When writing an article for CEUs, where is the article submitted to receive the necessary credit?


Thank you!

One of the requirements for attaining CEUs for mentoring is to submit a
signed document from the mentee, that the mentor dates and times are
valid.

Question: Where is this document obtained?



Thank you.

As data professionals, we often deal with massive datasets and complex models.
Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is often the best.

In data analysis and decision-making this means:

• Simpler Models: A straightforward model that's easy to interpret often performs just as well as (or better than) an overly complex one.
• Data Cleaning: Removing unnecessary variables can uncover clearer insights and reduce noise.
• Decision-Making: Avoid over complicating processes by focusing on essential, actionable data.

Consider that you are analyzing network traffic for potential anomalies. A basic pattern recognition model may be more effective and efficient than a complex, resource-heavy AI system, especially when speed and clarity are crucial.

How do you apply Occam's Razor in your approach to data modeling, or analysis?

Zero Trust Fundamentals:
- effective against insider threats
- effective against lateral movement
- effective against cloud vulnerabilities

Zero Trust Key Components
- identity verification
- continuous monitoring
- network segmentation



How does a company go about assessing is current security posture?


What are some of the ways to go about securing endpoints?

I recently gave my A+ students a project in which they act as support technicians and must solve a list of common issues like a printer not connecting, faded print, a system running slow, or intermittent shutdown of PC.

Do you reinforce A+ with mini-projects? Which ones work best for you?

What challenges do you face when teaching CompTIA Courses, and how do you tackle them?

Hello CINners,

Are Large Language Models (LLMs) covered in any CompTIA
course(s)? If so, which one(s)?


Thanks CINners

Passkeys? Is this covered in any Cybersecurity-focused CompTIA course?
If so, which one(s)?


A passkey is a sort of digital identification, that's interlocked to any individual's account, on a given
app or website. That may sound a little like a password, but not quite - there's an important distinction.
Passkeys are bilateral authentication, that have two separate components: a private key, and a public key.
The private key is stored locally on the user's device (computer, phone, etc.). When logging in with a
passkey, the public and private key pair give a user access to his/her account.

Here's where is gets good: Passkeys are more secure than traditional passwords!!!

Passkeys are more secure because they are never stored on any server, and instead reside as an encrypted
key on the user's personal device. And, like passwords, they can be paired to biometrics, like facial recognition
or fingerprint authentication, to initiate the login process. Even if a hacker got were able to get an individual's
device, they’d need the biometrics associated with that individual, to access any accounts, which is significantly
harder than brute forcing a poor-quality traditional password - you know, like "Password1234".

A passkey is a locally stored, system-generated cryptographic key.

Passkeys are completely unique. Almost sounds like a hash!

Passkeys are infinitely more difficult for nefarious actors to exploit.

This is a biggie: Passkeys are phishing-resistant!!!!!!!
Again, what's the #1 attack vector? Ah, you remembered: PHISHING!!!!

Don't I have anything to say about passwords? Yes - passwords are susceptible to breaches and hacks :-(



The END!

Are VLANs covered in any of the Cybersecurity-based CompTIA courses?
If so, which one(s)?

Cybersecurity - in which CompTIA course is this term defined ?????

Hello CINners,

Anyone ever heard of a JavaScript blocker?
If so, have you ever used it?

Is JavaScript blocker mentioned/covered in any of the CompTIA
courses? If so, which one(s)?

Thanks CINners

Can BYOD policies be compatible with good cybersecurity? It depends!!!!!
Oh, my bad: BYOD (Bring Yo Own Device)

The rise of remote work has brought a flood of BYO-devices, whether they’re
company-approved or just sneak in.

The question is: should IT and security pros embrace BYOD or try to ban it?

The answer depends on a wide range of factors!! One thing is for certain,
whichever policy you choose, you must be able to enforce it. The inmates
MUST NOT be allowed to run the place of confinement!!!

The dark web is a flourishing economic juggernaut - the world’s third-largest economy!!!
Yeah, the world's third largest!!!!

To shield businesses, and public organizations alike, from trouble, defenders must familiarize
themselves with the people, commodities, services and transactions that shape it.

No use in burying your head in the ground, cause these rats ain't goin' away!!! So, watcha
gonna do? Who you gonna call????

Threat intelligence is essential if IT professionals want to stay a step ahead of bad actors.

Threat Intelligence: Is this covered in any of the CompTIA cybersecurity-related courses?

Do you want to be cyber crooks at their own game?

Do you know what tools you need to guard your hen house - some are larger than
others, and require a different set of tools

I'm still prepping for my journey to the Dark Web!

The dark web isn't just a shadowy corner of the Internet!! It's a THRIVING marketplace
that's driving cybercrime on a massive scale.

Threat actors, armed with advanced AI, and ever-evolving tactics, are pushing businesses,
as well as public institutions, to their limits! Well! Well! Well! The bad guys are not only
using AI, but advanced AI!!!

Do you know:
- who the key players on the dark web
- the key marketplaces on the dark web
- how AI is boosting cybercriminal tactics
- strategies for monitoring dark web threats
- strategies for mitigating - yeah mitigating, cause you ain't gonna prevent - dark web threats
- the importance of threat intelligence for cybersecurity

What are you doing to ensure that cyber crooks don't get ahead of you - or is too late,
they're already way out in front!!!

Hello,

I'm a retired federal IT professional and a part-time High School Cybersecurity and Computer Science teacher. I served in government for 33 years, and this is my fourth year of teaching high school. I passed the Tech+ Exam yesterday, after spending last week studying the 727 page guide from Comptia. Now I'm tasked with trying to get some of my students to do the same. I teach at Woodlawn HS in Baton Rouge, LA. It is a Title 1, urban school that has at risk kids. I may also get involved with helping teachers who do not have a background in IT with passing the Tech+ exam. Next school year, LA is implementing a K-12 Computer Science curriculum. Tech+ is one of the three certifications that will be made available for high school students. The others are Python Programming and Web Development. Does Comptia have a program that can provide assistance to schools in underserved and underrepresented areas.

Thx

Frank Kidd

YES! It is time for our first TTT series of 2025! Join us for the PenTest+ series beginning Tuesday, January 21st! @Nicholas Pierce will lead this series, which consists of eight sessions covering the PenTest+ exam domains. Nick will teach the key cybersecurity concepts covered on the exam and conduct hands-on activities with key technology tools used by cybersecurity professionals. We will also discuss instructional strategies for presenting the concepts to students and best practices for implementing a PenTest+ course.

What: CIN TTT Series PenTest+ PT0-003 8 sessions
When: Jan 21, 2024, 6:00 - 8:00 PM Central Daylight Time, Tuesday and Thursday
Who: Nicholas Pierce
Where: ON24

REGISTER HERE

Hello CINners,

What's your thoughts on the feasibility of including a ransomware response plan
in one of the cybersecurity-based courses?

Ransomware attacks against U.S. organizations in 2024 disrupted healthcare systems, supply chains, and government services, and led to tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments. Here are 10 of the most prominent attacks against U.S. organizations for the year 2024:​

LoanDepot​

On Jan. 8, California-based mortgage lender LoanDepot disclosed an attack in an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company said attackers were in its systems from Jan. 3 through Jan. 5 and engaged in malicious activity that included "access to certain Company systems and the encryption of data."

Veolia​

On Jan. 19, Veolia North America disclosed it was investigating a ransomware attack that occurred one week prior and disrupted certain software applications and systems in the company's network. The Boston-based water, waste and energy recycling management company forced its back-end systems offline, which disrupted customer billing and payment services.

Change Healthcare​

One of the year's most significant attacks, if not the most significant, occurred against UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare on Feb. 21. The healthcare technology company, which provides payment and reimbursement services, suffered a massive data breach, prolonged disruptions and substantial recovery costs.

Ascension​

Ascension is another healthcare organization that suffered a significant ransomware attack this year. On May 8, the St. Louis-based healthcare system disclosed that ransomware disrupted its electronic health record (EHR), some phone systems, patient portals and other important systems patients use to order tests, procedures and medications. Patient portals and EHR systems remained down for a little more than one month.

Cleveland city government​

On June 10, Cleveland's city government disclosed it was forced to shut down city hall following a disruptive ransomware attack. City hall remained closed for 11 days while the staff worked to restore systems. The attack affected residents' ability to submit payments, permits and building or house applications.

CDK Global​

CDK Global experienced a damaging ransomware attack on June 18. The automotive technology provider, which currently serves 15,000 dealerships, forced most of its systems offline to contain the threat. Subsequently, the ransomware attack caused significant disruptions for downstream customers.

McLaren Health Care​

A ransomware attack on Aug. 5 significantly disrupted services at Michigan-based McLaren Health Care. The healthcare organization was forced to reschedule nonemergency and elective procedures, but the attack also affected primary and specialty care clinics as well as cancer care. Patients were asked to bring in a list of medications, printed physicians orders and a list of known allergies as the electronic medical records remained down due to the attack. McLaren operates 13 hospitals in Michigan with 28,000 employees and more than 113,000 network providers.

Port of Seattle​

On Aug. 24, the Port of Seattle in Washington began experiencing outages related to a ransomware attack. The Port of Seattle is a public agency that also oversees the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. While the port's website was down, the airport suffered the brunt of disruptions as bag checking, check-in services, flight information displays and phone systems went down due to the attack. Some services remained down two weeks after ransomware encrypted the agency's systems.

Blue Yonder​

On Nov. 22, Arizona-based Blue Yonder disclosed it suffered a ransomware attack one day prior. The attack disrupted the supply chain management company's managed services hosted environment and led to massive fallout for downstream customers including Starbucks, Sainsbury's and Morrisons Supermarkets. Morrisons was forced to rebuild a new warehouse management system for fresh foods and produce while Sainsbury's suffered service disruptions.

Krispy Kreme​

Ransomware disrupted online ordering services for Krispy Kreme on Nov. 29. The doughnut giant disclosed the attack in an 8k filing with the SEC on Dec. 11. Krispy Kreme said it was notified of suspicious activity on its information and technology systems on Nov. 29 and subsequently initiated
an investigation, contained the threat and began remediation. In addition to online ordering, deliveries to retail and restaurant partners were also disrupted.


These are not all - just 10 of the biggest. There are many, many more! If I just wanted to report
one of these each day, I would have no trouble in doing so - and I'm just making reference to
entities within the USA!!!

Well, looking at the bright side of things, the future looks good for persons interested in pursuing
a career in Cybersecurity. Someone's gotta guard the hen house, cause the foxes sure ain't goin
away!!!

One of my students once asked, 'Why don’t we just delete all hackers from the internet?' It was a funny yet teachable moment about the complexity of cybersecurity.

What’s the most surprising or memorable question a student has asked you?

Has A+ always been two exams? I first achieved A+ certification in 1998 and my exam codes were 220-002 and 220-003. I find it odd that that doesn't follow the *1 and *2 pattern that we're used to now and it makes me wonder if the original A+ was a single exam--maybe 220-001. (FWIW, it's apparently required two exams since 1996 at the latest.)

Anyone know for sure?

Serverless architectures are growing, but are they making APIs more vulnerable to attacks due to the lack of traditional security controls?

Not all cybersecurity roles require coding, but it can be a valuable skill. Should certifications like Pentest+ or SecurityX include more emphasis on programming, or is it a niche skill?