Designed for aspiring associate-level cybersecurity analysts, this course provides a comprehensive introduction to network security from both a defensive and offensive perspective.

First, you will build a strong foundation by learning the essential components of a secure network infrastructure. You will explore core technologies like NAT, ACLs, and AAA, and understand the role of critical security devices such as Web Application Firewalls and network-based malware protection. Then, you will learn to think like an attacker. We will dive deep into the TCP/IP protocol suite to uncover its inherent vulnerabilities and demonstrate how they are exploited in common attacks like Man-in-the-Middle, spoofing, and Denial-of-Service. By the end of this course, you will be equipped with a holistic understanding of network architecture and the threats it faces, preparing you to effectively monitor, analyze, and defend networks in a Security Operations Center (SOC). Requirements (This section remains the same and applies to the overall course)- To be successful in this course, you should have: - Skills and knowledge equivalent to the CCNA v1.0 course. - Familiarity with Ethernet and TCP/IP networking. - Working knowledge of Windows and Linux operating systems. - Familiarity with basic networking security concepts.