{"id":484,"date":"2026-08-27T16:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ian-burd\/?page_id=484"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:42:43","slug":"comptia-security-certified","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ian-burd\/comptia-security-certified\/","title":{"rendered":"CompTIA Security+ Certified"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My Experience with the CompTIA Security+ Certification<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

How I prepared for the CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After obtaining my CompTIA Network+ Certification, I wanted to continue my cybersecurity education and progress further into pursuing a career in cybersecurity. I decided to continuously build my knowledge again, and obtain my CompTIA Security+ Certification. Rather than taking a long amount of time while trying to study while still taking classes in college, I waited until summer of 2026, so my focus could be solely on preparing for the exam. This time around, I used Jason Dion’s Security+ course first, due to the success and in-depth information he provided. His videos covered each topic in a way that made sense and were organized to learn topics without feeling like I was jumping around too much. Similarly to his Network+ Course, his exams were significantly harder than the actual exam, and each question was much longer than the actual exam questions. This difficulty allowed me to go into test day with confidence.

Not only did I use Dion’s course, but I also used CyberKraft’s PBQ-style videos on YouTube. These videos were, in most cases, extremely helpful and in-depth and allowed me to bridge the gap between the concepts and terms that Dion’s course taught and actually using them in a real-world scenario.

Practicing exam questions online also helped to solidify the information I needed to know. When answering these questions, I would answer a question, see whether it was wrong or right, then move on. Instead, I took the time to break down why each option made sense, and used the process of elimination to get myself closer to the correct answer. I was doing small quizzes every day, splitting them up my domains, before doing one large comprehensive review. I answered between 600-700 practice questions while preparing to take my exam, which allowed me to keep material fresh in my mind and go into test day ready for anything.
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What I learned during my time preparing for and passing CompTIA\u2019s Security+ Exam:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CompTIA Security+ taught me about things I have already covered in college, in significantly more depth, allowing for a stronger understanding of each topic. While Network+ focused on how networks are built and are operated, Security+ taught me how to identify, manage, and mitigate the risks associated with those networks and their connected systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the more important things I learned was network architecture and security. This topic overall covered devices such as firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Network segmentation, secure protocols, defense in depth, and zero-trust architecture. Not only did I learn what these concepts meant and did, but I learned how they would be applied or utilized in a real-world scenario.

I also learned about cryptography and identity management, such as how symmetric and asymmetric encryption are different, how they are used, and how hashing is an irreversible way to maintain integrity. Digital signatures, for example, are a great method of authentication while providing integrity. Other topics I learned included how digital certificates worked, how public key infrastructure (PKI) can establish trust, and how authentication technologies, such as SSO, OAuth and SAML can be used as a secure authenticated methods, each with their own use cases.

Another major area Security+ covered was security operations and incident response. These lessons covered how security professionals detect and respond to threats using tools such as SIEM, EDR, IDS, DLP, and SOAR. Idicators or compromise (IoC) and attack (IoA) were also crucial to understanding how incidents were detected and responded to. Organizations must not just react to threats as they arise; instead they should remain proactive with strong security measures in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this was not everything that was covered on the Security+ Exam, it was some of the most important topics covered. Overall, Security+ helped me move from simply knowing a few cybersecurity concepts to understanding how technology can be protected, monitored, recovered, and attacked. Achieving this certification was a major acomplishment, and serves as a milestone in my career and continued learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does my CompTIA Security+ Certification relate to ODU Global?:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Throughout my time getting my Bachelor’s Degree in Cybersecurity from ODU Global, I have taken a multitude of cybersecurity courses and networking courses. Many of the concepts I learned while preparing for CompTIA Security+ overlap with those covered in my classes and assignments. Being able to view concepts with a deeper understanding allows me to gain an understanding of new information in my classes with ease. Obtaining my CompTIA Security+ Certification before the start of the Fall 2026 semester was challenging, but it allowed me to keep a focused mindset ready, rather than getting used to not having to study for months at a time. Ultimately, both Network+ and Security+ have been amazing experiences, and getting them done while still at ODU gives me a much-needed head start on my cybersecurity journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Experience with the CompTIA Security+ Certification How I prepared for the CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam: After obtaining my CompTIA Network+ Certification, I wanted to continue my cybersecurity education and progress further into pursuing a career in cybersecurity. I decided to continuously build my knowledge again, and obtain my CompTIA Security+ Certification. Rather than taking… <\/p>\n

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