CompTIA CySA+ Guide to Cybersecurity Analyst (CSO-003), 3rd Edition

Part 1: CYBERSECURITY FOUNDATIONS.
1. Technology Underpinnings.
a. Infrastructures and Architectures.
i. Infrastructure Concepts.
ii. Network Architectures.
iii. Operational Technology.
b. Software.
i. Operating System Fundamentals.
ii. Coding (1.3c).
2. Threat Actors and Their Threats.
a. Who Are the Threat Actors?
i. Script Kiddie.
ii. Organized Crime.
iii. Insider Threat.
iv. Hacktivists.
v. Nation-state Actors.
vi. Others.
b. Threat Actor Actions.
i. Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP).
ii. Known and Unknown Threats.
c. Types of Attacks.
i. Web Server Application Attacks.
ii. Remote Code Execution.
iii. Data Poisoning.
iv. Obfuscated Links.
d. Vulnerabilities.
i. Programming Vulnerabilities.
ii. Broken Access Control.
iii. Cryptographic Failures.
iv. Dated Components.
v. Identification and Authentication Failures.
3. Cybersecurity Substrata.
a. Identity and Access Management (IAM).
i. Identity.
ii. Access.
b. Encryption.
i. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
ii. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Inspection.
c. Secure Coding.
i. Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
ii. Secure Coding Best Practices.
d. Networking (1.1d).
i. Zero Trust.
ii. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).
Part 2: SECURITY OPERATIONS.
4. Identifying Indicators of Attack (IOA).
a. Cybersecurity Indicators.
i. Indicators of Attack (IOA).
ii. Indicators of Compromise (IOC) (1.4f).
b. Network IOA.
i. Abnormal Network Traffic.
ii. Stealth Transmissions.
iii. Scan/Sweeps.
iv. Rogue Devices on a Network.
c. Endpoint IOA.
i. High-Volume Consumption of Resources.
ii. Operating System Evidence.
iii. Software-Related Evidence.
iv. Data Exfiltration.
d. Application IOA.
i. Unusual Activity.
ii. New Account Creation.
iii. Unexpected Outbound Communications.
iv. Application Logs.
5. Analyzing Indicators of Compromise (IOC).
a. Common Techniques for Investigating IOC.
i. Diagnose Malware.
ii. Analyze Email.
iii. User Behavior Analysis (UBA).
b. Tools for IOC Analysis.
i. File Analysis Tools.
ii. Tools for Analyzing Network IOC
iii. Reputation Tools.
iv. Log Correlation and Analysis Tools.
6. Threat Detection and Process Improvement.
a. Threat Intelligence.
i. What is Threat Intelligence (TI)?
ii. Threat Intelligence Versus Threat Data.
iii. The Intelligence Cycle.
iv. Threat Intelligence Sources.
v. Confidence Levels.
b. Threat Hunting.
i. What is Threat Hunting?
ii. Hunters and Hunting.
iii. Threat Hunting Methodologies.
iv. Steps in Threat Hunting.
c. Improving Security Operation Processes.
i. Standardize Processes.
ii. Streamline Operations.
iii. Tool Automation and Integration.
Part 3: VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT.
7. Vulnerability Scanning and Assessment Tools.
a. Industry Frameworks.
i. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
ii. Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks.
iii. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).
iv. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27000 Series.
b. Vulnerability Scanning Methods.
i. Asset Discovery.
ii. Special Considerations.
iii. Types of Scanning.
c. Vulnerability Assessment Tools.
i. Network Scanning and Mapping.
ii. Web Application Scanners.
iii. Vulnerability Scanners.
iv. Debuggers.
v. Multipurpose.
vi. Cloud Infrastructure Assessment Tools.
8. Addressing Vulnerabilities.
a. Prioritizing Vulnerabilities.
i. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Interpretation.
ii. Validation.
iii. Context Awareness.
iv. Exploitability/Weaponization.
v. Asset Value.
vi. Zero-day.
b. Managing Vulnerabilities.
i. Using Controls.
ii. Patching and Configuration Management.
iii. Maintenance Windows.
iv. Exceptions.
v. Policies, Governance, and Service-level Objectives (SLOs).
vi. Prioritization and Escalation.
vii. Attack Surface Management.
viii. Threat Modeling.
9. Vulnerability Management Reporting and Communication.
a. Reporting Vulnerabilities.
b. Compliance Reports.
c. Action Plans.
d. Inhibitors to Remediation
i. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
ii. Service-level Agreement (SLA).
iii. Organizational Governance.
iv. Business Process Interruption.
v. Degrading Functionality.
vi. Legacy Systems.
vii. Proprietary Systems.
e. Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
i. Trends.
ii. Top 10.
iii. Critical Vulnerabilities and Zero-days.
iv. SLOs.
f. Stakeholder Identification and Communication.
Part 4: INCIDENT RESPONSE.
10. Incident Response Planning.
a. Attack Methodology Frameworks.
i. Cyber Kill Chains.
ii. Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis.
iii. MITRE ATT&CK.
iv. Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSS TMM).
v. OWASP Testing Guide.
b. Incident Response Procedures.
i. Preparation.
c. Reporting and Communication.
i. Stakeholder Identification and Communication.
ii. Incident Declaration and Escalation.
iii. Incident Response Reporting.
iv. Communications.
v. Root Cause Analysis.
vi. Lessons Learned.
vii. Metrics and KPIs.
11. Responding to a Cyber Incident.
a. Detecting an Incident.
i. IOC.
ii. Evidence Acquisitions.
iii. Data and Log Analysis.
b. Controlling an Incident.
i. Scope.
ii. Impact.
iii. Isolation.
c. Recovering From an Incident.
i. Remediation.
ii. Re-imaging.
iii. Compensating Controls.
d. Post-incident Analysis.
i. Forensic Analysis.
ii. Root Cause Analysis.
iii. Lessons Learned.
iv. Adjusting Risk Thresholds.
12. Data Protection and Utilization.
a. Sensitive Data Protection.
i. Data Loss Prevention (DLP).
ii. Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
iii. Cardholder Data (CHD).
b. Utilizing Data for Cybersecurity.
i. Data Analytics.
ii. Artificial Intelligence (AI).