Master the core security concepts every IT professional needs — from threat identification and malware defense to encryption, endpoint hardening, and incident response.
Types of malware, phishing tactics, attack vectors, IOC detection, prevention frameworks, anti-malware tools, and security awareness training.
Symmetric/asymmetric crypto, hash functions, digital certificates, SSL/TLS, PKI, MFA, RBAC/ABAC authorization, password policies, and data protection strategies.
EDR/AV solutions, firewall configuration, patch management, USB/device control, hardening checklists, CIS Controls, mobile device security, and MDM.
IR lifecycle (NIST), IR plan creation, evidence handling, communication protocols, response playbooks (ransomware, breach, DDoS), reporting templates, and post-incident review.
Phase 4 builds directly on the networking and operating system knowledge from Phases 2 and 3. Each learning path can be studied independently, but completing them in order (threats -> encryption -> endpoint -> incident response) provides the strongest conceptual progression. All paths align with the Security+ SY0-701 exam objectives, particularly Domains 2 (Architecture and Integration), 3 (Implementation), and 4 (Operations and Incident Response).