Bootcamp Introduction and Overview

Introduction

  • Jasmith introduces himself as having been with Lighthouse for almost two years.
  • He has 12-13 years of IT experience in India.
    • Started as a Linux system administrator.
    • Evolved into cloud engineer, DevOps, and solutions architect roles.
  • Explains his transition into cybersecurity, which wasn't a direct career path but grew from his previous roles.
  • Came to Canada in September 2022 to pursue a master's degree and started teaching IT-related subjects.

Professional Background and Cybersecurity

  • Explains his real-world experience:
    • Clients approach him for developing architectures, typically for web hosting environments (website, databases, storage, etc.).
    • His team prepares infrastructure architecture focusing on servers, networks, storage, and backup solutions.
    • They determine whether to use AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
  • Architecture development.
    • These days, architectures are cloud-based; bare metal infrastructures are less common now.
    • Bare metal infrastructures used to involve physical servers in data centers.
    • He transitioned to virtual environments.
  • The process involves testing.
    • If testing is successful, the product is released into production.
    • If testing fails, they review and re-develop the infrastructure architecture.
  • Security aspect.
    • There was a dedicated security team.
    • Shift-left approach: Prioritize security architecture before developing infrastructure.
    • If a client wants to improve the security of their web hosting environment, Jasmith, as a solutions architect or cybersecurity analyst, provides an optimized solution.
    • Everything within the solution architecture falls under cybersecurity.
  • His task was to secure and shield the infrastructure.
    • This bootcamp will cover these security practices.

Bootcamp expectations

  • Bootcamp is not easy; it requires readiness to learn different technologies.
  • Different job roles after completing cybersecurity course:
    • Security analyst.
    • Cybersecurity specialist (a promotion from security analyst).
    • SOC (Security Operations Center) is a common starting point.
  • Skills required for SOC:
    • System administration.
    • Linux.
    • Windows.
    • Kali Linux (used for penetration testing and has built-in cybersecurity tools; it will be used throughout the 26 weeks).
  • Networks.
    • Different layers.
    • Network administration.
    • Network traffic monitoring.
  • Operations.
    • Incident management response.
    • Risk assessment.
    • Vulnerability assessment.
  • Tools.
    • Forensics tools.
    • Vulnerability assessment tools.
    • SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tools.

Course timeline

  • 26 weeks with two lectures per week on average.
  • Ample time to complete assignments.
  • 6-8 weeks dedicated to basics: System administration, networking, operations, and tools.
  • After familiarity with basics, apply technologies in projects and scenarios.
  • The course can be overwhelming initially.

Emphasis on Understanding Concepts

  • Emphasis on understanding concepts rather than just completing assignments.
  • It is important to understand why instead of just how.
  • There are tutorials and AI for "how," but understanding "why" provides clarity and perspective.
  • If you understand why you will know how to think from that perspective, and it will help you understand the tool even better.

Other Career Options

  • SOC is not the only option.
  • NOC (Network Operation Center).
    • Requires knowledge of network administration, operations, and tools.
    • Some tools covered include Wireshark and Nmap.
  • DC Ops (Data Center Operations).
    • Requires knowledge of system administration, network administration, operations, and tools.
    • Difference between SOC and DC Ops: SOC focuses on server security, while DC Ops focuses on keeping servers up and running.
    • The course content covers aspects of all three profiles.

Q&A about Linux and Kali Linux

  • Linux and Windows are widely used.
  • The purpose to learn:
    • Security perspectives of Linux.
    • Security tools available on Windows.
  • Kali Linux is used as a tool with in-built tools like Wireshark, Nmap, OpenVAS, PRTG, and Cleopatra.
  • Kali Linux is specifically built for cybersecurity and penetration testing.
  • Vulnerability scanning will be learned on Kali Linux.
    • Starting services requires basic Linux knowledge learned on Ubuntu server.
      • Basics are Common and apply everywhere after that it's about knowing and understand which tools to use for specific scenarios.
  • Most companies use Linux as the base operating system like Mac, Android, and web hosting environments.
  • Linux is used for hosting different kinds of servers like FTP, web server, and file share. It also has built-in security aspects.
  • Commands are similar between Linux and Kali Linux, but it depends on what you want to do.
    • Example: Creating a user on Linux.
    • useradduseradd command is used.
    • Adding complexities with options (e.g., full name, group assignment, shell selection, home directory) makes it logical not advanced.
    • useradd -c \"Ahmed Shabir Akbari\" -g sudo -s /bin/ksh -d /home/common/ahmed -m ahmed
  • Kali Linux might be new but is logical, and many tools have GUI modes.
  • Coding is done in:
    • Bash.
    • Python.
    • Other languages.
  • Python will be used to define:
    • Regular expressions.
    • Automations.
    • Task scheduling to be integrated on Linux.

Mentorship and Support

  • Mentorship sessions are available with industry experts.
  • Keep in touch with past students on LinkedIn.
  • Work hard and always ask "why" before "how."
  • Nothing in the course is unnecessary; it all has a purpose.

Data company security measures

  • Will use languages for security and finding out intrusions or not.
  • Some projects will use:
    • Bash
    • Python to create a monitoring system.
  • The course gives a good exposure to the market, necessary technologies, and a good course outline for career preparation with real-life scenarios shared.
  • Be curious and hardworking to find the course very interesting.

Course Overview and Virtual Environment Setup

  • Virtual machines are used in the course.
  • Hardware specification check.
    • 20 Mbps internet speed.
    • 150 GB disk space.
    • 16 GB RAM.
    • Intel Core i5 CPU or Apple M1.
  • Virtual machines:
    • Windows.
    • Linux.
    • Kali Linux.
    • Windows Server.
  • Allocating resources from the system to the virtual machines (CPU cores, RAM, disk space).

Hypervisors

  • VMware is used with Windows 11, Linux, and Kali Linux VMs.
  • Hyper-V is an inbuilt tool for Microsoft.
  • Hypervisors are used.
  • Type two hypervisors vs. Type one hypervisors.
    • Type two = there is another layer of os between virtual machines and machine.
    • Type One = virtual machines directly sit on top of machine.
  • Oracle VirtualBox, VMware, and Hyper-V are type two hypervisors.

Setting up Virtual Environment

  • Using Oracle VirtualBox to download pre-configured images.
  • Steps are provided for VMware macOS and VirtualBox on Windows users.
  • Check hash code before having the machines ready.

Release note

  • Release note may contain hash code.
  • Download file hash. Check the algorithm SHASHA two fifty six.
    • If the generated code matches the website code, Your download is legit.
  • To keep on track is to follow all steps in the tutorials.
  • Following steps to configure the network so every server connects to each other on internet.
  • Steps for completing the setup for use in further lectures:
    1. Download the images.
    2. Go to the link using your virtual environment download these images.
    3. Install your files.
    4. Configure the virtual network configuration.
Shared File Configuration
  • Set up a common folder accessible on Ubuntu, Windows, Kali, and the host machine.
  • Transporting Files. Put any file you want transported in the Shared folder.
  • Sharing files in virtual has 4 file sharing steps.
Order of doing configurations
  1. Specification check.
  2. Download OVA files.
  3. Network configuration.
  4. Install virtual machines.
  5. Configure file sharing.

Additional Information

  • Next lecture focuses on Linux and some Windows aspects, followed by networks.
  • System administration and network administration parts are covered initially.
  • Cybersecurity operations and tools are learned using, Kali.
  • Always ask "why are you using it" and then "how to use it" for clarity.

Support and Assistance

  • Request assistance option is available (request assistance).
  • Larry AI bot can assist with issues.
  • Mentorship hours are Monday to Friday, 3-5 PM and 9-11 PM.