Practitioner Certificate in Cloud Security
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Overview
This NCSC Assured hands-on (25+ labs) five-day vendor agnostic Practitioner Certificate in Cloud Security course is focused on Cloud Security, encompassing Cloud Security Architecture, Cloud Security Testing, Identity & Access Management, DevSecOps, Cloud Data Security, Cloud Assurance, Governance, Cloud Security Operations and Web Application Security, and Zero Trust in the Cloud and Cloud Supply chain.
The course spans cloud security principles, patterns and architectural frameworks, data protection and compliance for the three major cloud providers, cloud-based applications, data and infrastructure, and the design, development and implementation of cloud security architectures. This course that will expose you to a variety of cloud security and assurance aspects across the 3 big cloud computing platforms - AWS, Azure and GCP. It has been specifically blended with 25+ of the most up to date cloud security labs, from our QA Group platform. Learners will have 1 month access to the QA Group platform as part of the course.
We will review the wide range of technical security controls available using Cloud Service Provider and partner technologies, automation and DevSecOps, Kubernetes auditing, assurance, audit, and security testing of cloud-based services. Zero Trust in the cloud and cloud supply chain. Containers and serverless architectures will be introduced and their security implications reviewed. Agile DevOps methodologies will be covered and the use of a Continuous Integration Pipeline for security improvements, validation, and testing.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
CPD points can be claimed for NCSC assured training courses at the rate of 1 point per hour of training for NCSC assured training courses (up to a maximum of 15 points).
Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites.
Target Audience
This hands-on vendor agnostic course is aimed at technical and security specialists looking to develop and operate secure applications and systems in the cloud.
Learning Outcomes
Delegates will learn about the following topics:
- Cloud Concepts
- Cloud Virtualisation
- Cloud Network Security Fundamentals
- AWS Core Services
- AWS Security Technologies
- Azure Core Services
- Azure Security and Microsoft 365
- Google Cloud Core Services
- Google Cloud Security
- Cloud Security Frameworks, Principles, Patterns and Certifications
- Container Security
- Cloud Native Computing
- Serverless Security
- Cloud Assurance
- Web Application Security
- Cloud Identity Services
- Cloud Security Services
- Automation and Continuous Integration
- DevSecOps
- Zero Trust Architecture
- Zero Trust Governance
Course Outline
Day One
Introduction
- Introductions
- Objectives of course
- Agenda
Cloud Concepts
- What is Cloud Computing?
- Why is everyone moving to the Cloud?
- Cloud computing model
- Infrastructure, Platform and Software as a Service
- Boundaries and responsibilities
- Cloud Service Providers – Gartner Magic Quadrant(s)
- Cloud reference architectures
Virtualisation
- Overview of different virtualisation technologies and types covering storage, networks and systems.
Network Security Fundamentals
- IPv4 and IPv6
- DNS
- Firewalls
- Network Address Translation
- IPSec VPN
AWS Core Services
- EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) fundamentals
- Availability zones and regions
- Internet Gateway, Elastic IPs, NAT Gateway
- VPN Gateway, DirectConnect
- VPC Peering, AWS Transit Gateway
- Security Groups, Flow Logs, NACLs and subnet routing
- Route53
- Amazon S3
Related Labs
- AWS - Introduction to Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
- AWS - Create Your First Amazon S3 Bucket
- AWS - Create Your First Amazon EC2 Instance (Windows)
- AWS - Create Your First Amazon EC2 Instance (Linux)
Knowledge Check – Quiz
- End of module knowledge check – exam style questions
Day Two
AWS Security Technologies
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- AWS Organizations and SSO
- AWS CloudTrail, CloudWatch, Config, Trusted Advisor
- AWS CloudFront and Shield
- AWS WAF and Firewall Manager
- AWS Certificate Manager
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and CloudHSM
- AWS Secrets Manager
- AWS Inspector, Macie and Guard Duty
- AWS Artifact and Audit Manager
- AWS Security Hub
- Amazon Detective
- AWS PrivateLink and VPC Endpoints
- AWS EC2 Nitro
Azure Core Services
- Azure regions and availability zones
- Azure Active Directory
- Azure AD Connect
- Azure role-based access control
- Azure Virtual Networks
- Azure Network Security Groups
- Application Security Groups
- Remote Access and VPN
- Load Balancing
- Azure Front Door
- Azure network security best practices
Azure Security Services
- Azure Key Vault
- Azure Firewall
- Azure Virtual Machine encryption
- Microsoft Antimalware for Azure Cloud Services and Virtual Machines
- Azure Policy
- Azure Security Center
- Azure Monitor, Log Analytics and Alerts
- Azure Sentinel
- Enterprise Azure architectures
Microsoft 365 and Azure AD security
- Microsoft 365 services
- Azure AD and Microsoft 365
- Microsoft 365 security
- Microsoft Defender
- Microsoft 365 data protection and governance
- Azure AD Conditional Access and MFA
- Azure AD Password Protection
- Azure AD Identity Protection
- Azure AD Privileged Identity Management
Google Cloud core services and Google Workspace
- Google Cloud Platform services
- Compute
- Networking
- Storage and databases
- Big Data
- GCP example architecture
- Google Workspace
- Google Workspace integration with corporate directory
- Google Cloud Fundamentals: Getting Started with GKE
Related Labs
- AWS - Detecting Malicious Web Requests With AWS Web Application Firewall
- AWS - Encrypting S3 Objects Using SSE-KMS
- Azure - Secure Your Cloud with Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Azure - Using Conditional Access Policies to Enable Microsoft Entra ID Multi-Factor Authentication
- Azure - Managing Access in Azure Using Privileged Identity Management
- Azure - Using Conditional Access Policies to Enable Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication
- Azure - Managing Access in Azure Using Privileged Identity Management
- GCP - Create a Network Infrastructure with Google Virtual Private Cloud
- GCP - Inspecting and De-Identifying Data With Google Cloud Data Loss Prevention
Knowledge Check – Quiz
- End of module knowledge check – exam style questions
Day Three
Google Cloud Security
- Identity and Access Management
- Network Security
- VPC Service Controls
- Cloud Armor
- IAP Proxy and BeyondCorp
- Confidential and shielded VMs
- Keys and Encryption
- Certificate Services
- Secret Manager
- Logging
- Organization policy constraints
- Data Loss Prevention API
- Web Security Scanner
- Container Registry Vulnerability Scanner
- Cloud Security Command Center
- Forseti
Cloud Security Frameworks, Principles and Patterns
- Security Principles
- Separation and layers as security controls
- Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Cloud Control Matrix
- GOV.UK Cabinet Office and NCSC Cloud Security Principles
- Security Architecture Frameworks
- Security Architecture Patterns
- Cloud Security Architecture Patterns
- Trusted Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture
Data Protection and Compliance
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Personal Data
- UK Data Protection Act and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
- European Union (EU) Data Protection Directive
- EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Cyber Essentials Plus
- Cloud Security Alliance STAR
- PCI DSS
- AICPA SOC3
- ISO 27001
Container Security
- Concept of containers
- Docker
- Why development teams are moving to containers
- Security issues of containers
- Container security good practice
- CIS Benchmark for Docker and Docker Bench tool
- Orchestration – Kubernetes
- Security features of Kubernetes
- Orchestration – Docker Swarm
- Cloud Service Provider container platforms (AWS, Azure, Google)
- Container security solutions (Twistlock, AquaSecurity)
Cloud Native Computing
- Cloud Native Computing Foundation
- 12 Factors of a cloud-native app
- Cloud Native platform concepts
- Cloud Foundry
- Cloud Foundry security best practices
Related Labs
- GCP - Inspecting and De-Identifying Data With Google Cloud Data Loss Prevention
- Containers - Scanning Container Images for Known Vulnerabilities
- AWS - Associating AWS IAM Roles with Amazon EKS Service Accounts
Knowledge Check – Quiz
- End of module knowledge check – exam style questions
Day Four
Serverless
- Concept of ‘serverless’
- Pros and Cons
- AWS Lambda
- Step functions
- Dynamo DB
- SQS, SWS, S3
- Serverless application architecture
- Security implications
- Environment Variable encryption
- Azure Cloud Functions
- Google Cloud Functions
- Serverless Framework
Assurance
- Centre for Internet Security (CIS) Foundation Benchmarks
- Penetration tests of cloud environments
- External audit and configuration review
Web Application Security
- OWASP Top 10
- Secure Software Development Lifecycle
Cloud Identity Services
- SAML
- oAuth, oAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect
- Cloud Identity Providers
Related Labs
- AWS - Introduction to AWS Lambda
- AWS - Creating Scheduled Tasks with AWS Lambda
- AWS - Detecting EC2 Threats with Amazon GuardDuty
- Kubernetes Cluster Auditing (Optional)
- Continuously Detecting Vulnerabilities With Amazon Inspector (Optional)
- OWASP - Multiple Labs
Knowledge Check – Quiz
- End of module knowledge check – exam style questions
Day Five
Cloud Security as a Service
- Cloud Security Services
- Cloud analytics, e.g. Splunk Cloud
- Cloud security operations management, e.g. AlertLogic
Automation, DevSecOps and Continuous Integration
- Cloud service provider automation tools
- Terraform by Hashicorp
- Hardened build images
- Vault by Hashicorp
- Patching and update strategies
- DevSecOps
- Continuous Integration Pipeline
- Automated environment testing
- Jenkins
- Security issues
Related Labs
- AWS - Deploying Wordpress using AWS CloudFormation
- AWS - Static Code Analysis Within CI/CD Pipelines
Zero Trust Architecture
- Need for Zero Trust
- Zero Trust Definition & Use case
- Zero Trust Tenets, Design Principles, Pillars
- Zero Trust Architecture - Conceptual View
- Zero Trust Benefits (Technical & Business)
- CISA High-Level Zero Trust Maturity Model
- Zero Trust - Requirement in Regulatory Frameworks
Knowledge Check – Quiz
- End of module knowledge check – exam style questions
Exam
The exam is taken post class using an exam voucher code via the APMG proctor platform.
If you experience any issues, please contact the APMG technical help desk on 01494 4520450.
Duration: 60 Minutes
Questions: 50, multiple choice (4 multiple choice answers only 1 of which is correct)
Pass Mark: 50%
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NCSC Assured Training
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
CPD points can be claimed for NCSC assured training courses at the rate of 1 point per hour of training for NCSC assured training courses (up to a maximum of 15 points).
You will be issued with the Cyber Exercise Responder digital badge, upon completing the gamified CyberFish Dojo cyber ransomware attack simulation exercise, which is included within your course as a capstone knowledge consolidation exercise.
Special Notices
Attendees are recommended to bring a smartphone or tablet upon which they can install apps: several labs use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) technologies and benefit from an app such as Google or Microsoft's 'Authenticator' app.
This course is not suited for customer sites where the use of portable electronic devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets) are restricted, as the trainer will require these to manage the cloud environment.
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