Cybersecurity Techniques and Operations
This course introduces tools and techniques used to secure and analyze large computer networks and systems within the Linux Operating System; this is a continuation course of CYSE 270, which will build the foundation of the Linux Operating System so that students are able to continue on in this course. In this course you build a foundation for many cybersecurity operations, such as malware analysis, understanding network protocol stack, exploring and maping networks using a variety of diagnostic software tools, learn advanced packet analysis, configure firewalls, write intrusion detection rules, perform forensic investigation, and practice techniques for penetration testing.
As I reflect on my experience from this course, I can’t help but be grateful for the skills I was able to obtain. From day 1 of this course, the instructor informs you that it is difficult. Difficult in the sense that it is time-consuming and concept-heavy, and your proficiency within the Linux Operating System needs to be up to par. Labs are what take up a big portion of your grade; on average, a lab can take about 2-4 hours. From my personal experience, although 2-4 hours sounds like a long time, because you are performing various tasks, the time tends to go by fast
The hands-on labs are as follows:
- Traffic tracing through Wireshark and TCPdump
- Firewall configuration with pfSense
- Penetration test on Windows
- Password cracking
- Information hiding
The lab I am attaching is a Penetration test on Windows. This is a penetration testing lab where we learn how a hacker would attempt to gain access to a Windows machine using various techniques and tools. Being on the red side and being able to hack (ethically) was intriguing. To be a cyber professional, you need to be able to think like a hacker; this lab was a great implementation on teaching you how to think like a hacker