# Security+ Exam Preparation Course Canonical URL: ## Overview This foundational course prepares learners to sit the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam, covering all five exam domains. It is built for people new to a dedicated security role, and its examples fit federal and commercial workplaces alike. Lessons cover security controls, cryptography, threats and vulnerabilities, security architecture, security operations, incident response, and governance and risk. Knowledge checks close every module, and a final assessment weighted like the real exam builds readiness. ## What you'll learn - Apply core security concepts, including the CIA triad, AAA, zero trust, and defense in depth, to real organizational scenarios - Classify and justify security controls by category and type for a given risk - Apply cryptographic solutions, including symmetric and asymmetric encryption, hashing, digital signatures, and public key infrastructure - Identify common threat actors, their motivations, and the attack surfaces they target - Recognize indicators of compromise across networks, endpoints, and applications - Recommend mitigation techniques for common vulnerabilities and attack types - Compare security architecture models across cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and IoT or industrial control environments - Apply enterprise infrastructure security concepts, including firewalls, VPNs, and zero trust network design - Apply data classification and protection principles, and describe resilience and recovery strategies - Harden systems and manage assets according to established security baselines - Interpret log and monitoring data, including SIEM output, to detect anomalies - Apply identity and access management principles, including authentication, authorization, and automation - Sequence the phases of incident response and identify appropriate data sources for investigation - Apply governance, risk management, and compliance principles to a security program - Prepare strategically for the CompTIA Security+ exam format, question types, and time management ## Curriculum #### Module 1: Security Controls and Foundational Concepts - Lessons: - Categories and Types of Security Controls - The CIA Triad and Non-Repudiation - Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting - Zero Trust, Deception, and Disruption Technology - Applied activity: Given a short scenario describing an organization's security posture, learners categorize five described controls by type and category and justify each classification. #### Module 2: Change Management and Cryptographic Solutions - Lessons: - Business Processes Tied to Change Management - Technical Change Management Implications - Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption - Hashing, Digital Signatures, and Public Key Infrastructure - Applied activity: Learners walk through a simplified PKI certificate request and validation scenario, identifying which cryptographic solution addresses confidentiality, integrity, or authenticity at each step. Note for the builder: align this module's content with the standalone Cryptography Essentials course so learners who take both do not see contradictory explanations. #### Module 3: Threat Actors and Motivations - Lessons: - Types of Threat Actors: Nation-State, Organized Crime, Hacktivist, Insider - Threat Actor Attributes: Resources, Sophistication, Funding - Motivations: Financial, Political, Ethical, Espionage - Applied activity: Given four short incident summaries, learners identify the most likely threat actor type and motivation for each and explain their reasoning. #### Module 4: Threat Vectors, Attack Surfaces, and Vulnerability Types - Lessons: - Message-Based and Image-Based Threat Vectors - Network, Removable Media, and Supply Chain Vectors - Human Vectors and Social Engineering - Application, Operating System, and Hardware Vulnerabilities - Zero-Day and Misconfiguration Vulnerabilities - Applied activity: Learners review five short scenarios, including an email, a phone call, a USB drive found in a parking lot, an unpatched server, and a vendor breach, and identify the vector and the social engineering principle involved where applicable. #### Module 5: Indicators of Malicious Activity and Mitigation Techniques - Lessons: - Malware Indicators: Ransomware, Trojans, Worms, Spyware - Physical and Network Attack Indicators - Application Attack Indicators: Injection, Cross-Site Scripting, Buffer Overflow - Segmentation, Access Control, and Hardening as Mitigations - Patching, Monitoring, and Least Privilege as Mitigations - Applied activity: Learners triage a short simulated alert log based on described symptoms, select the matching malware or attack type, and propose one mitigation for each. #### Module 6: Security Architecture Models - Lessons: - Cloud, On-Premises, and Hybrid Models - Infrastructure as Code and Virtualization - IoT, Industrial Control Systems, and Embedded System Considerations - Considerations for Availability, Resilience, and Cost - Applied activity: Learners map security responsibilities for a described hybrid deployment, dividing them between cloud provider and customer using a shared responsibility framing. #### Module 7: Enterprise Infrastructure Security - Lessons: - Network Appliances: Firewalls, Load Balancers, Proxies - VPNs and Secure Communication - Zero Trust Network Architecture - Port Security and Network Segmentation Techniques - Applied activity: Learners annotate a simple network diagram description with the placement of a firewall, a VPN concentrator, and a segmentation boundary to meet a stated security requirement. #### Module 8: Data Protection, Resilience, and Recovery - Lessons: - Data Types, Classification, and Ownership - Data States and Protection Techniques: At Rest, In Transit, In Use - Resilience Concepts: Redundancy, High Availability - Recovery Concepts: Backups, Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives - Testing Recovery: Tabletop Exercises and Failover Tests - Applied activity: Given a described outage scenario, learners calculate whether a stated backup schedule meets a target recovery point objective and propose one resilience improvement. #### Module 9: Hardening Techniques and Asset Management - Lessons: - Baselines and Secure Configuration - Hardening Targets: Endpoints, Servers, Mobile, Wireless - Asset Inventory and Classification - Asset Lifecycle: Acquisition, Disposal, and Sanitization - Applied activity: Learners review a short asset list with mixed device types and propose one hardening action and one lifecycle consideration for each. #### Module 10: Vulnerability Management - Lessons: - Vulnerability Identification: Scanning and Feeds - Analysis: Scoring and Prioritization - Vulnerability Response and Remediation - Validation and Reporting - Applied activity: Given four described vulnerabilities with different severity and exploitability, learners rank them for remediation priority and justify the order. #### Module 11: Monitoring, Alerting, and Enterprise Security Capabilities - Lessons: - Monitoring Concepts: Logs, Baselines, Anomalies - SIEM and Security Data Aggregation - Firewalls, Intrusion Detection, and Intrusion Prevention - Data Loss Prevention and Endpoint Detection and Response - Applied activity: Learners review a short set of described log entries, identify which would trigger a SIEM alert and why, then select the enterprise capability best suited to prevent recurrence. #### Module 12: Identity and Access Management, Automation, and Orchestration - Lessons: - Identity Concepts: Provisioning, Federation, Single Sign-On - Access Control Models: Role-Based, Attribute-Based, Least Privilege - Multifactor Authentication and Privileged Access Management - Automation and Orchestration Use Cases and Benefits - Automation Risks and Considerations - Applied activity: Learners design a basic access model of roles and permissions for a described small organization and identify one process suitable for automation. #### Module 13: Incident Response and Investigation Data Sources - Lessons: - Incident Response Process and Roles - Preparation, Detection, and Analysis Phases - Containment, Eradication, and Recovery Phases - Log and Data Sources for Investigation - Lessons Learned and Reporting - Applied activity: Given a short simulated incident narrative, learners sequence the response phases taken and identify which log or data source would confirm each phase's findings. #### Module 14: Security Governance and Risk Management - Lessons: - Governance Structures: Policies, Standards, Procedures, Guidelines - Roles and Responsibilities in Security Governance - Risk Identification and Assessment - Risk Treatment: Accept, Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate - Risk Registers and Reporting - Applied activity: Learners assess a described organizational risk, assign a qualitative rating, and select a risk treatment option with justification. #### Module 15: Third-Party Risk and Compliance - Lessons: - Vendor Assessment and Due Diligence - Contractual and Supply Chain Risk Considerations - Compliance Concepts: Regulations, Standards, Frameworks - Consequences of Non-Compliance - Privacy Considerations in Compliance - Applied activity: Learners review a short vendor profile and identify two due diligence questions they would ask before onboarding the vendor, tied to a named framework or regulation category. #### Module 16: Audits, Assessments, and Security Awareness - Lessons: - Attestation and Internal versus External Audits - Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing Basics - Security Awareness Program Design - Phishing Simulations and Reporting Culture - Applied activity: Learners outline a basic annual security awareness plan for a described small organization, including one phishing simulation and one reporting mechanism. ## Schedule - Feb 22, 2027 – Feb 26, 2027 — Live Online - May 10, 2027 – May 14, 2027 — Live Online - Aug 9, 2027 – Aug 13, 2027 — Live Online ## Pricing **Tuition:** $2749