In this section of the course,
we're going to turn our attention to security infrastructure.
Now, security infrastructure encompasses
the hardware, software, networks, data, and policies
that are working cohesively together
to safeguard an organization's information and assets.
Ensuring a robust and secure infrastructure
is vital to thwart potential cyber threats,
and to ensure the organization's data remains uncompromised.
So, in this section,
we're going to be focusing on Domains 3 and 4,
and our coverage will include Objectives 3.2 and 4.5.
Objective 3.2 states that given a scenario,
you must be able to apply security principles
to secure enterprise architecture.
And Objective 4.5 states that given a scenario,
you must be able to modify enterprise capabilities
to enhance security.
Now, first we're going to be covering ports and protocols.
This lesson is going to be focused
on providing you with a quick refresher
on the ports and protocols you need to know for the exam.
And this is mostly going to be a review for you
if you've already completed
your A+ or Network+ certifications.
Next, we're going to cover firewalls.
Now we're going to discuss
the different types of firewalls available,
including web application firewalls,
unified threat management systems,
and next-generation firewalls.
We'll also look at the difference
between a Layer 4 and Layer 7 firewall
and how hardware
and software firewalls work differently.
Then we're going to take a look at configuring firewalls.
Here, we're going to do a quick demonstration
to show you how to set up rules and access control lists,
how to select ports and protocols,
and how to configure screen subnets.
After that, we'll cover Intrusion Detection Systems, or IDS,
and Intrusion Prevention Systems, known as IPS.
By exploring what they are,
how they're employed to identify threats,
and showcasing their signatures,
we're going to be able to provide you
with a better understanding
of their security techniques and mechanisms in place.
Then, we'll discuss network appliances.
Now, a network appliance is a specialized piece of hardware
or software device that's designed
to perform specific networking functions or services,
such as load balancing, proxying, monitoring,
or security enforcement within your computer network.
After that, we'll explore port security.
Now, port security is a network security feature
that restricts and controls access to a network
by allowing only authorized devices
to connect to a specific physical
or logical portion of that network
based on its media access control, or MAC address,
in order to prevent unauthorized access
and potential security breaches from occurring.
Now as we cover port security,
we're going to be covering 802.1x and EAP as well.
Next, we'll be exploring methods
of securing network communications.
This includes things,
like virtual private networks, IPSec tunnels, TLS,
and other ways to create secure backbones
for all of our communication needs.
Then we'll dive into the world
of software-defined wide area networking, known as SD-WANs,
and the Secure Access Service Edge, known as SASE.
Now, SD-WANs are a technology
that utilizes software-defined networking principles
to manage and optimize a wide area network connection
or WAN connection.
And this allows us to enable our organizations
to intelligently route
and prioritize network traffic,
improve their network performance,
and enhance security by dynamically selecting
the most efficient path for data transmission
across multiple network links,
including Broadband, Cellular, MPLS, and others,
while offering centralized management and control.
Now, SASE on the other hand,
is a network security and connectivity framework
that integrates network security
and wide area networks into a cloud-based service
that combines the elements of security services,
like a firewall, secure web gateways, VPNs,
and zero trust network access,
altogether with SD-WAN capabilities.
SASE is aiming to provide secure and scalable access
to network resources
for your users, devices and applications
regardless of the location
through a cloud-native architecture
to simplify your network and security management
while improving your performance and agility.
After that, we're going to dive into
some infrastructure considerations,
including device placement,
understanding security zones and screened subnets,
comprehending attack surfaces,
considering connectivity concerns,
discussing device attributes, like active versus passive,
or inline versus taps or monitors,
and grasping failure modes,
like fail-open and fail-closed
within our security devices.
Next, we're going to take a look
at the selection of infrastructure controls.
Here we're going to explore how to choose
the right controls for your network
to ensure your security architecture is not only robust,
but also is tailored to your organization's unique needs.
Finally, we're going to take a short quiz
to see what you learned during this section of the course
and review each of those quiz questions fully
to ensure you can explain each answer
and ensure why it was right.
So if you're ready, let's begin our journey
into the world of security infrastructure.