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  1. Courses
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  3. Cyber Espionage and Counterintelligence

Cyber Espionage and Counterintelligence

Learn how cyber espionage operations work and how to counter them. Analyze APT tactics, detect data exfiltration, design counter-intelligence strategies, and deploy deception tools to defend against covert digital threats.

Hanniel Jafaru
Hanniel Jafaru
Cybersecurity | intermediate | 9 hours |   Published: Oct 2025

    Discussions

Overview

STUDENTS*
RECOMMEND*

This course includes:

  • On-demand videos
  • Practice assessments
  • Multiple hands-on learning activities
  • Exposure to a real-world project
  • 100% self-paced learning opportunities
  • Certification of completion

In today’s digital age, the battlefield has shifted. Threats no longer come only from land, sea, air, or space, they now originate silently, invisibly, and persistently from cyberspace. Cyber espionage stands out as one of the most covert, calculated, and dangerous threats to governments, businesses, and individuals alike. Whether it’s state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) targeting national secrets, or industrial espionage actors stealing trade secrets, understanding how these threats operate, and how to stop them, has become a critical skill in modern cybersecurity. 

This course, Cyber Espionage and Counterintelligence, offers a structured, in-depth, and practical exploration of the evolving world of cyber espionage. Unlike general cybersecurity courses, this program is laser-focused on helping learners understand how espionage operations unfold, and more importantly, how to counter them using proven counter-intelligence principles and technical tools. 

Designed specifically for intermediate learners, this course bridges the gap between foundational cybersecurity knowledge and the highly specialised skills needed to analyse, defend against, and outsmart espionage campaigns. Whether you’re a security analyst, SOC team member, red teamer, threat researcher, or military/intelligence professional, this course will provide the insight and technical exposure required to stay ahead of today’s stealthiest cyber threats. 

This is not just a theory-heavy course that lists concepts, you’ll gain operational awareness, hands-on exposure, and the strategic mindset needed to think like an attacker and defend like an intelligence professional. Each module includes mild but meaningful demonstrations, showing learners how espionage works in the real world using open-source tools and real-life case scenarios. 

From understanding the motivations behind threat actors to designing counter-intelligence frameworks, and from analyzing data exfiltration techniques to deploying honeypots or working with IOC platforms like MISP/OpenCTI, you’ll be learning with purpose, and with clarity. This is especially valuable in an era where attacks are increasingly sophisticated, persistent, and politically or economically motivated. 

Cyber espionage is no longer limited to government agencies or high-profile targets. Organizations across all sectors, healthcare, education, finance, energy, and beyond, are now targets of sophisticated, covert attacks. Security teams must think like intelligence officers, not just system administrators or incident responders. 

This course gives you the mindset, strategy, and tools to do just that. Whether you're working to prevent intellectual property theft, safeguard critical infrastructure, or simply protect your organization from persistent threats, this course equips you with the skills to understand the enemy and defend with intelligence. 

Skills You Will Gain

Threat Actor Analysis
Data Exfiltration Detection
Counter-Intelligence Strategy Design
Use of Threat Intelligence Tools

Learning Outcomes (At The End Of This Program, You Will Be Able To...)

  • Analyse threat actor motivations and patterns through the lens of cyber espionage history and behaviors. 
  • Evaluate espionage tactics including data exfiltration, malware deployment, and access techniques across APT campaigns. 
  • Design counter-intelligence strategies using the cyber kill chain and defensive governance principles. 
  • Implement deception tools, threat intelligence workflows, and technical countermeasures against espionage threats. 

Prerequisites

Foundational cybersecurity knowledge, including networking, attack vectors, and vulnerabilities; familiarity with Wireshark, basic scripting, and concepts like threat intelligence and malware is beneficial.

Who Should Attend

Ideal for cybersecurity analysts, SOC teams, CTI professionals, red/blue team members, government or law enforcement operatives, and CISOs seeking to understand and counter cyber espionage risks.

Curriculum

Instructors

*Where courses have been offered multiple times, the “# Students” includes all students who have enrolled. The “%Recommended” shown is also based on this data.
Hanniel Jafaru

Hanniel Jafaru

Hanniel Jafaru is an accomplished author, cybersecurity and AI governance professional, and tech career coach. With almost 2 decades of industry experience, he is the founder and Executive Director of HTC Academy. A certified AI Security and Governance Professional and Certified Cybersecurity Professional, Hanniel is a renowned thought leader and frequent speaker at conferences on cybersecurity and AI. As a co-author of the book series Managing Contemporary Security Challenges in Nigeria, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the field.
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1Chapter 1: Characteristics of Cyber Espionage
2Chapter 2: Motivation of Threat Actors
3Chapter 3: Historical Context of Cyber Espionage
4Chapter 4: Data Exfiltration and Obfuscation
5Chapter 5: Malware Deployment and Lateral Movement
6Chapter 6: Reconnaissance and Access Techniques
7Chapter 7: Understanding Counterintelligence
8Chapter 8: Defensive Pillars of CI
9Chapter 9: Cyber Kill Chain
10Chapter 10: Deception and Adversary Emulation
11Chapter 11: Detection & Response Technology
12Chapter 12: Threat Intelligence & IOC Usage

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Segment 19: Passive vs Active Reconnaissance 

Segment 20: Exploitation Techniques _ Vulnerabilities

Segment 21: Social Engineering SimulationDemo- Nmap Active Reconnaissance

Segment 22: Reading - Inter-Sector Technical Cybersecurity Challenges Report

Segment 23: Hands-On-Learning: Simulating Reconnaissance and Social Engineering Attack

Segment 24: Quiz - Reconnaissance and Access Techniques

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Segment 04: State vs Non-State Actors

Segment 05: Financial Political Strategic Drivers

Segment 06: Threat Profiling Demonstration

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Segment 00: Intro Video to Course

Segment 01: Defining Cyber Espionage

Segment 02: APTs Stealth and Persistence

Segment 03: Threat Actor Classification

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Segment 07: Evolution of Cyber Espionage

Segment 08: Major Global Incidents

Segment 09: Lessons Learned Patterns

Segment 10: Reading - Advanced Persistent Threat: A Deep Dive into Cyber Espionage

Segment 11: Hands-On-Learning: Profiling a Threat Actor

Segment 12: Quiz - Historical Context of Cyber Espionage

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Segment 25: Definitions and Scope 

Segment 26: Offensive vs Defensive CI

Segment 27: Institutional Frameworks (Govt _ Org-level)

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Segment 37: Honeypots_ Honeytokens_ and Decoys 

Segment 38: Adversary Emulation Tools

Segment 39: Demo – Basic Honeypot Setup

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Segment 28: Monitoring_ Attribution_ Insider Threats 

Segment 29: Role of policy_ sops_ and access control

Segment 30: Designing an Insider Threat Program

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Segment 43: Types of Threat Intelligence

Segment 44: IOC Hunting and Validation

Segment 45: Demo – Using MISP or OpenCTI

Segment 46: Reading - How to Build a Honeypot in Python

Segment 47: Hands-On-Learning: IOC Management in a Threat Intelligence Platform

segment 48: Quiz - Threat Intelligence & IOC Usage

Segment 49: Outro_Course Wrap-up Video

Segment 50: Project - Cyber Espionage Threat Analysis Report

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Segment 16: Payload Delivery Techniques

Segment 17: Lateral Movement via Credential Dumping

Segment 18: Demo – Malware Deployment Walkthrough

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Segment 31: Lockheed Martin Kill Chain Explained

Segment 32: Breaking the Chain with CI

Segment 33: Practical Application in Cyber Defense

Segment 34: Reading - Cyber Counterintelligence (CCI): Offensive & Defensive Strategies for Cybersecurity

Segment 35: Hands-On-Learning: Evaluating the SolarWinds Cyber Kill Chain

Segment 36: Quiz - Cyber Kill Chain

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Segment 40: SIEM_ EDR_ and SOAR Overview

Segment 41: Threat Detection Strategies

Segment 42: SOC Workflow and Analyst Roles

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Segment 13: Exfiltration Channels _ Techniques

Segment 14: Obfuscation Methods (Steganography_ Encryption)

Segment 15: Demo – Simulated Data Theft Using Tools