The Cyber Threat Landscape
Before you can defend against an attack, you need to think like the person launching it. This module builds the attacker's-eye view every SOC analyst needs — how threats, vulnerabilities and risk connect, and the mechanics behind the attacks analysts see every day.
What You Will Learn
A detailed, industry-aligned breakdown of every topic covered in this module.
- Threat, vulnerability & risk — how they connect
- CIA Triad and AAA security models
- Ethical hacking vs. hacking, and types of hackers
- The five phases of hacking: recon to clearing tracks
- Malware types: viruses, worms, trojans & ransomware
- Phishing, spear-phishing & business email compromise
- Password attacks, MITM, DoS & DDoS attacks
- Web application attacks: injection, XSS & more
Tools You Will Use
Hands-on time with the same tools used in real Security Operations Centers today.
Wireshark
Network protocol analyzer used to capture and inspect live traffic at the packet level.
Nmap
Network mapping and port-scanning engine used to discover hosts, services and open ports.
CLI
Command-line fluency across Windows and Linux, used for configuration, investigation and automation tasks.
Hands-On Labs
Production-style SOC lab scenarios, built using the same stack real security teams monitor with.
Classify real-world attack scenarios by threat, vulnerability and risk.
Walk through the five phases of hacking against a simulated target.
Analyse simulated phishing emails and identify social engineering red flags.
Investigate a simulated malware sample and identify its attack type.
Map common web application attacks — injection and XSS — to their defensive controls.
Assessment
Knowledge Assessment
Quiz covering attack types, the CIA Triad, the five phases of hacking and common web application attacks.
Practical Evaluation
Students must classify and document a set of simulated attack scenarios by type, with the appropriate defensive control for each.
Projects
Industry-style deliverables added directly to your project portfolio.
Threat Detection Exercise
Analyze malware, phishing emails and malicious IP activity using live SIEM offense data.
What This Module Builds
Students learn to recognise, classify and understand the mechanics of common cyber attacks, building the attacker's-eye view every SOC analyst needs.