IT Security Specialist: Learning path

In this course, security expert Malcolm Shore provides a comprehensive overview of cybersecurity basics. He covers various cybersecurity frameworks and control standards, including NIST and COBIT, to help assess and mitigate risks. Malcolm explains cyber threats and how they operate, including advanced persistent threats and how cyber criminals hide their attacks. He also discusses managing cyber risk and the lifecycle of cybersecurity, from defense to incident response. Finally, Malcolm concludes with a discussion of international cyber norms and protocols.

In this course, you will learn about network security and how to secure an organization's infrastructure. We will cover security devices such as firewalls and honeypots. You will also learn about the importance of isolating networks with VLANS and NAT addressing, as well as common security protocols. Additionally, we will discuss how to protect clients with antivirus software, encrypt folders and files, implement software restriction policies, and secure your cloud services. Physical security will also be covered, including securing a building's perimeter and the hardware within. By the end of this course, you will be able to list common devices used to protect and defend a network, summarize how VLANs can protect a network, give examples of how server and domain isolation can protect subnetworks, describe best practices for virtualization and container security, recognize the threat of password attacks, identify the different ways malicious actors can spoof protocols on a network, outline the various ways to use and secure protocols to minimize risk and prevent attacks, discuss how antivirus software protects your system against malware, describe the ways a security baseline can ensure that all device configuration settings are in-line with an organization's baseline metric, and list examples of ways to ensure physical security.

This course covers the different types of cloud technology, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, and the benefits and risks associated with each. It also explores the deployment models available and reviews offerings from Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Apps. The course highlights the SecaaS capability of each platform, which can be used to identify unauthorized access and put cloud security defenses like encryption, logging, and monitoring into place. By the end of the course, learners will be able to differentiate between cloud services, identify their characteristics, apply security controls to cloud-based applications, and identify different types of cloud security controls.

Vulnerability management is a critical aspect for every organization to address. It goes beyond just patching OS systems. This course by Instructor Lora Vaughn McIntosh provides an overview of why vulnerabilities exist and explains the process of managing them from start to finish. The course covers the three key components of vulnerability management and the tools needed to establish a program of your own. You will learn about vulnerability scanning and reporting, how to identify which vulnerabilities to address first, how to vet false positives, and more.

In this course, instructor Sam Sehgal explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to solve complex cybersecurity problems. He covers the six main disciplines of AI and provides practical examples to illustrate their real-world applications. Sam also discusses how to use machine learning techniques to address security issues and avoid false positives. Additionally, he highlights the limitations and risks of using AI for security and shares tips on how to best prepare your organization for AI-driven security. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of the foundational disciplines of AI and how to evaluate AI tools in the market.

This course focuses on the importance of communication skills for information security professionals. It covers soft skills to cultivate, tips for engaging with different groups in the information security community, and general communication strategies. Instructor Jerod Brennen emphasizes the need to understand the perspective of the business and how to express research findings to colleagues. The course also provides guidance on using creativity to respond to problems without a clearly defined solution.