Network Security - Advanced Topics

This is the 6th course in the intermediate, undergraduate-level offering that makes up the larger Cybersecurity Fundamentals MicroBachelors Program. We recommend taking them in order, unless you have a background in these areas already and feel comfortable skipping ahead.

1. Information Security - Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security - Authentication and Access Control
3. Information Security - Advanced Topics
4. Network Security - Introduction to Network Security
5. Network Security - Protocols
6. Network Security - Advanced Topics
7. Penetration Testing - Discovering Vulnerabilities
8. Penetration Testing - Exploitation
9. Penetration Testing - Post Exploitation

These topics build upon the learnings that are taught in the introductory-level Computer Science Fundamentals MicroBachelors program, offered by the same instructor.

This is a self-paced course that provides a continuation of network security topics. Among the topics covered are Security Monitoring, Perimeter Security, IPv6, and IPv6 Security. The material is essential in later classes that will develop ethical hacking skills. Students are introduced to the concept of network security monitoring to detect intrusions instead of merely protecting against them.

Next, we discuss securing the perimeter of networks through the use of firewalls.

We follow up by introducing the student to IPv6: what it is, why it was developed, how it compares to the IPv4 protocol, and techniques to implement IPv6 devices alongside IPv4 devices. This lesson will prepare you for upcoming material focused on IPv6 security issues.

We conclude the course by leveraging the early work in IPv6, and we spend the time discussing IPv6 security. You'll learn about security threats that exist in IPv4 and IPv6 and issues exclusive to IPv6 and countermeasures to these threats.

Industry Certification Preparation

This program covers much of the material that is assessed on the CompTIA’s Security+ certification exam. Upon program completion, verified track learners will receive a 36% discount code for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

1. Explain what information is collected and analyzed through network security monitoring, and why monitoring is important
2. Define network security monitoring
3. Summarize the policies used in network security monitoring
4. Define an Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System, and provide a real-world analogy for an IDS
5. Define the base rate fallacy and summarize an example
6. Summarize the options for deploying an IDS
7. Describe common strategies attackers use to evade an IDS
8. List potential indicators of a security attack
9. Define honeypots and honeynets and list their benefits to organizations
10. Summarize the goals of a firewall
11. List and define four types of firewalls
12. Summarize an example of a filtering rule
13. Explain the primary function of NAT
14. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of proxy gateways
15. Explain the process for setting up firewalls using IPTables and Netfilter in Linux
16. List the steps in an incoming packet's journey through a Linux firewall
17. Summarize the challenges that led to the development of IPv6 and explain how IPv6 addresses those challenges
18. List the differences in IPv4 and IPv6 services and headers
19. Differentiate between IPv4 and IPv6 address formats
20. List and define IPv6 address types
21. List the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 address provisioning
22. List the differences between DHCPv4 and DHCPv6
23. Summarize dual-stack techniques for IPv4 and IPv6 devices
24. Identify security threats common to IPv4 and IPv6, as well as threats exclusive to IPv6
25. Describe how reconnaissance methods will change under IPv6
26. List tools that can be use to compromise IPv6 networks
27. Describe the security considerations needed in dual-stack host environments

Week 1 - Security Monitoring

Week 2 - Perimeter Security

Week 3 - IPv6

Week 4 - IPv6 Security

Week 5 - Final Exam