Getting started infosec

SlipperyPeople

Hey Guys,

I have a couple of questions about getting started in a career in infosec?

I'm currently thinking of doing a masters and I'm trying to evaluate which one is best or which ones might be regarded by people in the industry as the best...


The three ones I have been looking at were:

Msc in Digital security and information forensics in UCD
Msc in Information Security and Digital Forensics in IT Blanchardstown
Msc in Security and Forensic Computing in DCU



I have been leaning towards the degree in ITB for the reason that it seems to have more lectures and face to face work with a thesis project which would be beneficial to myself to complete and the degree in UCD is more self taught with only two nights of lectures a week. I would probably put the degree in DCU second but then again I plan to meet the course directors of each course to see if I am a match.

I'm also just wondering just about where to begin in terms of getting stuck in and learning skills and concepts in order to get ahead in information security. I spent two years working as a software dev but I don't think I'm going to continue in pure development. I'm currently planning to sit a network + cert followed by possibly security+ to boost my skills as I feel theres a lot for me to improve on. I've also enrolled in a coursera course in cryptography but i've yet to actually get stuck into the content.

I've came across this blog post. I've gone through some of the links but I'm still wondering is there a good place or certain topics to begin with that should be prioritized and try and get on top of them before doing a masters next autumn.

I think I need to come up with a comprehensive study plan and take some of the topics listed in the different course syllabuses.

Bunny

AaronToal87

If you can get in, the ITB one is the best I'd say but have you got a level 8 in Computing already? I'm just asking because you're saying you're going to Network+ and Security+ but if you done your Higher Certificate in Science in Computer Systems Management or Bachelor of Science in Computing in Digital Forensics and Cyber Security??

SlipperyPeople

My undergraduate was in Business information systems in NUIG.

I have done modules in networking in college however I feel I could definitely do with a refresher course to familiarise myself with the concepts.

AaronToal87

I think the way it works is you have to have a level 8 in computers to do the masters in computer science here is the ITB
Entry Route into programme:
Second Class Honours grade 2 (GPA 2.5 or equivalent ) in a Bachelor of Science (Honours) level 8 in Computing or equivalent
HETAC.

AaronToal87

You could probably do the Bachelor of Science in Computing in Information Technology tho

SlipperyPeople

The director of the course has agreed to meet me and is aware of my degree and career history so I'll see how that goes.

So in terms of getting stuck into learning does anyone have any recommendations on what topics or concepts to start with?

syklops

hungoverbunny wrote: »

The director of the course has agreed to meet me and is aware of my degree and career history so I'll see how that goes.

So in terms of getting stuck into learning does anyone have any recommendations on what topics or concepts to start with?

What programming languages do you know?
Are you familiar with linux?

SlipperyPeople

syklops wrote: »

What programming languages do you know?
Are you familiar with linux?

I did Java in college and have industry experience in C#

I only have some basic experience of using Linux

uck51js9zml2yt

hungoverbunny wrote: »

The director of the course has agreed to meet me and is aware of my degree and career history so I'll see how that goes.

So in terms of getting stuck into learning does anyone have any recommendations on what topics or concepts to start with?

Are u meeting with Anthony. I did the level 8 of the course last year.

SlipperyPeople

Armani Obedient Combat wrote: »

Are u meeting with Anthony. I did the level 8 of the course last year.

Ya that's who I'll be meeting with.

uck51js9zml2yt

hungoverbunny wrote: »

Ya that's who I'll be meeting with.

He's sound as a bell. Had him for 2 module's on of the Bsc hons

Ctrl Alt Del

Hi,

I'm applying for a place in ITB.
I have a quick question:why do i need to know programming and / or Linux !?

Thanks in advance.

syklops

Ctrl Alt Del wrote: »

Hi,

I'm applying for a place in ITB.
I have a quick question:why do i need to know programming and / or Linux !?

Thanks in advance.

What attracts you to InfoSec? What areas do you want to work in?

hmmm

It depends what areas of Infosec you are interested in. Most of these courses are full of maths and crypto and completely useless for the majority of corporate jobs IMO, and the only thing they indicate to potential recruiters is that you are interested in doing security.

Ctrl Alt Del

syklops wrote: »

What attracts you to InfoSec? What areas do you want to work in?

hmmm wrote: »

It depends what areas of Infosec you are interested in. Most of these courses are full of maths and crypto and completely useless for the majority of corporate jobs IMO, and the only thing they indicate to potential recruiters is that you are interested in doing security.

Basically...i wanna be a hacker:to be able to understand what is going technically speaking only on both side,white and black hat .I repeat,technical speaking as i do not know or have any other interests or affiliations...

I had a look at the course description in ITB ,i had a look here,on this section and unfortunately my age & mileage cant afford me to get started with the learning process.

I've started reviewing CCNA TCP / IP stack,learning better Wireshark,start doing JAVA and PHP/SQL online courses. Started upgrading my Microsoft / Cisco certifications just to be up to date with latest technology and get my brain back on "learning - mode" !
That ,i guess as minimum,it will give me a better understanding of the back-end systems.

Then,i can move with network assessments /audits and performing OS updates,vulnerability tests / patches.Also,routers NAT ,IPS,IDS,security gateways.

I'm quite far away from the recent posts re security tests on SQL injection and so on...

Just to be able to attack and penetrate and secure a typical network of my clients,to make sure that is fully protected from internal and external threats !
I guess awareness is important too..so i may see you in March at 2600 meeting !??

Thanks..

syklops

Ok, so you're original question:

I have a quick question:why do i need to know programming and / or Linux !?

Ctrl Alt Del wrote: »

Basically...i wanna be a hacker:to be able to understand what is going [on] technically speaking only on both side,white and black hat .I repeat,technical speaking as i do not know or have any other interests or affiliations...

.

I bolded the important part of the answer.

Why do you need to know programming? Well at some point you are going to want to talk directly to the computer if you really want to know what is going on and maybe there won't be a tool which will allow you to do that. You may have to write your own tool or you may need to know what the computer is saying back to you. Also, at some point you will need to automate some task, and the ability to write a script or small program is very valuable. All across Ireland and the world are people in offices struggling with MS Excel trying to make it do something that a spreadsheet was not quite designed to do, but who don't know how to use any other programming language or environment. There are also people out there designing webpages using MS Word, because they dont know HTML.

Why do you need to know linux? Again, because if you want to know what is happening, linux or another Open Source OS, is crucial, because, if you want to know what is going on in the background, you can go download the source code, read it and find out. That is not possible with WIndows because the source code is not public. Also, by using Linux you will discover the power of the command shell and what you can do with it.

Ctrl Alt Del

syklops wrote: »

Ok, so you're original question:







I bolded the important part of the answer.

Why do you need to know programming? Well at some point you are going to want to talk directly to the computer if you really want to know what is going on and maybe there won't be a tool which will allow you to do that. You may have to write your own tool or you may need to know what the computer is saying back to you. Also, at some point you will need to automate some task, and the ability to write a script or small program is very valuable. All across Ireland and the world are people in offices struggling with MS Excel trying to make it do something that a spreadsheet was not quite designed to do, but who don't know how to use any other programming language or environment. There are also people out there designing webpages using MS Word, because they dont know HTML.

Why do you need to know linux? Again, because if you want to know what is happening, linux or another Open Source OS, is crucial, because, if you want to know what is going on in the background, you can go download the source code, read it and find out. That is not possible with WIndows because the source code is not public. Also, by using Linux you will discover the power of the command shell and what you can do with it.

Thanks for clarification !

Reading your signature...if you "need" someone to do the tea / coffee in your office ,i can spare half a day a week,free of charge,just to be able to "clean" the table after you guys ! Possible,the computer screens as well, if i'm getting at that stage !

Regards

delta36

So, figured I'd just post here instead of starting a thread with the exact same title (don't want to hijack your thread CAD!) :P

Infosec is an area I really want to get into, potentially pen testing or something like that down the line, I just have no idea where to start!

My undergrad degree is in physics, and I'm currently completing a one year HDiP in IT in NUIM, and am also studying for my CCNA cert, just as a jumping off point, but I have no idea where to go from here.

There's a thousand and one different security certificates out there, and any job listing/blog posts from people I've seen seem to indicate that experience is more important than any piece of paper. I don't particularly want to go on and do a masters or anything like that at the minute, but wouldn't mind doing a cert as I could do it while working.

I've been looking into network administration as a starting point to getting into infosec, I know it's also a tough thing to get into but I figure getting in as a junior network admin somewhere, even on an internship, might be the best way of getting into the whole area.

Any thoughts/advice anyone has on this would be greatly appreciated, as I really feel like I'm at a dead end here.