Cybersecurity Analyst Program

Course Curriculum

Day 1: Introduction to Cybersecurity and Core Concepts

• Objective: Understand the fundamentals of cybersecurity, current threats, and the key role of the cybersecurity analyst.
• Morning: Introduction to cybersecurity
  • Fundamental principles of cybersecurity (confidentiality, integrity, availability).
  • The threat landscape: Types of attacks (phishing, ransomware, APTs, etc.).
  • Roles and responsibilities of the cybersecurity analyst within an organization.
  • Overview of key tools used in cybersecurity.
• Afternoon: Security models and common threats
  • Security models: Defense-in-depth, access control, identity management.
  • Introduction to common attacks and trends (phishing, malware, ransomware).
  • Vulnerabilities and risk management: Identifying and assessing vulnerabilities.

• Objective: Learn to use network monitoring and intrusion detection tools to identify threats.
• Morning: Introduction to network monitoring tools
  • Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS).
  • Introduction to security logs and events: Using syslog, SNMP.
  • Network monitoring tools: Wireshark, tcpdump, etc.
• Afternoon: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools
  • Introduction to SIEM (e.g., Splunk, ELK stack) and their role in cybersecurity.
  • Collecting, analyzing, and correlating events with a SIEM.
  • Hands-on workshop: Configuring rules and alerts in a SIEM to detect security incidents.

• Objective: Learn to analyze a cybersecurity incident and respond appropriately.
• Morning: Analyzing cybersecurity incidents
  • Incident management phases: Identification, containment, analysis, eradication, recovery.
  • Analyzing indicators of compromise (IoC): URLs, IP addresses, malware signatures.
  • Tools for analyzing malware and suspicious files.
• Afternoon: Incident response and crisis management
  • Developing an incident response plan: Key processes and steps.
  • Managing cybersecurity incidents: Coordinating with internal and external teams.
  • Hands-on workshop: Simulating a response to a security incident.

• Objective: Gain the skills needed to secure networks and computer systems.
• Morning: Network security
  • Firewalls and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Configuration and best practices.
  • Securing network communications: Secure protocols (HTTPS, SSL/TLS).
  • Network segmentation techniques and network access control.
• Afternoon: System security
  • Securing operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS): Hardening, user and privilege management.
  • Securing network services (DNS, DHCP, SMB).
  • Hands-on workshop: Securing a Windows/Linux server against common attacks.

• Objective: Understand cryptography concepts and how they are used to protect data.
• Morning: Introduction to cryptography
  • Principles of cryptography: Symmetric and asymmetric encryption.
  • Common algorithms: AES, RSA, SHA-256, etc.
  • Using cryptography to protect data confidentiality.
• Afternoon: Securing communications and data
  • Securing emails (PGP, S/MIME) and web communications (SSL/TLS).
  • Cryptographic key management: Storage, distribution, and revocation.
  • Hands-on workshop: Implementing data encryption on a network.

• Objective: Learn to perform penetration tests and audits to identify system weaknesses.
• Morning: Introduction to penetration testing
  • Penetration testing process: Planning, reconnaissance, exploitation, post-exploitation.
  • Popular tools for penetration testing: Kali Linux, Metasploit, Burp Suite.
  • Laws and ethics of penetration testing.
• Afternoon: Security auditing
  • Auditing system security: Analyzing security flaws and weak points.
  • Vulnerability analysis with tools such as Nessus, OpenVAS.
  • Hands-on workshop: Performing a penetration test on a virtual machine.

• Objective: Learn to secure applications and databases against attacks.
• Morning: Web application security
  • Major web application vulnerabilities: SQL Injection, XSS, CSRF, etc.
  • OWASP Top 10: Analysis and prevention of critical vulnerabilities.
  • Application testing tools: Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP.
• Afternoon: Database security
  • Database access controls: Authentication, authorization.
  • Encrypting sensitive data in databases.
  • Hands-on workshop: Securing a database against attacks.

• Objective: Prepare for the future of cybersecurity and understand the latest trends in the field.
• Morning: Cloud and IoT security
  • Securing cloud environments (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
  • Securing IoT devices and related challenges.
  • Emerging threats in cloud and IoT.
• Afternoon: Cybersecurity careers and certification
  • Cybersecurity certifications: CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, etc.
  • Skills required to grow in cybersecurity.
  • Discussion on career progression and preparation for advanced roles (CTO, CISO).