour sessions. Cohort dates and meeting days are agreed during enrolment.

Exercises should use synthetic, de-identified or otherwise authorised material. Do not bring confidential client records or live credentials into a training session.

What the fee includes

Live tuition, guided demonstrations, architecture exercises, reference checklists, feedback and a certificate of completion for learners who meet the participation and assessment requirements. Internet access is not included.

Software and reference material

Explore official reference material ↗. Training is independently offered by Solid Elf; no software-vendor accreditation or certification is claimed unless explicitly stated.

Password Security, Cryptographic Hashing & MFA