Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program
Individual good habits are fragile; an organizational program makes AI-era security durable. This course is for whoever owns organizational resilience against AI-enabled threats like deepfake fraud, impersonation, and hijacked AI tools. You'll learn to assess readiness honestly, build a layered and funded defense program, and sustain it with metrics, drills, threat awareness, and governance. You'll finish able to run readiness as a continuous loop rather than a one-time project.
Prerequisites
-
AI-Era Incident Response
$99
-
What is Prerequisite coursesA prerequisite is a specific course that you must complete before you can take another course at the next grade level.
Course details
Duration
1h 12m 22s
Lectures
15
Video
1.25 hours
Quizzes
1
Level
Beginner
Course Description
Deepfakes, injection attacks, and impersonation slip past firewalls and filters because they come through the human and content doors. This course shows how to build an AI cyber readiness program that covers those doors: assessed with evidence, built in layers, and sustained by people who own it.
What you'll learn
- A readiness assessment across people, process, technology, and response
- Crown jewels, likely attack paths, and people-risk mapping by role
- A gap report in business-risk language that leadership will fund
- Layered defenses, built-in verification, and training that changes behavior
- Where defensive AI helps, how to evaluate detection vendors, and the role of cyber insurance
- Leading-indicator metrics, continuous drills, threat awareness, and board reporting
Who it's for
Leaders, security and IT managers, risk and compliance staff, and anyone responsible for organizational resilience against AI-enabled threats.
15 short video lessons in three modules: Assess, Build, and Sustain.
This course is educational and is not legal or security-consulting advice. Your employer's security policy and counsel govern.
Module 1: Assess
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1.1 The AI-Threat Readiness AssessmentWhere you honestly stand — the baseline every program starts from.
In this lesson:
- Run an honest AI-threat readiness assessment
- Cover the four readiness dimensions
- Turn the assessment into a prioritized starting point
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1.2 Crown Jewels & Likely Attack Paths
What you're really protecting, and how attackers would reach it.
In this lesson:
- Identify the organization's crown jewels
- Map the likely AI-enabled paths to them
- Focus defense where it matters most
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1.3 People-Risk Mapping: Who Gets Targeted
Not everyone faces the same threat — target the training and controls.
In this lesson:
- Identify the highest-risk roles
- Match protection depth to role risk
- Avoid the uniform-training trap
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1.4 The Defensive Stack Review
What's deployed, what's assumed, and where the real gaps are.
In this lesson:
- Review the people-process-technology stack honestly
- Find the assumed-but-absent controls
- Spot the AI-specific gaps in traditional defenses
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1.5 The Gap Report Leadership Will Read
Turning findings into a decision document that gets action and budget.
In this lesson:
- Structure a gap report that drives decisions
- Speak in business risk, not technical detail
- Turn the report into funded action
Module 2: Build
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2.1 The Layered Defense Program
Assembling people, process, and technology into a coherent whole.
In this lesson:
- Design a layered program from the gap report
- Sequence the build for early wins
- Assign ownership so layers don't fall between chairs
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2.2 Verification Protocols, Org-Wide
Turning individual habits into standing organizational controls.
In this lesson:
- Codify verification into policy and workflow
- Roll out callback culture and code words at scale
- Make the secure path the default path
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2.3 Training That Works: Pressure-Tested, Not Checkbox
Building a training program that changes behavior, not just completion stats.
In this lesson:
- Design behavior-changing training, not compliance theater
- Use simulations and drills to build real reflexes
- Measure decisions, not completions
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2.4 Defensive AI & Choosing Detection Vendors
Where technology helps, its honest limits, and how to buy it well.
In this lesson:
- Know where defensive AI genuinely helps
- Understand detection's real-world limits
- Evaluate detection vendors without buying hype
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2.5 Budget, Insurance & the Business Case
Funding the program and managing the risk you can't fully eliminate.
In this lesson:
- Build the business case for the program
- Understand cyber insurance in the AI era
- Frame security as enablement, not just cost
Module 3: Sustain
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3.1 Metrics That Matter
Measuring a program so it improves — and proves its worth.
In this lesson:
- Choose metrics that predict real readiness
- Avoid vanity and gameable measures
- Report metrics that drive improvement and sustain funding
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3.2 Continuous Drills & Testing
Keeping reflexes sharp and finding gaps before attackers do.
In this lesson:
- Establish a rhythm of drills and testing
- Rotate scenarios to cover the threat spectrum
- Turn every drill into program improvement
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3.3 Staying Current: Threat Intelligence for Humans
Keeping the program updated as threats evolve — without drowning in noise.
In this lesson:
- Build a lightweight threat-awareness habit
- Filter signal from hype
- Feed new threats back into the program
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3.4 Governance & Board Reporting
Keeping leadership engaged so the program endures.
In this lesson:
- Establish clear governance and accountability
- Report to leadership and the board effectively
- Sustain executive engagement over time
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3.5 The Resilient Organization
The whole program assembled, and the whole track completed — the finale.
In this lesson:
- Assemble the program into the resilience lifecycle
- Define what a resilient organization looks like
- Complete the AI Cyber Defense Readiness Track
Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program — Final Exam
Learn at your own pace
Study the materials at your convenience, you can always return to them to repeat
Certificate of completion
Complete every lesson and pass the final exam to earn a RiseCert certificate of completion you can download and share.
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Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program
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For demonstrated knowledge and successful completion of all course requirements for:
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Prerequisites
-
AI-Era Incident Response
$99
-
What is Prerequisite coursesA prerequisite is a specific course that you must complete before you can take another course at the next grade level.
Got Questions? We've Got Answers!
Answers to the most common questions about this course.
What is the Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program course?
Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program is a RiseCert online course for people who own organizational resilience against AI-enabled threats. It shows how to assess readiness honestly, build a layered and funded defense program, and sustain it with metrics, drills, and governance, in 15 video lessons (about 1 hour 15 minutes) and a final exam.
Who should take an AI cyber readiness course?
The course is written for leaders and program owners: executives, security and IT managers, risk, compliance, and operations leads, and anyone asked to make an organization ready for AI-era threats. Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program focuses on organizing, funding, and sustaining a program, not on hands-on technical configuration.
What is an AI cyber readiness program?
In the course's terms, it's an organized, owned program that prepares an organization for AI-enabled threats like deepfake fraud, impersonation, prompt injection, and hijacked AI agents. It runs as a continuous loop: assess where you stand, build layered defenses across people, process, and technology, sustain them with metrics, drills, and governance, then reassess.
How do you assess an organization's readiness for AI threats?
Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program teaches an assessment across four dimensions: people, process, technology, and response. It stresses measuring reality with evidence, such as simulation results, a findable-policy test, a tabletop, and real logs, rather than intentions. Gaps are then ranked by exposure, with cheap, high-impact fixes first.
Why don't firewalls and email filters stop deepfake fraud?
The course explains that a deepfake call to a finance employee never touches the network, so perimeter tools can't see it. Injection rides inside legitimate content, AI agents act with real permissions, and impersonation happens on outside platforms. Traditional tools guard technical doors; AI attacks increasingly come through human and content doors, so verification processes matter.
Should we buy a deepfake detection tool?
The course treats detection as a useful layer, not a replacement for verification. It notes that government testing has found detection accuracy drops from lab to real deployment, and detectors face an arms race with new fakes. It recommends layering detection behind verification protocols and testing vendors on your own data, including false-positive rates.
How does cyber insurance fit into an AI readiness program?
The course describes insurance as transferring residual risk your controls can't eliminate. Insurers increasingly require controls such as multi-factor authentication, training, and verification procedures, and claims can be denied when required controls weren't in place. It advises reading the terms on social engineering, deepfake-enabled loss, and business email compromise carefully.
Do I need a technical or cybersecurity background?
No deep technical background is needed. Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program is a leadership and program-management course with no coding or configuration. Familiarity with your organization's operations, payment processes, and decision-making helps, because the course asks you to identify crown jewels, map high-risk roles, and make the business case to leadership.
What will I be able to do after completing the course?
You'll be able to run a four-dimension readiness assessment, map crown jewels, attack paths, and high-risk roles, write a decision-ready gap report, design and sequence a layered program with named owners, build verification into workflows, design behavior-changing training, make the business case, track leading-indicator metrics, run continuous drills, and report to a board.
How is this different from a general cybersecurity framework?
General frameworks catalog controls. Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program focuses on what AI changed, including deepfake fraud, impersonation, injection, and AI agents, and on the human and process layers that carry much of that load. It's practical program guidance: prioritizing gaps, getting funding, assigning owners, and sustaining attention.
How long does Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program take?
The course has about 1 hour 15 minutes of video across 15 lessons, plus a final exam. Lessons run about five minutes each and are organized into three modules: Assess, Build, and Sustain. Many learners finish in one or two sittings.
Is the course online and self-paced?
Yes. The course is 100% online and self-paced, and your access does not expire. You can start, pause, and resume at any time on a computer, tablet, or phone with a modern web browser. There's nothing to install.
Is there a final exam?
Yes. The course ends with a 30-question multiple-choice final exam covering all three modules. You need a score of 80% or higher (24 of 30) to pass, and you can retake the exam as many times as you need. Finish all 15 lessons and pass the exam to complete the course.
Do I get a certificate of completion?
Yes. After you complete all 15 lessons and pass the final exam, you can download a RiseCert certificate of completion. It is a course completion certificate, not a license, a professional security or governance certification, or a continuing education (CE) certificate.
Does the course count for CPE or continuing education credit?
No. Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program is not currently approved or accredited for continuing education credit of any kind, including CE, CPE, or CEU, by any state, licensing body, or certification organization. If you need credits to maintain a credential, take a course approved by that credential's body.
How does the course keep up with fast-changing AI threats?
The course builds staying current into the program itself: a lightweight habit of a few trusted sources, sector peers, and government advisories such as CISA's, with one named owner. It teaches filtering hype by asking whether a threat is new, whether it reaches you, and what already covers it, then periodically re-running the assessment.
Is this course legal or security-consulting advice?
No. Building the AI Cyber Readiness Program is educational and stays at a defensive, awareness level. It is not legal advice or security-consulting advice, and it can't tell you what controls, insurance, or disclosures your organization needs. Your employer's security policy, your security and risk teams, and qualified counsel govern specific decisions.
Does the course help with board reporting on cyber risk?
Yes. A lesson covers governance and board reporting: a named program owner, a regular cadence, decision rights, and an executive sponsor. It teaches reporting in business-risk terms, brief and visual, honest about residual risk, and tied to obligations like regulation and insurance, and keeping attention steady between incidents.
How much does the course cost, and can I enroll my team?
The course costs $99 per learner as a one-time purchase, with no subscription or recurring fees. To enroll a leadership team, security function, or whole organization, contact RiseCert through the Contact Us page at risecert.org.
What is the refund policy?
All sales are final and no refunds are issued, as stated in the RiseCert Terms of Use. Please review the course description, lesson list, and these FAQs before purchasing, and contact RiseCert with any questions first.