To support risk practitioners, students, and other professionals in learning FAIR, we have developed a free Excel workbook called FAIR-U Workbook for Learners (beta release).
The workbook allows users to create their own risk scenarios for learning, using the FAIR Model and best practices from the FAIR Institute.
This release is a beta and we welcome your feedback.
The FAIR-U Workbook for Learners is an Excel-based tool designed to help individuals develop a hands-on understanding of Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR). Unlike FAIR-U for Cyber, which is a web-based application to teach the FAIR Cyber Risk Management Framework, the workbook provides a more traditional FAIR experience by allowing users to see and manipulate the risk factors directly in an Excel workbook.
The workbook is available to FAIR Institute general and contributing members at no cost. If you are a member, you can download the latest version from the FAIR Institute website. If you are not yet a member, you can sign up for free at https://www.fairinstitute.org/get-involved-apply-today.
No, the FAIR-U Workbook for Learners is strictly an educational tool. It is not designed, warranted, or licensed for conducting risk analysis for business or commercial purposes. The workbook is intended to help learners understand the FAIR model through structured exercises and guided analysis, not to support real-world cyber risk management or regulatory reporting.
Yes! The FAIR-U Workbook for Learners is designed to support education on FAIR. Instructors may use the workbook in their courses, including distributing it to students, as long as it is for non-commercial educational purposes and complies with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
For any questions about classroom use or potential customizations, please contact us at fairu@fairinstitute.org.
The FAIR-U Workbook for Learners is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
If you would like to recommend modifications or enhancements to the workbook, please contact us at fairu@fairinstitute.org.
We lock (protect) the workbook to prevent users from accidentally overwriting formulas or other critical cells. However, users can still interact with unlocked input cells as intended.
You will need a PC or Mac running a recent version of Microsoft Excel. The workbook was built in Microsoft Excel on Windows 10 (Excel version 2502) and MacOS (Excel version 16.95), and therefore those versions are known to work.
You should also enable macros. The workbook includes VBA-based macros to function and provide a seamless user experience. If you disable macros, you will need to manually unhide sheets and force recalculations (or enabled Automatic calculations). The workbook is protected and sheets are locked to provide a smooth user experience. Users may unprotect/unlock the workbook and its sheets — no password is required.
We welcome your feedback and questions. Please email us at fairu@fairinstitute.org with any issues or suggestions. We will do our best to respond within two (2) business days.
The FAIR-U Workbook is provided “as-is” and without warranty of any kind. It is not warranted for any purpose beyond learning and exploring FAIR. The FAIR Institute makes no guarantees about its accuracy, suitability, or fitness for any particular purpose.
To ensure that you have an authentic and untampered version of the workbook, we provide a SHA-256 hash for verification. This allows you to confirm that the file you downloaded matches the original version.
FAIRInstitute_FAIR-UWorkbookForLearners_1.3Beta.xlsm
322993da61f4859447bdfabc04fa8dfa7bdb89b092d0cf9d16e0553d301ae514
To verify the hash on Windows (using PowerShell):
Open PowerShell (Win + X → Windows Terminal (Admin))
Run this command: Get-FileHash "C:\path\to\
FAIRInstitute_FAIR-UWorkbookForLearners_1.2Beta.xlsm" -Algorithm SHA256
Compare the displayed hash with the one listed above. If they match, the file is authentic.
To verify the hash on Mac (using Terminal):
Open Terminal (Command + Space, search for Terminal)
Run this command: shasum -a 256 /path/to/FAIRInstitute_FAIR-UWorkbookForLearners_1.2Beta.xlsm
Compare the displayed hash with the one listed above. If they match, the file is authentic.
Yes, the workbook contains macros to improve the user experience, but they are not required for learning the FAIR methodology. The macros serve the following purposes:
Ensuring safety:
Yes. The FAIR Institute will periodically update the FAIR-U Workbook for Learners to reflect refinements in FAIR methodology and incorporate feedback from the learning community. Check the FAIR Institute website regularly to ensure you have the latest version.
No. The original FAIR-U powered by RiskLens has been discontinued. The FAIR-U Workbook for Learners was developed to provide a more transparent approach to learning FAIR by allowing users to see the formulas, calculations, and methodology behind FAIR risk analysis.
We welcome your feedback and questions. Please email us at fairu@fairinstitute.org with any issues or suggestions. We will do our best to respond within two (2) business days.
However, the FAIR-U Workbook for Learners is provided “as-is” and without warranty of any kind. It is not warranted for any purpose beyond learning and exploring FAIR. The FAIR Institute makes no guarantees about its accuracy, suitability, or fitness for any particular purpose.