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CCNA certification prep: Security fundamentals

Introduction

In modern networks, security is not an afterthought. You need to know how to build secure networks from the outset. Security has to be woven into the very fabric of the network. 

The 200-301 CCNA exam covers security fundamentals among a broad range of networking topics. This article describes what you need to know for the security fundamentals component of CCNA.

What percentage of the exam focuses on security fundamentals?

Security fundamentals take up 15 percent of CCNA exam topics. The key word here is fundamentals. You are required to know the fundamentals of many security technologies and protocols. For a few topics, configuration and verification details are also included.

What topics are covered in this section of the exam?

The CCNA exam includes the following major topics under security fundamentals:

  1. Key security concepts and program elements
  2. Access control: passwords, remote access and VPNs, access control lists
  3. Layer 2 security features
  4. Wireless security protocols (WPA, WPA2 and WPA3)

The next section provides details of what’s covered by each of these topics.

High-level overview of security fundamentals topics

The CCNA covers fundamentals for a range of network security technologies and protocols as detailed in the next sections.

Key security concepts and program elements (including authentication, authorization and accounting)

As a network professional, your primary focus often is on making sure traffic can flow from point A to point B and users can use the applications they want to use. However, you must also ensure that applications can be used in a secure manner.

You must understand what’s meant by security terms like vulnerability, exploit and threat. You should know available mitigation techniques for preventing malicious activity at the network layer.

You can let users access systems and applications in a secure and controlled manner with AAA (authentication, authorization and (Read more...)

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Infosec Resources authored by Muhammad Furqan. Read the original post at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/infosecResources/~3/-xfUsPku1YA/