Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) uses a combination of artificial intelligence, behavioural

detection, machine learning algorithms, and exploit mitigation, so known and unknown
threats can be anticipated and immediately prevented. NGAV is cloud-based, which allows it
to be deployed in hours instead of months, and the burden of maintaining software,
managing infrastructure, and updating signature databases is eliminated.
Practical Applications of NGAV

Endpoint Security: NGAV solutions are deployed on endpoint devices, such as desktops,
laptops, servers, and mobile devices, to provide comprehensive protection against malware,
ransomware, and other cyber threats.

Threat Hunting: NGAV solutions empower security teams to proactively hunt for threats by
providing enhanced visibility into endpoint activity, enabling them to identify and respond to
potential security incidents before they escalate.

Incident Response: NGAV solutions streamline incident response workflows by automating

threat detection, alerting security teams to suspicious activity, and providing actionable
intelligence to facilitate rapid containment and remediation.

Managed Detection and Response (MDR): Many organizations leverage NGAV solutions as
part of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, outsourcing their cybersecurity
operations to expert providers who can monitor, detect, and respond to threats 24/7.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), also referred to as endpoint detection and threat
response (EDTR), is an endpoint security solution that continuously monitors end-user
devices to detect and respond to cyber threats like ransomware and malware.
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions detect threats across your environment,
investigating the entire lifecycle of the threat, and providing insights into what happened,
how it got in, where it has been, what it's doing now, and what to do about it. By containing
the threat at the endpoint, EDR helps eliminate the threat before it can spread.

The primary functions of an EDR security system are to:

1) Monitor and collect activity data from endpoints that could indicate a threat

2) Analyze this data to identify threat patterns

3) Automatically respond to identified threats to remove or contain them, and notify

security personnel

4) Forensics and analysis tools to research identified threats and search for suspicious
activities
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is the practice of detecting and preventing data breaches,
exfiltration, or unwanted destruction of sensitive data. Organizations use DLP to protect and
secure their data and comply with regulations.
The DLP term refers to defending organizations against both data loss and data leakage
prevention. Data loss refers to an event in which important data is lost to the enterprise, such
as in a ransomware attack. Data loss prevention focuses on preventing illicit transfer of data
outside organizational boundaries.
A DLP policy contains:

Locations and systems where data needs to be protected

When and how to protect data

Rules that define sensitive data and actions when a security risk is discovered

Conditions that assign different actions to different risk levels

Email security involves the strategic set of measures and techniques used to protect
email-based communications, effectively preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of email messages. As a critical safeguard for all types of organizations and
professionals, email security prevents unauthorized access resulting in data breaches,
detects and blocks malicious content, and ensures the privacy of sensitive information being
transmitted.
As the most commonly leveraged communication channel among cyber-attackers and
criminals, email is often exploited to spread malware and viruses, steal sensitive data,
deploy ransomware and phishing attacks, and manipulate users into divulging confidential
information. Email security solutions are designed to protect against the ever-evolving
spectrum of email-borne attack vectors.
Policies to enforce email security vary from organization to organization but, in most cases,
include a combination of the following:

Strong password requirements: Email account passwords should be complex, difficult to

guess, and changed regularly. Employees should not use the same password for multiple
accounts.

Multifactor authentication: MFA adds an additional layer of security to email accounts. It

requires users to provide multiple forms of identification to access their accounts, such as a
password and a fingerprint or a password and a code sent to a different device.
Email encryption: An email encryption solution reduces the risks associated with regulatory
violations, data loss, and corporate policy violations while enabling essential business
communications.

Email attachments: Create policies regarding acceptable file types for attachments and
implement scanning tools to detect malware before it enters the network.

SOC—is an in-house or outsourced team of IT security professionals dedicated to

monitoring an organization’s entire IT infrastructure 24x7. Its mission is to detect, analyze
and respond to security incidents in real-time. This orchestration of cybersecurity functions
allows the SOC team to maintain vigilance over the organization’s networks, systems and
applications and ensures a proactive defense posture against cyber threats.

When not on premises, a SOC is often part of outsourced managed security services (MSS)
offered by a managed security service provider (MSSP)
SIEM functions:

Collect log data from across the organization; leverage data to identify, categorize and
analyze incidents and events.

Provide visibility into malicious activity by pulling data from every corner of an environment,
including all network applications and hardware.

Aggregate all data into a single centralized platform.

Leverage data to produce alerts, create reports and support incident response.

IAM

When implementing Identity and Access Management, these are the steps you should
follow:

1) Appoint identity as one of your main protections.

2) Label access rights, find unnecessary privileges, accounts, and irrelevant user groups.

3) Conduct a risk evaluation of corporate applications and networks to start building your
IAM project on a solid foundation.

4) Use multi-factor authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO).

5) Enforce a strong password policy.

6) Implement the Principle of Least Privilege and the Zero Trust Model.

Privileged identity management (PIM) and privileged access management (PAM) Identity
Access Management (IAM)

PIM: Privileged Identity Management

PAM: Privileged Access Management

IAM: Identity Access Management

All three are crucial for your organization’s safety.

They’re built around the concept of granting specific rights to user groups. Privileged Identity
Management and Privileged Access Management are subsets of Identity Access
Management (IAM).

PIM

While IAM provides a comprehensive approach to access management, Privileged Identity

Management (PIM) focuses specifically on safeguarding highly privileged accounts – those
with elevated permissions and access to critical systems and data.

Privileged accounts, often used by administrators, developers, and other IT personnel, pose
a significant risk if compromised. Malicious actors actively seek to exploit these accounts to
gain unauthorised access, potentially leading to data breaches, system disruptions, and
other severe consequences.

PAM

Privileged Access Management (PAM):

Definition: PAM focuses on managing and securing the actual access and activities of users
with privileged rights. This includes controlling and monitoring how these users access and
use systems and applications.

Scope: Includes the enforcement of policies related to the use of privileged accounts, such
as session monitoring, credential management, and access control.
Mobile device management (MDM) is a type of security software that enables organizations
to secure, monitor, manage, and enforce policies on employees’ mobile devices.

The core purpose of MDM is to protect the corporate network by securing and optimizing
mobile devices, including laptops, smartphones, tablets, and Internet-of-Things (IoT)
devices, that connect to enterprise networks. Besides boosting the security of business
networks, it also enables employees to use their own devices, rather than corporate-supplied
devices, to work more efficiently and be more productive.
Mobile Device Management Solutions

Mobile device management is most commonly managed through third-party products.

Common features of such products include:

Device inventory and tracking

Mobile support and management

Applications to allow and deny

Remote service management

Passcode enforcement

Alerts that help users bypass jailbreaking restrictions

What is secure remote access and why is it important?

Secure remote access for employees allows authorized users to connect to their corporate
network on authorized devices from remote locations. The goal is to prevent unauthorized
access, protect data confidentiality, and preserve the integrity of the devices.

Secure remote access has evolved from a requirement for a few remote employees to a
necessity for organizations of all sizes. As businesses adapt to remote work, especially with
the growing use of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, their attack surfaces are rapidly
expanding.

What is the safest way for remote access?

The safest way to utilize secure remote access involves a combination of security tools and
practices, including:

Secure encryption through a secure remote access VPN or secure remote access proxy

Strong authentication with MFA or single sign-on (SSO)

Regularly updated security protocols

Endpoint security software

Patch management is the process of applying vendor-issued updates to close security

vulnerabilities and optimize the performance of software and devices. Patch management is
sometimes considered a part of vulnerability management.

Patch management is the process of distributing and applying updates to software. These
patches are often necessary to correct errors (also referred to as “vulnerabilities” or “bugs”)
in the software.

Tools

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

Ivanti Patch Management

Qualys Patch Management

ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus - Provides automated patching for Windows, macOS,
and Linux

Cybersecurity asset management (CSAM) is the process created to continuously discover,

inventory, monitor, manage and track an organization's assets to determine what those
assets do and identify and automatically remediate any gaps in its cybersecurity protections.
What are the benefits of cybersecurity asset management?

CSAM enables security teams to assess, manage and potentially even minimize their
organizations' attack surface by offering the following benefits:

A real-time view into the organization's security posture.

Visibility across the entire network.

The ability to rapidly assess assets and pinpoint security coverage gaps.

A granular view of IT assets -- down to the application and service levels.

Continuous asset discovery and identification.

An understanding of which cybersecurity tools are active on the network and how they are
used.
Videos

1) Active directory in a nutshell | How windows AD works in networking (2024)

2) Active Directory | Configure Group Policy Users, Computers and OU Practical (HINDI)

3) Auditing Windows Server Active Directory Security Course 🔎💻🛡

4) https://youtu.be/85-bp7XxWDQ?si=rEgtv6U_GvSci2qq

1) How To Use Nessus Vulnerability Scanner | Beginner’s Guide to Nessus | Nessus

Vulnerability Scanner

What?

A firewall is a network security device designed to monitor, filter, and control incoming and
outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. The primary purpose of a
firewall is to establish a barrier between a trusted internal network and untrusted external
networks.

Firewalls come in both hardware and software forms, and they work by inspecting data
packets and determining whether to allow or block them based on a set of rules.
Organizations can configure these rules to permit or deny traffic based on various criteria,
such as source and destination IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol type.

External threats such as viruses, backdoors, phishing emails, and denial-of-service (DoS)
attacks. Firewalls filter incoming traffic flows, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive
data and thwarting potential malware infections.

Insider threats like known bad actors or risky applications. A firewall can enforce rules and
policies to restrict certain types of outgoing traffic, which helps identify suspicious activity
and mitigate data exfiltration.

A firewall is a network security device, either hardware or software-based, which monitors all
incoming and outgoing traffic and based on a defined set of security rules accepts, rejects,
or drops that specific traffic.
Accept: allow the traffic

Reject: block the traffic but reply with an “unreachable error”

Drop: block the traffic with no reply

What is Database Security?

Database security includes a variety of measures used to secure database management

systems from malicious cyber-attacks and illegitimate use. Database security programs are
designed to protect not only the data within the database, but also the data management
system itself, and every application that accesses it, from misuse, damage, and intrusion.

How Can You Secure Your Database Server?

A database server is a physical or virtual machine running the database. Securing a

database server, also known as “hardening”, is a process that includes physical security,
network security, and secure operating system configuration.

In addition, the following security measures are recommended:

Strong passwords must be enforced

Password hashes must be salted and stored encrypted

Accounts must be locked following multiple login attempts

Accounts must be regularly reviewed and deactivated if staff move to different roles, leave
the company, or no longer require the same level of access

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/cloud-computing-dictionary/what-is-database-se
curity

SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) is a type of networking technology that uses
software-defined networking (SDN) principles to manage and optimize the performance of
wide area networks (WANs). It enables organizations to securely connect users, applications
and data across multiple locations while providing improved performance, reliability and
scalability. SD-WAN also simplifies the management of WANs by providing centralized
control and visibility over the entire network.
SD-WAN is based on software rather than hardware and is configured to handle different
kinds of traffic and conditions in real-time. It can adapt quickly to changing situations and
offer better security and reliability than traditional WANs.

SD-WAN uses a centralized control plane to route traffic, allowing administrators to write
rules and policies and deploy them across an entire network at once.

How SD-WAN Works

Centralized Control: SD-WAN uses a centralized controller to manage and orchestrate the
network. This controller configures policies and optimizes traffic routing across multiple
network connections.

Dynamic Path Selection: Traffic is dynamically routed based on real-time network conditions,
such as latency, packet loss, and bandwidth. This ensures that applications get the best
performance by choosing the most efficient path.

Application Visibility and Control: SD-WAN provides visibility into application performance
and usage, allowing administrators to apply policies for quality of service (QoS) and prioritize
critical applications.

Encryption and Security: Data is encrypted end-to-end, providing secure communication

over any network. SD-WAN also integrates security features like firewalls and intrusion
detection/prevention systems.

A human resource management system (HRMS) is a set of software applications that

assists HR professionals in managing HR functions efficiently.

The HRMS assists HR with every stage of the employment lifecycle, from recruitment to
retirement and everything in between.

As a multibillion-dollar industry, there’s a diverse range of HRMS options. A typical HRMS

module, however, should aid HR professionals with the following functions:

Storing and organizing relevant candidate and staff information

Planning benefits administration and ensuring timely, accurate payroll

Enhancing the talent acquisition process for candidates and employers

Boosting retention and engagement

Offering L&D opportunities and tracking people’s progress

Managing compliance training

Running reports and preparing KPIs for better analytics

Tracking time and attendance and aligning it with payroll

Improving workforce and succession planning

Monitoring progress and performance reviews for talent management

Virtualization is a process that allows for more efficient use of physical computer hardware
and is the foundation of cloud computing.

Virtualization uses software to create an abstraction layer over computer hardware, enabling
the division of a single computer's hardware components—such as processors, memory and
storage—into multiple virtual machines (VMs). Each VM runs its own operating system (OS)
and behaves like an independent computer, even though it is running on just a portion of the
actual underlying computer hardware.

Server virtualization is a key use of virtualization technology. It uses a software layer called a
hypervisor to emulate the underlying hardware. This includes the central processing unit's
(CPU's) memory, input/output and network traffic.

Types of virtualization

To this point we’ve discussed server virtualization, but many other IT infrastructure elements
can be virtualized to deliver significant advantages to IT managers in particular and the
enterprise as a whole. In this section, we cover the following types of virtualization:

Desktop virtualization

Network virtualization

Storage virtualization

Data virtualization

Application virtualization

Data center virtualization

CPU virtualization
GPU virtualization

Linux virtualization

Cloud virtualization

What Is Vendor Access Management?

Vendor access management is a critical process in modern cybersecurity strategies that

regulate third-party entry into an organization's computer systems. Vendor access
management systems operate on the least privilege principle, granting temporary access to
vendors only when necessary. This means vendors are given the minimum access required
for their specific tasks, minimizing potential security vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, vendor access management systems meticulously control vendor access to

the resources necessary for their defined organizational roles and functions. This
precision-based approach substantially diminishes the available targets for potential cyber
threats, thus increasing the complexity of unauthorized entities attempting to exploit
vulnerabilities.

How do companies manage vendor risk?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing vendor risk. Every company is different.

Still, there are common measures that every business with a strong VRM program must
take. These measures include (but are not limited to):

Defining your risk appetite by developing a risk appetite statement

Managing risks down to the individual product or service offered by a vendor

Choosing your control framework and assessment standard

Identifying the risk types that are most important to your organization

Creating a vendor inventory and tracking critical attributes defined by your business

Classifying your vendors based on criticality

Conducting vendor risk assessments and mitigation

Tracking key terms in vendor contracts

Reporting on important vendor-related metrics

Monitoring vendor risks and performance overtime

Data classification involves assigning labels or categories to data based on its confidentiality,
integrity, and availability requirements. This process helps in applying appropriate security
measures, compliance controls, and data management practices.

Data Classification Process

When you decide it’s time to classify data to meet compliance standards, the first step is
implementing procedures to assist with data location, classification, and determining the
proper cybersecurity. Executing each procedure depends on your organization’s compliance
standards and the infrastructure that best secures data. The general data classification steps
are:

Perform a risk assessment: A risk assessment determines the sensitivity of data and
identifies how an attacker could breach network defenses.

Develop classification policies and standards: If you generate additional data in the future, a
classification policy enables streamlining of a repeatable process, making it easier for staff
members while minimizing mistakes in the process.

Categorize data: With a risk assessment and policies in place, categorize your data based
on its sensitivity, who should be able to access it, and any compliance penalties should it be
disclosed publicly.

Find the storage location of your data: Before deploying the right cybersecurity defenses,
you need to know where data is stored. Identifying data storage locations points to the type
of cybersecurity necessary to protect data.

Identify and classify your data: With data identified, you can now classify it. Third-party
software helps you with this step to make it easier to classify data and track it.

Deploy controls: The controls you employ should require authentication and authorization
access requests from every user and resource needing data access. That access should be
on a “need to know” basis, meaning users only receive access if they need to see data to
perform a job function.

Monitor access and data: Monitoring data is a requirement for compliance and the privacy of
your data. Without monitoring, an attacker could have months to exfiltrate data from the
network. The proper monitoring controls detect anomalies and reduce the time necessary to
detect, mitigate, and eradicate a threat from the network.
What is Cybersecurity Awareness?

Cybersecurity awareness involves being mindful of cybersecurity in day-to-day situations.

Being aware of the dangers of browsing the web, checking email and interacting online are
all components of cybersecurity awareness. As business leaders, it’s our responsibility to
make sure everyone considers cybersecurity an essential part of their role.

Why is Cybersecurity Awareness Important?

Similar to safety incidents, cybersecurity incidents can come with a hefty price tag. If you’re
struggling to allocate budget to cybersecurity training, tools or talent, you should think about
it through the lens of risk management. With an ever-rising number of cyberattacks each
year, the risk of not educating your employees on cybersecurity awareness only continues to
grow.