Cyber Security Fundamentals Study Notes

Access Control Models

Compare DAC, MAC, and RBAC access control models and understand who decides permissions in each approach.

API Security Basics

Foundational API security: strong authentication, rate limiting, input validation, and why hidden endpoints are not secure.

Authentication Basics

Learn how systems verify identity through authentication, how it differs from authorization, and the three factor categories used to prove who you are.

The CIA Triad

Learn Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability — the foundational model for reasoning about information security.

Common Cybersecurity Pitfalls

The most frequent security mistakes made by individuals and organizations, and how to avoid them.

Compliance Frameworks Overview

Get a conceptual overview of common compliance frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA and what each covers.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Stored, reflected, and DOM-based XSS explained, with output encoding and CSP as the core defenses.

Cryptography Basics

Learn the core vocabulary and goals of cryptography: plaintext, ciphertext, keys, ciphers, and confidentiality.

Common Cybersecurity Interview Questions

A curated set of frequently asked cybersecurity interview questions with concise, technically accurate answers.

Cybersecurity Quick Reference

A condensed reference sheet covering the core facts, models, and frameworks from the entire course.

Denial-of-Service Attacks

DoS vs DDoS explained, including botnets, and how rate limiting, scrubbing, and CDNs absorb attack traffic.

Endpoint Security Basics

Learn why laptops, servers, and mobile devices are prime attack targets and how antivirus and EDR tools defend them.

Firewalls and IDS/IPS

How firewalls enforce traffic rules and how IDS/IPS systems detect or actively block malicious network activity.

Hashing and Digital Signatures

Understand one-way cryptographic hashing and how digital signatures use hashing plus private keys to prove integrity and authenticity.

Incident Response Basics

Understand the standard incident response lifecycle used by security teams to detect, contain, and recover from security incidents.

Malware Types

A guided tour of virus, worm, trojan, ransomware, and spyware — how each behaves and how defenders stop them.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Understand how MFA combines multiple distinct authentication factor categories to dramatically reduce the risk of account takeover.

Network Security Overview

A layered introduction to protecting networks, tying together firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, and segmentation into a defense-in-depth strategy.

Network Segmentation

How dividing a network into isolated zones, such as VLANs or subnets, limits lateral movement when a segment is compromised.

OWASP Top 10 Overview

A practical tour of the OWASP Top 10, the industry-standard list of the most critical web application security risks.

Password Security

Learn how passwords should be stored securely with salted hashing, and modern best practices for creating and managing strong passwords.

Patch Management

Understand why unpatched software drives breaches and how a disciplined patch management process reduces risk.

Penetration Testing Basics

Learn how authorized, scoped penetration testing actively exploits weaknesses to demonstrate real-world impact, unlike automated vulnerability scanning.

Phishing and Social Engineering

How attackers exploit human psychology through phishing, spear-phishing, and whaling — and how to build human-centered defenses.