Network security analysis

hey all,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but i was after some help. I am after any information about how to become a network security analysis, online courses i could take would be great, what weries of courses would also be fantastic, I am currently employed so full time uni is out of the question but can do distance learning.

 

Thanks

What kind of thing do you know already?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MFfBS4KskY#t=21

thanks Baz, some good stuff, though i think trained by youtube just won't cut it on my CV, I think i'll take Bsc in computer science and take it from there.

Heh, "YouTube" on the CV would really be something...

That video is a good overview, im guessing you don't know much already. Get the basics down pretty much like listed in that video.

Networking. Learn up on the basics, get a good book. Learn is OSI model, TCP/IP, the protocols used, etc. make use of wireshark and understand how the communication works. Build some networks, ciscos packet tracer can be useful for simulating networks, or GNS3 which is better and not tired to cisco, but maybe a bit more of a learning curve.

Virtual machines are your friend. Go crazy with them, get some servers up, run some services on them, learn how Linux works, learn how to administer Linux. Same with windows, if you can afford the licenses, or look at their preview versions that are free for a period of time, get a server and client up, learn how to administer windows boxes.

You dont need to be a programmer, but knowing the basics of a language like python can be useful.

Learn how to find information.

Theres a good chunk of security theory as well, the wikipedia has a decent high level overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_security

When you start getting a hang of networks, working with OS', you'll find yourself looking for the next step, the types of network attacks, downloading some vulnerable systems to play with so you can learn a bit about reconnaissance of systems and networks, identifying weaknesses in services, exploiting them, fixing them, etc.

Don't ignore the idea of putting independant learning on your CV, if its from youtube or not, if you've gained knowledge on how to do something and its helped you and its relevant, you can put it down. Maybe just rephrase it from 'watched youtube videos' :p 

 

Thanks Eden, In my current industry independent learning would be laughed out the room, its way too regulated so i assumed the IT industry would be the same.

Its refreshing to see that it accepts a independent learning model.

I already have a varied IT background but its all self taught, hence the reason i was looking to see if there was any industry courses out there to reflect my current knowledge and help improve at the same time.

As for knowledge I've been using PC's since 85, dos 3.0 to current, very comfortable with using linux and even happier in a command prompt.

Thanks for all the info in your post, It'll give me lots of areas to work on.

 

From personal experience just getting the CompTIA Security+ Certification got me in the door for an entry-level IS Analyst position. It gives you a good understanding of all the security concepts you'll need to get started in IS.

 

For training material CBT Nuggets is a good source of training videos.  For reading material I'd recommend the Security+ Study guide and Review guide by Sybex.

 

Also make sure you always get the most current material as the tests are always being updated. Current test for the Sec+ is SY0-401.

 

Hope this helps.

If you want to learn about security, learn from experience. Try to hack your servers, computers, devices. Try to understand how to spot all weak points. Something that would be really helpful is defcon. Most likely best way to get info about security.

To become a Network Sec Analyst you would need to know a great deal about network security. I got the book Cisco Networking Essentials and it has a wealth of information. If you don't want to have to buy the book I'm sure there are many tutorials online on networking (computer) basics.  

Keith Barker is the shit.