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Information Security Tools

This course provided a comprehensive survey of the tools, techniques, and methodologies used by IT and cybersecurity professionals across both blue team (defense) and red team (offense) operations. The course included weekly labs, scripting assignments, and a final project focused on applying layered security strategies in real-world scenarios.

university

University of Maryland • graduate course

focus areas

blue team red team defense in depth penetration testing cloud security security automation

🧰 key topics & tools covered

  • operating systems & utilities: explored security features across Windows, Linux, macOS; commands like netstat, tracert, nbtstat, grep, awk, sed.
  • defense in depth:
    • firewalls: pfSense, iptables
    • IDS/IPS: OSSEC, Snort
    • network monitoring: tcpdump, Wireshark, NetFlow
    • incident response & SIEM: log management and correlation
    • system hardening & awareness: patching, config enforcement, user training
  • offensive security techniques: vulnerability assessment with nmap, Nessus, OpenVAS; penetration testing with Metasploit, Nikto, Burp Suite.
  • scripting for security: Python automation, reconnaissance tools, Bash & PowerShell scripting.
  • cloud security: IAM, visibility, incident handling in cloud-native environments.

🧪 hands-on learning

  • wrote Python scripts for automation and security tool development.
  • parsed logs and executed quick tasks with Bash & PowerShell.
  • conducted vulnerability scans and penetration tests in lab environments.
  • configured and monitored IDS/IPS systems for live threat detection.
Security tools being used in a lab environment
Security Tools Lab Environment

📁 final project

Applied defense-in-depth principles and offensive testing techniques in a virtual lab environment, simulating real-world attack and defense scenarios:

tools & environment

  • defensive tools: pfSense, OSSEC, Snort, Wireshark
  • offensive tools: nmap, Nessus, OpenVAS, Metasploit, Nikto, Burp Suite
  • scripting: Python, Bash, PowerShell
  • cloud security: AWS IAM, security monitoring

outcomes

Sharpened my ability to select and apply the right security tools for threat detection, system hardening, network analysis, and ethical attacks. Gained strong technical and strategic skills in both blue and red team operations.

references & practice

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