Weeks 5 & 6: Moving right along…

CORE Graduate, Kimberly Decker, shares an authentic student perspective of her experience and growth at SecureSet Academy.

If you’re looking at SecureSet Academy as an option for cybersecurity education, checking out our website and free events is a great way to start. Both will give you a better look at our immersive education model, as well as our overall mission of securing the future. But what if you want an inside, student perspective on Academy life? What is taking an immersive really like? SecureSet Academy alumna, Kimberly Decker, is ready to give you the inside scoop. Catch up on Week 1 here.

Kimberly Decker is a CORE program graduate, who documented her time at SecureSet Academy during her 20-week immersive. Kimberly’s goal was to give “an authentic student perspective of her experience and growth at SecureSet Academy.” We’ve decided to compile Kimberly’s blog posts and publish them in a series, giving you a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to take an immersive at SecureSet Academy. If you’re looking to find out what academy life looks and feels like, you’ve come to the right place.

Weeks 5 & 6

The workload is getting a little intense, so I’ve had to prioritize; I decided I would write these articles every 2 weeks. At this stage, we’ve completed Network and System 100, Cryptography 100, as well as Governance, Risk and Compliance. Now, we are working through Network and System Security 200, Cryptography 200, Security and Analysis, and Security Culture. In this article, I would like to provide a more in-depth review of the topics we’re learning, plus provide some suggestions for how you can prepare for the CORE Bootcamp.

In Network Security, we took a deeper dive into the subjects of DNS, DHCP and Border Gateway Protocol. In addition, we have been working in groups on a comprehensive virtual network environment, a challenging exercise for those who don’t have job-related experience with network administration. We were exposed to various important GRC frameworks (i.e., NIST, ISO, etc.) in our Governance, Risk and Compliance class. This topic was less exciting for some students, but since I have a corporate background and understand how defined policies and procedures can improve operational efficiency, I felt that the material was very applicable. We covered symmetric cryptographic concepts and techniques extensively in our Cryptography class. The quality of instruction for the Cryptography class is exceptional; I am understanding concepts that I had trouble grasping when trying to learn from a book.

SecureSet provides prospective students with a list of online learning resources to help get prepared for both the CORE and HUNT courses. Personally, I found that combining these resources with books covering different subjects was most helpful. I purchased the books on the following topics: Net+, CISSP, Linux/BASH scripting, and Python. Beyond the areas recommended by SecureSet, I would also suggest getting a free cloud account on either Microsoft’s Azure or AWS, and spend some time playing. Finally, I would recommend learning a little bit about each of the topics, rather than going through the learning resources in a linear fashion. And if you want a better idea of the exploitation tools and techniques you will be learning in the class, pick up the book Counter Hack Reloaded.

To be continued …

About the Author

Kimberly Decker graduated from the SecureSet CORE immersive as part of the Spring 2018 cohort. Before her time at the academy, Kimberly earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of Colorado. Kimberly spent years conducting scientific research, as well as working in the software industry. Kimberly has seen several job opportunities come her way since graduating from the Academy, currently working as a security program coordinator at Ping Identity, in Denver Colorado.

If you’re interested in starting a career in cybersecurity, our CORE, HUNT and PATH immersives can get you there in less than a year. Visit secureset.com to learn more about our cybersecurity workshops, immersive programs and free cyber events.

Did you miss the beginning of this series? Catch up on Kimberly’s story here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4