Cybersecurity Essentials
All about defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks.
A CISCO-based course on cybersecutiry essentials
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.
Implementing effective cybersecurity measures is particularly challenging today because there are more devices than people, and attackers are becoming more innovative.
Topic outline
- General
- Topic 1
Introduction
Part 1 - Team and learning context
This course teaches the basic cybersecurity concepts and the skills that you can put to use right away. .Course team
Vice-Rector/Lector, Technical University of Moldova/CISCO Instructor
Lector, Technical University of Moldova/CISCO Instructor
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Introduction
Part 2 - Unit Objectives
This course teaches the basic cybersecurity concepts and the skills that you can put to use right away.You'll learn these core skills
Describe the characteristics of criminals and heroes in the cybersecurity realm.Explain how cybersecurity professionals use technologies, processes, and procedures to defend all components of the network.Describe how technologies, products, and procedures are used to protect confidentiality.
- Topic 3
Instructions
Part 1 - NetAcad
This course uses Cisco Networking Academy as learning platform. This section will provide all necessary information about course access and learning path related to study program.Coursework
Coursework may take place in NetAcad online learning environment, in the classroom—or both. Once you enroll, you'll be asked to create an account, then taken to your learning dashboard. Course materials and tests may be accessed from there.Once enrolled, you have access to student forums where you can ask questions and interact with instructors and peers. Also use our Facebook community, which has more than a million members available for support.
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Instructions
Part 2 - Cisco Packet Tracer
This course uses Cisco Packet Tracer - a powerful network simulation tool built by Cisco.Discover and troubleshoot using powerful networking simulation tool.
Enroll, download and start learning valuable tips and best practices for using our innovative, virtual simulation tool, Cisco Packet Tracer. This self-paced course is designed for beginners with no prior networking knowledge. It teaches basic operations of the tool with multiple hands-on activities helping you to visualize a network using everyday examples, including Internet of Things (IoT). This Introductory course is extremely helpful for anyone who plans to take one of the Networking Academy courses which utilizes the powerful simulation tool.Enroll, download and start learning valuable tips and best practices for using our innovative, virtual simulation tool, Cisco Packet Tracer. This self-paced course is designed for beginners with no prior networking knowledge. It teaches basic operations of the tool with multiple hands-on activities helping you to visualize a network using everyday examples, including Internet of Things (IoT). This Introductory course is extremely helpful for anyone who plans to take one of the Networking Academy courses which utilizes the powerful simulation tool.
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Chapters
Chapter 1 - Cybersecurity - A World of Experts and Criminals
Welcome to Cybersecurity - A World of Experts and Criminals!
Many of the world’s original hackers were computer hobbyists, programmers and students during the 60’s. Originally, the term hacker described individuals with advanced programming skills. Hackers used these programming skills to test the limits and capabilities of early systems. These early hackers were also involved in the development of early computer games. Many of these games included wizards and wizardry.
As the hacking culture evolved, it incorporated the lexicon of these games into the culture itself. Even the outside world began to project the image of powerful wizards upon this misunderstood hacking culture. Books such as Where Wizards Stay up Late: The Origins of The Internet published in 1996 added to the mystique of the hacking culture. The image and lexicon stuck. Many hacking groups today embrace this imagery. One of the most infamous hacker groups goes by the name Legion of Doom. It is important to understand the cyber culture in order to understand the criminals of the cyber world and their motivations.
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Chapter 2 - The Cybersecurity Cube
Welcome to The Cybersecurity Cube
Cybersecurity professionals are best described as experts charged with the protection of cyberspace. John McCumber is one of the early cybersecurity experts, developing a commonly used framework called the McCumber Cube or the Cybersecurity Cube. This is used as tool when managing the protection of networks, domains and the Internet. The Cybersecurity Cube looks somewhat like a Rubik's Cube.
The first dimension of the Cybersecurity Cube includes the three principles of information security. Cybersecurity professionals refer to the three principles as the CIA Triad. The second dimension identifies the three states of information or data. The third dimension of the cube identifies the expertise required to provide protection. These are often called the three categories of cybersecurity safeguards.
The chapter also discusses the ISO cybersecurity model. The model represents an international framework to standardize the management of information systems.
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Chapter 3: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks
Welcome to Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks
Threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks are the central focus of cybersecurity professionals. A threat is the possibility that a harmful event, such as an attack, will occur. A vulnerability is a weakness that makes a target susceptible to an attack. An attack is a deliberate exploitation of a discovered weakness in computer information systems, either as specific targets or merely as targets of opportunity. Cyber criminals may have different motivations for selecting a target of an attack. Cyber criminals succeed by continuously searching for and identifying systems with clear vulnerabilities. Common victims include unpatched systems or systems missing virus and spam detection.
This chapter examines the most common cybersecurity attacks. Cybersecurity professionals must understand how each attack works, what it exploits, and how it affects the victim. The chapter begins by explaining the threat of malware and malicious code and then goes into explaining the types of deception involved with social engineering. A cyberattack is any type of offensive maneuver used by cyber criminals to target computer information systems, computer networks, or other computer devices. Cyber criminals launch offensive maneuvers against both wired and wireless networks.
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Chapter 4: The Art of Protecting Secrets
Welcome to The Art of Protecting Secrets
The principles of cryptology explain how modern day protocols and algorithms secure communications. Cryptology is the science of making and breaking secret codes. The development and use of codes is cryptography. Studying and breaking codes is cryptanalysis. Society has used cryptography for centuries to protect secret documents. For example, Julius Caesar used a simple alphabetic cipher to encrypt messages to his generals in the field. His generals would have knowledge of the cipher key required to decrypt the messages. Today, modern day cryptographic methods ensure secure communications.
Access control is, as its name suggests, a way of controlling access to a building, a room, a system, a database, a file, and information. Organizations employ a variety of access control techniques to protect confidentiality. This chapter will examine the four steps in the access control process: 1) identification, 2) authentication, 3) authorization, and 4) accountability. In addition, the chapter describes the different access control models and access control types.
The chapter concludes by discussing the various ways users mask data. Data obfuscation and steganography are two techniques used to accomplish data masking.
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Chapter 5: The Art of Ensuring Integrity
Welcome to The Art of Ensuring Integrity
Integrity ensures that data remains unchanged and trustworthy by anyone or anything over its entire life cycle. Data integrity is a critical component to the design, implementation and usage of any system that stores, processes, or transmits data. This chapter begins by discussing the types of data integrity controls used such as hashing algorithms, salting, and keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC). The use of digital signatures and certificates incorporates the data integrity controls to provide users a way of verifying the authenticity of messages and documents. The chapter concludes with a discussion of database integrity enforcement. Having a well-controlled and well-defined data integrity system increases the stability, performance, and maintainability of a database system.
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Chapter 6: The Five Nines Concept
Welcome to The Five Nines Concept
Organizations that want to maximize the availability of their systems and data may take extraordinary measures to minimize or eliminate data loss. The goal is to minimize the downtime of mission critical processes. If employees cannot perform their regular duties, the organization is in jeopardy of losing revenue.
Organizations measure availability by percentage of uptime. This chapter begins by explaining the concept of five nines. Many industries must maintain the highest availability standards because downtime might literally mean a difference between life and death.
This chapter discusses various approaches that organizations can take to help meet their availability goals. Redundancy provides backup and includes extra components for computers or network systems to ensure the systems remain available. Redundant components can include hardware such as disk drives, servers, switches, and routers or software such as operating systems, applications, and databases. The chapter also discusses resiliency, the ability of a server, network, or data center to recover quickly and continue operation.
Organizations must be prepared to respond to an incident by establishing procedures that they follow after an event occurs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of disaster recovery and business continuity planning which are both critical in maintaining availability to an organization’s resources.
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Chapter 7: Protecting a Cybersecurity Domain
Welcome to The Five Nines Concept
Protecting your domain is an on-going process to secure an organization’s network infrastructure. It requires that individuals remain constantly vigilant to threats and take action to prevent any compromises. This chapter discusses the technologies, processes and procedures that cybersecurity professionals use to defend the systems, devices, and data that make up the network infrastructure.
A secure network is only as strong as its weakest link. It is important to secure the end devices that reside on the network. Endpoint security includes securing the network infrastructure devices on the local-area network (LAN) and end systems, such as workstations, servers, IP phones, and access points.
Device hardening is a critical task when securing the network. It involves implementing proven methods of physically securing network devices. Some of these methods involve securing administrative access, maintaining passwords, and implementing secure communications.
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Chapter 8: Becoming a Cybersecurity Specialist
Welcome to The Five Nines Concept
The advancement of technology provided a number of devices used in society on a daily basis that interconnects the world. This increased connectivity, though, results in increased risk of theft, fraud, and abuse throughout the technology infrastructure. This chapter categorizes the information technology infrastructure into seven domains. Each domain requires the proper security controls to meet the requirements of the CIA triad.
The chapter discusses the laws that affect technology and cybersecurity requirements. Many of these laws focus on different types of data found in various industries and contain privacy and information security concepts. Several agencies within the U.S. government regulate an organization’s compliance with these types of laws. The cybersecurity specialist needs to understand how the law and the organization’s interests help to guide ethical decisions. Cyber ethics looks at the effect of the use of computers and technology on individuals and society.
Organizations employ cybersecurity specialists in many different positions, such as penetration testers, security analysts, and other network security professionals. Cybersecurity specialists help protect personal data and the ability to use network based services. The chapter discusses the pathway to becoming a cybersecurity specialist. Finally, this chapter discusses several tools available to cybersecurity specialists.