CFA - Cyber Innovations Ltd

Cyber First Aid

Practical incident-response and resilience training for non-technical teams, built on the Human Layer Kill Chain.

Overview

Cyber First Aid (CFA) is the flagship training programme of Cyber Innovations Ltd., designed to equip organisations with the skills to respond effectively to cyber incidents while supporting the psychological resilience of their staff.

Unlike traditional technical training, CFA addresses both incident response processes and the human factors that influence recovery and decision-making. It is underpinned by the Human Layer Kill Chain (HLKC) and Human Indicators of Compromise (HIOC), developed through collaborative research with Bournemouth University (BU-CERT).

Key Facts

Status: Active (launched 2025)
Funding & Support: Bournemouth University, Innovate UK (via related projects), internal R&D
Partners: Bournemouth University, Dorset Mind, industry collaborators
Sectors: SMEs, Public Sector, Education, Critical Infrastructure
Methods: HLKC, HIOC, scenario-based training, resilience frameworks

Deliverables

CFA Basic: Half-day awareness session for decision-makers and teams

CFA Essentials: 2-day course covering core cyber response and resilience skills

CFA Business: Bespoke training tailored to organisational needs

CFA Toolkit: Playbooks, templates, and
resources available
post-course

CFA Train-the-Trainer (TtT): Pathway to certify in-house trainers for wider roll-out

Outcomes & Impact

Reduced downtime and recovery costs following cyber incidents
Increased staff confidence in identifying and reporting threats
Integration of mental health and resilience strategies into incident handling
Sector-wide adoption through scalable training models
Academic and industry recognition of CFA as an evidence-based solution

Approach / Methods

CFA combines interactive simulations, roleplay, and game-based learning with structured psychological models. Training is delivered flexibly:

In-person workshops
Virtual sessions
Hybrid delivery for distributed teams

Each session is designed to embed practical knowledge, reduce stress under pressure, and reinforce positive security behaviours through experiential learning.