Tips and Tricks to Fully Understanding CND

Certifications are required

Being a crucial field, cybersecurity is in desperate need of qualified individuals, but there aren't enough of them to go around. Organizations have always been concerned about the shortage of skilled workers and open positions. It is vital to pursue internationally recognized certifications in order to close the knowledge gap between what you already know and the abilities required for the position. Due to the information and abilities they possess, certified professionals will always be superior to freshmen.

What exactly is CND?

The EC Council's Certified Network Defender (CND) certification is one such essential credential that can help you stand out from the crowd. The National Initiative of Cybersecurity Education defines the structure for this certification, which is ANSI approved (NICE). Certified network defenders have in-depth understanding of network security best practices and tactics. This course also covers firewalls, intrusion detection systems, VPN security, wireless technologies, storage methods, and cyber regulations in depth. CND is all about safeguarding a network and ensuring company resilience and continuity during attacks.

Job and Salary expectations

According to surveys, there are more than 5000 job requirements for Certified Network Defender. This certification is suitable for Network Security Administrators, Network Security Engineer, CND analysts, Security analysts, and Security operators. It can also be beneficial for those who are new to this industry because it covers all the basic to intermediary level concepts. A certified CND professional earns around $60,000, and will earn a lot more with experience and specializations. The salary raise given to a Certified Network Defender makes this course worth every penny.

Course Outline

Certified Network Defender Certification has a detailed structure, consisting of 14 domains. Each domain fixates on essential theoretical concepts, followed by a collection of tools and techniques needed in the industry. This is a skill-oriented course that focuses on operations and real-time analysis of network. It provides you with exceptional knowledge of vulnerability assessments and network maintenance. The topics covered in this course are:

• Computer Network and Defense Fundamentals
• Network Security Threats, Vulnerabilities and Attacks
• Network Security Controls, Protocols and Devices
• Network Security Policy Design and Implementation
• Physical Security
• Host Security
• Secure Firewall Configuration and Management
• Secure IDS Configuration and Management
• Secure VPN Configuration and Management
• Wireless Network Defense
• Network Traffic and Monitoring Analysis
• Network Risk and Vulnerability Management
• Data Backup and Recovery
• Network Incident Response and Management

While working in a real-time environment, we come across different situations. Every situation calls for a different approach, which is exactly what CND trains you for. Certified Network Defender course offers hands-on experience of the tools being used in industries. This will prepare you for real-time situations and help you in analyzing those situations in a better way. Here are of the tools and techniques covered in each domain throughout this course:

• Veracrypt, PGP tool, WampServer.
• MSBA, buck security, BatchPatch, SysLog server, Splunk.
• Windows firewall inbound outbound configuration.
• Snort and KFSsnsor honeypot IDS.
• OpenVPN and SoftEther VPN.
• Linksys Wireless Router.
• Nmap, ColaSoft Ping Tool, Brutus, PRTG, ntopng, OSSIM.
• Nessus, GFI LanGuard, Nsauditor, OpenVAS, OSSIM Alien Vault.
• AOMEI Backupper Standard, EaseUS Data Recovery, Quick recovery tool, Minitool, Power Data Recovery.

CND Exam

Exam Title: Certified Network Defender

Exam Code: 312-38

Number of Questions: 100

Exam Duration: 4 Hours

Test Format: Multiple Choice Questions

This exam is a combination of theoretical and practical concepts learned throughout the course. The passing score varies from 65% to 80%, depending on the difficulty of the question set.

Outcome of CND Certification

Along with the abilities to defend and protect the organization from intruder attacks, the Certified Network Defender would also have the following skills:

• Understanding of traffic flows, network components, software, topologies, policies, etc.
• Monitoring of networks and identifying the threats associated with it.
• Recognizing the vulnerabilities in the system and providing practical mitigation for it.
• Efficiently responding to an attack or breach by causing minimal damage to the business,
• Applying the concepts of ‘Defense of Depth’ while designing the infrastructure.
• Understanding of policies and laws.
• Implementation of effective Incident response plans.

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