CCNA Cybersecurity Operations Lab Manual, 1st edition

Published by Cisco Press (March 30, 2018) © 2018

Title overview

The only authorized Lab Manual for the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Cybersecurity Operations course Curriculum Objectives


CCNA Cybersecurity Operations 1.0 covers knowledge and skills needed to successfully handle the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of an associate-level Security Analyst working in a Security Operations Center (SOC).


  • The only authorized Lab Manual for the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Operations course
  • Enables students to easily highlight, take notes, and study offline
  • Links directly to Cisco Networking Academy's online curriculum

Table of contents

Chapter 1 Cybersecurity and the Security Operations Center 1
    1.0.1.2 Class Activity—Top Hacker Shows Us How It is Done 1
        Objectives 1
        Background/Scenario 1
        Required Resources 1
    1.1.1.4 Lab—Installing the CyberOps Workstation Virtual Machine 3
        Objectives 3
        Background/Scenario 3
        Required Resources 3
        Part 1: Prepare a Host Computer for Virtualization 3
        Part 2: Import the Virtual Machine into the VirtualBox Inventory 4
        Reflection 6
    1.1.1.5 Lab—Cybersecurity Case Studies 7
        Objectives 7
        Background/Scenario 7
        Required Resources 7
    1.1.2.6 Lab—Learning the Details of Attacks 9
        Objectives 9
        Background/Scenario 9
        Required Resources 9
        Conduct a Search of IoT Application Vulnerabilities 9
    1.1.3.4 Lab—Visualizing the Black Hats 11
        Objectives 11
        Background/Scenario 11
        Required Resources 11
    1.2.2.5 Lab—Becoming a Defender 14
        Objectives 14
        Background/Scenario 14
        Required Resources 14
Chapter 2 Windows Operating System 17
    2.0.1.2 Class Activity—Identify Running Processes 17
        Objectives 17
        Background/Scenario 17
        Required Resources 17
    2.1.2.10 Lab—Exploring Processes, Threads, Handles, and Windows Registry 20
        Objectives 20
        Required Resources 20
        Part 1: Exploring Processes 20
        Part 2: Exploring Threads and Handles 23
        Part 3: Exploring Windows Registry 25
    2.2.1.10 Lab—Create User Accounts 28
        Objectives 28
        Required Resources 28
        Part 1: Creating a New Local User Account 28
        Part 2: Reviewing User Account Properties 33
        Part 3: Modifying Local User Accounts 34
        Reflection 36
    2.2.1.11 Lab—Using Windows PowerShell 37
        Objectives 37
        Background/Scenario 37
        Required Resources 37
        Reflection 42
    2.2.1.12 Lab—Windows Task Manager 43
        Objectives 43
        Background/Scenario 43
        Required Resources 43
        Part 1: Working in the Processes Tab 43
        Part 2: Working in the Services Tab 47
        Part 3: Working in the Performance Tab 48
        Reflection 51
    2.2.1.13 Lab—Monitor and Manage System Resources in Windows 52
        Objectives 52
        Recommended Equipment 52
        Part 1: Starting and Stopping the Routing and Remote Access Service 52
        Part 2: Working in the Computer Management Utility 59
        Part 3: Configuring Administrative Tools 61
Chapter 3 Linux Operating System 71
    3.1.2.6 Lab—Working with Text Files in the CLI 71
        Objectives 71
        Required Resources 71
        Part 1: Graphical Text Editors 71
        Part 2: Command Line Text Editors 72
        Part 3: Working with Configuration Files 74
        Reflection 81
    3.1.2.7 Lab—Getting Familiar with the Linux Shell 82
        Introduction 82
        Recommended Equipment 82
        Part 1: Shell Basics 82
        Part 2: Copying, Deleting, and Moving Files 87
        Reflection 89
    3.1.3.4 Lab—Linux Servers 90
        Introduction 90
        Recommended Equipment 90
        Part 1: Servers 90
        Part 2: Using Telnet to Test TCP Services 94
        Reflection 96
    3.2.1.4 Lab—Locating Log Files 97
        Introduction 97
        Required Resources 97
        Part 1: Log File Overview 97
        Part 2: Locating Log Files in Unknown Systems 99
        Part 3: Monitoring Log Files in Real Time 104
        Reflection 113
    3.2.2.4 Lab—Navigating the Linux Filesystem and Permission Settings 114
        Objectives 114
        Required Resources 114
        Part 1: Exploring Filesystems in Linux 114
        Part 2: File Permissions 117
        Part 3: Symbolic Links and other Special File Types 120
        Reflection 123
Chapter 4 Network Protocols and Services 125
    4.1.1.7 Lab—Tracing a Route 125
        Objectives 125
        Background 125
        Scenario 125
        Required Resources 126
        Part 1: Verifying Network Connectivity Using Ping 126
        Part 2: Tracing a Route to a Remote Server Using Traceroute 126
        Part 3: Trace a Route to a Remote Server Using Web-Based Traceroute
        Tool 127
        Reflection 128
    4.1.2.10 Lab—Introduction to Wireshark 129
        Mininet Topology 129
        Objectives 129
        Background/Scenario 129
        Required Resources 130
        Part 1: Install and Verify the Mininet Topology 130
        Part 2: Capture and Analyze ICMP Data in Wireshark 131
    4.4.2.8 Lab—Using Wireshark to Examine Ethernet Frames 136
        Mininet Topology 136
        Objectives 136
        Background/Scenario 136
        Required Resources 137
        Part 1: Examine the Header Fields in an Ethernet II Frame 137
        Part 2: Use Wireshark to Capture and Analyze Ethernet Frames 139
        Reflection 142
    4.5.2.4 Lab—Using Wireshark to Observe the TCP 3-Way Handshake 143
        Mininet Topology 143
        Objectives 143
        Background/Scenario 143
        Required Resources 143
        Part 1: Prepare the Hosts to Capture the Traffic 144
        Part 2: Analyze the Packets Using Wireshark 144
        Part 3: View the Packets Using tcpdump 147
        Reflection 148
    4.5.2.10 Lab—Exploring Nmap 149
        Topology 149
        Objectives 149
        Background/Scenario 149
        Required Resources 149
        Part 1: Exploring Nmap 149
        Part 2: Scanning for Open Ports 152
        Reflection 155
    4.6.2.7 Lab—Using Wireshark to Examine a UDP DNS Capture 156
        Topology 156
        Objectives 156
        Background/Scenario 156
        Required Resources 156
        Part 1: Record VM’s IP Configuration Information 156
        Part 2: Use Wireshark to Capture DNS Queries and Responses 157
        Part 3: Analyze Captured DNS or UDP Packets 158
        Reflection 162
    4.6.4.3 Lab—Using Wireshark to Examine TCP and UDP Captures 163
        Topology — Part 1 (FTP) 163
        Mininet Topology — Part 2 (TFTP) 163
        Objectives 164
        Background/Scenario 164
        Required Resources 164
        Part 1: Identify TCP Header Fields and Operation Using a Wireshark FTP
        Session Capture 164
        Part 2: Identify UDP Header Fields and Operation Using a Wireshark
        TFTP Session Capture 171
        Reflection 174
    4.6.6.5 Lab—Using Wireshark to Examine HTTP and HTTPS 175
        Objectives 175
        Background/Scenario 175
        Required Resources 175
        Part 1: Capture and Vview HTTP Traffic 175
        Part 2: Capture and View HTTPS Traffic 178
        Reflection 181
Chapter 5 Network Infrastructure 183
    5.2.2.4 Packet Tracer—Access Control List Demonstration 183
        Topology 183
        Objectives 183
        Background 183
        Part 1: Verify Local Connectivity and Test Access Control List 183
        Part 2: Remove ACL and Repeat Test 184
        Suggested Scoring Rubric 185
    5.3.1.10 Packet Tracer—Identify Packet Flow 186
        Topology 186
        Objectives 186
        Background/Scenario 186
        Required Resources 186
        Part 1: Verifying Connectivity 187
        Part 2: Remote LAN Network Topology 187
        Part 3: WAN Network Topology 188
Chapter 6 Principles of Network Security 191
    6.2.1.11 Lab—Anatomy of Malware 191
        Objectives 191
        Background/Scenario 191
        Required Resources 191
        Conduct a Search of Recent Malware 191
    6.2.2.9 Lab—Social Engineering 192
        Objectives 192
        Background/Scenario 192
        Required Resources 192
Chapter 7 Network Attacks: A Deeper Look 195
    7.0.1.2 Class Activity—What’s Going On? 195
        Objectives 195
        Background/Scenario 195
        Required Resources 195
    7.1.2.7 Packet Tracer—Logging Network Activity 198
        Topology 198
        Addressing Table 198
        Objectives 198
        Background 198
        Part 1: Create FTP Traffic 198
        Part 2: Investigate the FTP Traffic 199
        Part 3: View syslog Messages 199
        Suggested Scoring Rubric 200
    7.3.1.6 Lab—Exploring DNS Traffic 201
        Objectives 201
        Background/Scenario 201
        Required Resources 201
        Part 1: Capture DNS Traffic 201
        Part 2: Explore DNS Query Traffic 204
        Part 3: Explore DNS Response Traffic 209
        Reflection 211
    7.3.2.4 Lab—Attacking a mySQL Database 212
        Objectives 212
        Background/Scenario 212
        Required Resources 212
        Part 1: Open the PCAP File and Follow the SQL Database Attacker 212
        Reflection 225
    7.3.2.5 Lab—Reading Server Logs 226
        Objectives 226
        Background/Scenario 226
        Required Resources 226
        Part 1: Reading Log Files with Cat, More, Less, and Tail 226
        Part 2: Log Files and Syslog 230
        Part 3: Log Files and Journalctl 231
        Reflection 232
Chapter 8 Protecting the Network 233
    There are no labs in this chapter.
Chapter 9 Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure 235
    9.0.1.2 Class Activity—Creating Codes 235
        Objectives 235
        Background/Scenario 235
        Required Resources 235
    9.1.1.6 Lab—Encrypting and Decrypting Data Using OpenSSL 238
        Objectives 238
        Background/Scenario 238
        Required Resources 238
        Part 1: Encrypting Messages with OpenSSL 238
        Part 2: Decrypting Messages with OpenSSL 240
    9.1.1.7 Lab—Encrypting and Decrypting Data Using a Hacker Tool 241
        Objectives 241
        Background/Scenario 241
        Required Resources 241
        Part 1: Create and Encrypt Files 242
        Part 2: Recover Encrypted Zip File Passwords 243
    9.1.1.8 Lab—Examining Telnet and SSH in Wireshark 247
        Objectives 247
        Background/Scenario 247
        Required Resources 247
        Part 1: Examining a Telnet Session with Wireshark 247
        Part 2: Examine an SSH Session with Wireshark 249
        Reflection 250
    9.1.2.5 Lab—Hashing Things Out 251
        Objectives 251
        Background/Scenario 251
        Required Resources 251
        Part 1: Creating Hashes with OpenSSL 251
        Part 2: Verifying Hashes 253
    9.2.2.7 Lab—Certificate Authority Stores 254
        Objectives 254
        Background/Scenario 254
        Required Resources 254
        Part 1: Certificates Trusted by Your Browser 254
        Part 2: Checking for Man-In-Middle 258
        Part 3: Challenges (Optional) 262
        Reflection 262
Chapter 10 Endpoint Security and Analysis 263
    There are no labs in this chapter.
Chapter 11 Security Monitoring 265
    11.2.3.10 Packet Tracer—Explore a NetFlow Implementation 265
        Topology 265
        Objectives 265
        Background 265
        Part 1: Observe NetFlow Flow Records - One Direction 265
        Part 2: Observe NetFlow Records for a Session that Enters and Leaves the
        Collector 269
        Suggested Scoring Rubric 271
    11.2.3.11 Packet Tracer—Logging from Multiple Sources 272
        Topology 272
        Objectives 272
        Background/Scenario 272
        Part 1: View Log Entries with Syslog 272
        Part 2: Log User Access 273
        Part 3: NetFlow and Visualization 274
        Reflection 275
    11.3.1.1 Lab—Setup a Multi-VM Environment 276
        Topology 276
        Objectives 276
        Background/Scenario 276
        Required Resources 276
Chapter 12 Intrusion Data Analysis 283
    12.1.1.7 Lab—Snort and Firewall Rules 283
        Topology 283
        Objectives 283
        Background/Scenario 283
        Required Resources 284
        Part 1: Preparing the Virtual Environment 284
        Part 2: Firewall and IDS Logs 284
    12.2.1.5 Lab—Convert Data into a Universal Format 292
        Objectives 292
        Background/Scenario 292
        Required Resources 292
        Part 1: Normalize Timestamps in a Log File 292
        Part 2: Normalize Timestamps in an Apache Log File 295
        Part 3: Log File Preparation in Security Onion 297
        Part 4: Reflection 303
    12.2.2.9 Lab—Regular Expression Tutorial 304
        Objectives 304
        Background/Scenario 304
        Required Resources 304
    12.2.2.10 Lab—Extract an Executable from a PCAP 307
        Objectives 307
        Background/Scenario 307
        Required Resources 307
        Part 1: Prepare the Virtual Environment 307
        Part 2: Analyze Pre-Captured Logs and Traffic Captures 307
        Part 3: Extract Downloaded Files From PCAPS 311
    12.4.1.1 Alt Lab—Interpret HTTP and DNS Data to Isolate Threat Actor 315
        Objectives 315
        Background/Scenario 315
        Required Resources 315
        Part 1: Prepare the Virtual Environment 315
        Part 2: Investigate an SQL Injection Attack 316
        Part 3: Analyze a Data Exfiltration 323
    12.4.1.1 Lab—Interpret HTTP and DNS Data to Isolate Threat Actor 325
        Topology 325
        Objectives 325
        Background/Scenario 325
        Required Resources 326
        Part 1: Prepare the Virtual Environment 326
        Part 2: Investigate an SQL Injection Attack 327
        Part 3: Data Exfiltration Using DNS 336
    12.4.1.2 Alt Lab—Isolated Compromised Host Using 5-Tuple 342
        Objectives 342
        Background/Scenario 342
        Required Resources 342
        Part 1: Prepare the Virtual Environment 342
        Part 2: Review the Logs 343
        Reflection 351
    12.4.1.2 Lab—Isolated Compromised Host Using 5-Tuple 352
        Topology 352
        Objectives 352
        Background/Scenario 352
        Required Resources 353
        Part 1: Prepare the Virtual Environment 353
        Part 2: Reconnaissance 355
        Part 3: Exploitation 356
        Part 4: Infiltration 360
        Part 5: Review the Logs 363
        Reflection 371
Chapter 13 Incident Response and Handling 373
    13.2.2.13 Lab—Incident Handling 373
        Objectives 373
        Background/Scenario 373
        Scenario 1: Worm and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Agent
        Infestation 373
        Scenario 2: Unauthorized Access to Payroll Records 374

Author bios

Cisco Networking Academy teaches hundreds of thousands of students annually the skills needed to build, design, and maintain, networks, improving their career prospects while filling the global demand for networking professionals. With 10,000 academies in 165 countries, it helps individuals prepare for industry-recognized certifications and entry-level information and communication technology careers in virtually every industry–developing foundational technical skills while acquiring vital 21st-century career skills in problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.
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