Hacks and Attacks: The Inside Scoop on CCNA Security Certification

Back in the day, security barely pierced the consciousness of operators in the enterprise. The only exceptions were the nervous workers in the information technology department, and even they considered security to be secondary to the concerns of keeping the network up and running. However, in the twenty-first century, network security is job one, and not just for the IT department.
 
Protecting networks against unauthorized access and malicious attacks requires the attention of highly-trained and diligent experts. In order to meet the challenge, specialty training programs have been developed. One of the most well-regarded specialty training programs is Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Security certification. CCNA Security certification trains IT professionals about different types of security threats, and how to develop effective security protocols. At later stages of the certification training process, candidates learn more about how to work with and service specific Cisco hardware and security management tools.

CCNA Security Certification

In actuality, CCNA Security certification encompasses several levels and different specialties. The various certification levels range from basic CCNA Security certification for relatively new IT workers to Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification for seasoned professionals with more than seven years of experience. CCIE certification is widely accepted as one of the most prestigious IT certifications to hold. However, all levels of Cisco certification require would-be certified technicians to obtain a deep understanding of network security in general and Cisco security in particular.

The CCNA Security Certification Exam 
Any valid Cisco CCENT, CCNA Routing and Switching, or any CCIE certification can serve as your prerequisite for the CCNA Security exam. In addition, the updated ICND1, ICND2, and CCNA Composite exams can be applied towards the achievement of several Cisco associate-level certifications. For more information, or to check for the latest updates from Cisco, go to the Associate-level Exam Logic Tool.
The next step for qualifying for the CCNA Security exam is to take the IINS class, and then pass exam 640-554. Candidates are required to demonstrate a command of knowledge concerning various network threats and how to counteract those threats. The various areas covered by the CCNA Security certification exam includes the following subject areas:

• A general knowledge about different types of network threats
• Ability to craft effective security policies
• Implementation of virtual private networks tunnels for Cisco equipment
• Effective mitigation of Layer 2 and Layer 3 network attacks
• Understanding of the implementation of Cisco-specific technologies, such as the Cisco IOS firewall feature set and the Cisco IOS Intrusion Prevention system (IPS) feature set
• Implementing security protocols such as AAA and ACL
• Knowledge on how to install, configure Cisco security equipment  such as the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA)

As the previous list indicates, a casual acquaintance with concepts such as "router," "binary code" and "router" are far from adequate to prepare candidates to successfully pass the CCNA Security certification examination. Candidates typically devote months to preparing for the examination. Among the steps taken by candidates to prepare for the CCNA Security certification examination, including hours of rigorous self-study and taking practice examinations, completing formal training is extremely effective.

There are two options to obtain CCNA Security certification. The first option is to complete the CCNA Composite Examination. The second option is to pass two separate tests: Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices 1 and Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices 2.  After completing either of the two options, candidates can proceed to take the Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) examination. Those who do not need the CCNA, but just the CCNA Security certification can opt to simply take the ICND1, and then complete the CCNA security exam.

After You Obtain CCNA Security Certification

Once you successfully pass the examinations to achieve CCNA Security certification, you will retain your certification for three years. To renew your certification, you must either pass the CCNA Security certification examination again or attempt to achieve another Cisco certification. One popular option for additional Cisco certifications is the Cisco Certified Networking Professional Security (CCNP) certification.  A valid CCENT Certification acts as the minimum pre-requisite requirement for CCNA Security. Candidates who have a valid CCENT Certification and who also pass the 640-554 IINS exam, can become certified in CCNA Security. Check the CCNA Security Syllabus page for the latest information.
 
Candidates for the CCNP Security certification typically have more experience than CCNA Security certificate holders. CCNA Security certificate holders are often at the beginning of their IT careers, and hold titles such as Network Security Specialist, Security Administrator or Network Security Support Engineer. By contrast, CCNP certificate candidates typically have at least three to five years of IT experience, and hold a title like Network Security Engineer or its equivalent.
 
Candidates for CCNP Security certification must demonstrate a command of various Cisco technologies, including Cisco IOS, Cisco routers and switches, ASA, Security Management, CSM, and Firewall for IPS management. In addition, to obtain CCNP Security certification, candidates must successfully pass four examinations, as opposed to the two or three examinations that candidates for CCNA certification must pass. CCNP certification is also valid for three years. If you obtain CCNP certification while your CCNA certification is still valid, your CCNA certification will be extended as well.

---

Travis Adams is an IT veteran. He often writes about his experiences and insights into industry success.

Read More

Understanding the Link between Social Media, ID Theft and Your Credit

Image by http://usopenborders.com

Chances are, not everyone on your social media site is someone you would haphazardly hand your credit card to. Yet, many people are treating social media sites like a trusted best friend or even an ATM when they share photos, travel plans, birthdays and addresses publicly with the world. Because of the lasting damage that identity theft can have on credit scores and long-term financial health, it’s important to break the link between social media, ID Theft and your credit.


According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, identity theft is broken down into three segments:

• Unauthorized use or attempted use of existing credit cards
• Unauthorized use or attempted use of other existing accounts, such as checking accounts
• Misuse of personal information to obtain new accounts or loans, or to commit other crimes.

Consumers most at risk of identity theft are those who don’t regularly check their bank accounts and credit scores, which are most often children and the elderly. According to a 2012 report from Carnegie Mellon CyLab, children are targeted 35 times for identity theft more than adults, and 15 percent of the victims are under the age of five. Kids that have grown up in the social media environment are not afraid of what they share. They also don’t apply for credit and don’t have as much activity around their bank accounts so it takes longer to see if their identity has been compromised.

While the older generation is less apt to participate on Twitter, they are also less likely to apply for a mortgage, car loan or other purchase that requires a credit check. Years can go by before any unusual activity is noticed on their credit scores.

However, 12 million Americans fell victim to identity theft last year and they certainly weren’t all children and elderly. In fact, every three seconds, someone in the United States becomes a victim of identity fraud, according to Javelin Strategy & Research 2013 Identity Fraud Report. This means over 5% of all U.S. adults were affected by identity theft in 2012.

Think you’re not at risk? Go to http://protectyourprofile.org for a realistic look into what criminals could obtain from your Facebook account. It recently won a 2013 Marcom Gold Award for the realism of the experience.



Social Media’s Role

Information in social media can let criminals piece together enough of a story to steal identities without being caught. “Hackers can take family names, addresses, phone numbers and use that data to try and figure out passwords. These people can sell your information to other criminals in their network and it’s worth a lot on the black market,” says David Anderson, directory of product at Protect Your Bubble.com.

For example, a Facebook user can be duped into giving up personal information through fake posts asking for likes, votes, or clicks. These messages look legit because they appear to be sent by a friend. The user many not think twice about entering contact details like a phone number to participate in a contest, special or poll. Once they enter this personal information, they become susceptible to identity theft as criminals start to share data that may ultimately result in capturing payment credentials like credit or debit card numbers.

In fact, just this December hackers swooped in to capture login information from over 2 million Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google accounts. Facebook accounted for over half of the compromised accounts and left victims vulnerable and uncertain about just how much information the hackers consumed.

How to Break the Link

On social media, consumers must personally self-manage information and stay on top of security settings to keep their credit secure. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, no individual, business, or government entity is solely responsible for securing the Internet.

Everyone has a role in securing their part of cyberspace because individual actions have a collective impact on making the Internet more secure. What role can you play? Here are five simple steps you can take to unlink your social media account from your credit and from the risk of identity theft.

1.  Take the time to review credit card statements each month for fraudulent charges.
2.  Remember when you share information on social media, it’s not in a bank vault.
3.  Choose a secure password that doesn’t include your birthday or pet name. Make passwords at least 8 characters long, combining uppercase and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
4.  Alternate passwords for different accounts. Using the same password on Facebook as your online banking is a huge risk.
5.  Never send money based on a Facebook post or message. If you get a request from a friend that seems out of character, be aware that their account may have been hacked and ask them directly rather than assuming it is a legitimate request.

Don’t let thieves ruin your credit or financial stability. Learn more about keeping your identity and finances safe at http://us.protectyourbubble.com/id-theft. Please take steps to protect yourself and share this information with others to help fight against identity theft.

---

About Author: Dechay Watts is Chief Content Strategist at Sprout Content.

Read More

Bolstering Your Internet Hosting Precedent with cPanel Servers

Considering the relentless innovations in the web world, it is not hard to deduce the spectacle of internet hosting precedents or services. They are organically linked to web hosting services, which permit organizations and individuals to make their respective websites accessible through the World Wide Web mechanism. These web hosts are concerned companies which allocate space or volume on a particular server leased or owned by clients. They are also used by internet connectivity or service providers within a data center. Web hosting is meant to provide connectivity and data center accommodation to the internet for auxiliary servers placed in their data ambit. This is called collocation in technical parlance.

Scope and server altitudes

The potential for web hosting services vary in totality. The fundamental precedent is small-scale and web page file hosting. You can upload files via a Web Interface or File Transfer Protocol. The files are generally delivered to the net world with minimal or minimum processing. Most internet connectivity providers channelize this service to subscribers free of cost. Organizations and individuals can obtain these hosting services from alternative providers. You need to know that personal hosting precedents are invariably free, inexpensive or advertisement-sponsored. Commercial web site hosting entails a greater expense based on the type and size of the website.

The server mechanism

This brings you to the gamut of server plug-ins for web hosting. From amongst the plethora of market directives available today, cPanelhs generated great interest and feasibility. In this mechanism, every hosting plan is bundled with a single click installs on each of the latest software you require. These are social networking applications, Xcart, blogs, Xoops, forums, ffmpeg, Word Press, Coppermine, Mamboo and Drupal. You also have Joomla, phpBB, Python, cgi/perl scripts, PHP4, PHP5 and so on. The server plug-in factorplays a clinical role in web hosting services as well as plans. The different options include disk space, data transfer/bandwidth, daily backups, unlimited FTP, Email and MYSQL, sub domains/interminable parked domains, secure SSL access and cPanel Pro. You can find unlimited facilities in this regard.



Server entailing

The concerned mechanism provides flexibility, control and ultimate performance. The most viable cPanel directives give you secure, fast, reliable web hosting services on demand. They are ideal for online business or e-commerce concerns, database hosting, media streaming, and e-mail and file storage or exchange servers. As regards the server hosting part, there are regions which provide low latency attachments alongside a global fiber network. You can find 24/7 dedicated support from adept specialists and friendly professionals. The precedence of latest technology helps you to upgrade in short time to latest servers and processors. This helps you to cater to a huge traffic in a fast and secure mode. The speed parameters entail 100Mbps unmetered bandwidth with dedicated services. The Intel Sandy Bridge servers bolster lightning fast enterprise solutions and web hosting. You can get 5 IP addresses in this framework. It caters to remote desktop, cPanel or Plesk variants.

Assuaging the best cPanel standards

There are certain suggestions pertaining to the upkeep of servers. You need to know that server security is an amalgam of compromises because server connections are always open to insecure connections. Different companies entail several integration options and various billing. The precedents are meant for different corners. As regards the self-charge option, it is meant for hosting companies which seek to give a website builder with the current packages. They own the billing component. Pertaining to the referrer, it is meant for hosting companies which seek to galvanize the solution but not integrate it totally. It is mainly for companies that actually require emphasizing their potential or brand. Billing model is another important factor since you can charge your customers and the company charges you for the entire baggage of sites on a monthly basis. You can also find prorating wherever deemed possible. Users are charged directly and you receive payments in the form of a recurring commission.

The ingrained machinery

There is generally an installation charge for every site. If you plan to build sites exceeding the 8, 000 mark the server concerns can set up dedicated servers on your behalf. There are cPanel directives which provide exemplary pre-charges and hosting packages pertaining to your site. You need to pay for every site that falls under the barricade of your account. You can share the link whenever you want to share it. In this way, you can maximize your reach. The documentation or support machinery plays a crucial role in this regard. You can also find multilingual support with singular sign-on. The branding aspect deserves special mention since you can give your own slant in the installation process. You can find different integration options with cPanel plug-in, API site creation and iFrame signup type option.

Business model and pricing

Every customer can initiate within a free fortnight trial. It gives them total access to the server’s extensive website creation, management and design platform. Customers can also upgrade to the particular server. You can get the compliant revenue sharing omissions or commissions on a recurring mode. There are no licensing charges or requisite minimums for becoming a viable partner. There is virtually not a single overhead to becoming a concerned hosting partner. You can find several premium website creators for customers. Customers can subscribe or upgrade to the cPanel server plug-in. The companies look forward to build value with the customer base. They care about mutual accord with different clients.

Quality and integrity

The concerned company’s quality gives ample testimony for the underlying quality. The quality is primarily based on customer adoption. In case customers are slow to react for definite reasons, there is no need to worry. The upgrading process takes place through a secured payment gateway. It is the same way that many popular and viable cPanel plugins like Cloud Flare and Attracta functions for upgrade options. You can find comprehensive visibility pertaining to transactions on all occasions. Customers can cancel their respective plans at any given time.

Jack is a free lancer writer of GingerDomain.

Read More