Cisco CCST Cybersecurity 100-160: secure systems and networks

Module 1: Defining essential security principles

• Fundamental concepts of vulnerabilities, threats, exploits and risks.
• Attack vectors, system hardening and defence in depth.
• Attacker types, motivations and the cybersecurity code of ethics for professional conduct.
• Encryption methods, certificates, PKI and protocols using encryption.

Hands-on exercises

• Identify and classify common threats in a simulated environment and apply encryption principles to secure data in transit.

Module 2: Analysing common threats and vulnerabilities

• Malware, ransomware, botnets and denial-of-service attacks.
• Social engineering, phishing, vishing, smishing and tailgating.
• Insider threats, man-in-the-middle attacks, IoT vulnerabilities and advanced persistent threats.
• Authentication, authorisation and accounting (AAA), RADIUS and password policies.

Hands-on exercises

• Simulate threat analysis in a business scenario and configure a password policy aligned with security best practices.

Module 3: Securing network infrastructure

• Vulnerabilities in TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, ARP, ICMP, DHCP and DNS.
• IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, network segmentation, CIDR notation and public/private network separation.
• Network security architectures, DMZs, virtualisation, honeypots, proxy servers, IDS and IPS as network defence technologies.
• Configuring ACLs, firewalls, VPNs and NAC, and implementing a secure SoHo wireless network.

Hands-on exercises

• Configure a network access control policy and implement a secure wireless network with MAC address filtering and WPA encryption.

Module 4: Administering endpoint security

• Windows, macOS and Linux security concepts, including host firewalls, permissions and privilege management.
• Endpoint security information collection tools, including netstat, nslookup and tcpdump.
• System security policy compliance, hardware and software inventories, backups and GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS requirements.
• Windows updates, application patches, drivers and firmware, system log interpretation and malware remediation.

Hands-on exercises

• Analyse Windows event logs for anomalies, then perform malware remediation in a test environment.

Module 5: Assessing vulnerabilities and managing risks

• Vulnerability identification, management and mitigation, and active/passive reconnaissance techniques.
• Using CVE databases, sector analysis tools and threat intelligence services.
• Distinguishing vulnerabilities from risks, risk ranking, mitigation strategies and criticality levels.
• Disaster recovery plans, business continuity plans and detective, preventive and corrective controls.

Hands-on exercises

• Analyse vulnerabilities in a simulated network and produce a risk report with prioritised mitigation recommendations.

Module 6: Managing cybersecurity incidents

• The role of SIEM and SOAR, network data monitoring and suspicious event identification in incident detection.
• The Cyber Kill Chain, MITRE ATT&CK matrix, Diamond Model and tactics, techniques and procedures for attack attribution and digital forensics.
• GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, FERPA and FISMA compliance frameworks and incident notification requirements.
• Incident response policy, plan and procedure components and NIST SP 800-61 lifecycle stages.

Hands-on exercises

• Analyse a network packet capture to identify a security incident and apply NIST lifecycle stages to document and escalate it.