TrainACE - IT and Cybersecurity Training Blog

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is an important credential for IT professionals to have because it’s the first step to pursuing other, more advanced Cisco certifications. It will provide you with the foundational understanding of core technology concepts, and it looks great on a resume. But those are not the only reasons you should consider getting a CCNA certification – there are many others. Here are five of the best.

Did you know that TrainACE and our Advanced Security branch offers IT training and Cyber Security training in Northern Virginia? TrainACE has a computer training facility located out of Loudoun County in Ashburn, Virginia. The Ashburn location offers our full catalog of courses and delivers the same high-quality training with unbeatable prices that we have been providing to our students at the Greenbelt, Maryland location since 2001.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching this year. With so many shops rolling out amazing Black Friday deals online and then offering even more deals on Cyber Monday, many people don't even need to leave their house to do their Christmas shopping anymore. If you are one of the thousands of people trying to save yourself the headache of fighting the masses this year, you'll want to take some extra precautions to make sure your credit card and bank account information stay safe this holiday shopping season. Below are seven tips to help you guard yourself against scams and too-good-to-be-true offers.

1. Be Aware of Fake Emails

Do you want to validate your years of experience in information security, prove your technical knowledge and skills to develop a security program, and set yourself apart in your job search? The CISSP certification will do just that.

As an entry-level certification for information security jobs, Security+ will get your foot in the door for a promising career. But why stop there? If you are looking to advance your information security career, you should treat the Security+ certification as just a first step on the job path. In order to be more marketable as an experienced security professional as well as more valuable to current employers, consider advancing your proficiency in information security with additional training and certifications! The following options will validate your further expertise of information security and can increase the chances of promotion opportunities and salary increases! If information security is an industry worth pursuing to you, then keep reading to learn how to make the most out of your career!

Big data consists of immense pools of information that can be analyzed to unlock patterns---all for the purpose of making better decisions. This data is the basis for growth and competition for companies. On a macro scale, it can enhance and create value for the world economy. The direct result is that the quality of services and products will increase. Until recently, the immense volume of data flooding the world excited a select few. Now however, big data is now at an inflection point where it is economically relevant for government agencies, business and consumers to mine this data for insights. The reality of big data is very similar to former IT investment trends as well as innovation and its apparent impact on productivity. In short, those who supply big data are expected to have as much impact on productivity as those who supply other kinds of technology. Additionally, these companies must make sure their employees complete comprehensive big data training to prevent the mishandling of highly sensitive information.

So OpenSSL is being patched again, very shortly after the Heartbleed Bug was fixed. According to the OpenSSL Security Advisory, multiple security vulnerabilities affecting the security layer have been recently discovered. One of the security threats actually allowed an attacker to see and modify traffic between an OpenSSL server and the client. While this news might seem bad, finding these vulnerabilities indicate that OpenSSL is frequently monitored by security professionals, and the appropriate steps are being followed to patch these vulnerabilities. This in turn makes OpenSSL a more secure implementation of the protocols SSL/TLS (Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security).

As the OS of choice for many businesses, Microsoft Windows houses the sensitive data of banks, hospitals and corporations. In fact, as one of the most prevalently used operating systems out there, malware authors have an affinity for attacking anything Windows—it’s their go-to playground.  In order to properly defend Windows security, you’ll need to configure a lot more than just a firewall. You’ll need a myriad of tools, techniques and tricks to outsmart the bad guys and protect your Windows system. But no worries: our Microsoft Windows Security Essentials course will teach you just that.

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are a category of industrial control systems (ICSs) that have become indispensable in the operation of industrial plants, production facilities, security firms and public works over the past few decades. These computerized systems incorporate several different technologies into a central configuration for the purposes of monitoring, collecting and analyzing data through human-machine interfaces. SCADA systems are vital to the infrastructure of the country, and reliable professionals are required at all times to ensure the systems are operating correctly and efficiently and remain secure.