ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darril Gibson is the CEO of YCDA, LLC (short for You Can Do Anything) and he has authored or coauthored more than 40 books. Darril regularly writes, consults, and teaches on a wide variety of technical and security topics and holds several certifications, including (ISC)2 SSCP and CISSP; CompTIA Security+ and CASP; Microsoft MCSE and MCITP; and ITIL Foundations. In response to repeated requests, Darril created the https://gcgapremium.com/ site where he provides additional study materials for several certification exams. He regularly posts blog articles (https://blogs.getcertifiedgetahead.com/) about certification topics and uses that site to help people stay abreast of changes in certification exams. You can contact him through either of these sites. Darril lives in Virginia Beach with his wife and two dogs. Whenever possible, they escape to a small cabin in the country on over 20 acres of land that continues to provide them with peace, tranquility, and balance.
About the Technical Editor
Josh More has more than 18 years of experience in security, IT, development, and system and network administration. Currently, he runs Eyra Security, a security and business improvement consulting firm based in Minneapolis, MN. Josh holds various security and technical certifications and has served in a leadership position on several security-focused groups. He writes a blog on security at www.starmind.org, often taking a unique approach to solving security problems by applying lessons from other disciplines such as agile development, lean manufacturing, psychology, economics, and complexity science. He has also written several books on IT, information security, and career management.
Copyright 2019 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication.
ISBN: 978-1-26-012871-0
MHID: 1-26-012871-7
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-1-26-012870-3, MHID: 1-26-012870-9.
eBook conversion by codeMantra
Version 1.0
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill Education eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative, please visit the Contact Us page at www.mhprofessional.com.
Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill Education from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, McGraw-Hill Education, or others, McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.
TERMS OF USE
This is a copyrighted work and McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill Educations prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill Education nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill Education has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill Education and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.
To my wife Nimfa.
Thanks for sharing your life with me for the past 26 years and letting me share mine with you.
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Books are never done alone but instead are a result of collaboration among many people. Im very grateful for the hard work done by several people on this project, including Wendy Rinaldi, who had the faith in me to update the book; Claire Yee, who helped me keep the project on track; and Josh More, the technical editor who provided some thoughtful feedback. Im especially grateful to the copy editor, Bill McManus, who expended a great deal of time and energy on this book. Not only did he do standard copyediting, he also helped identify and correct several technical issues within the content. Thanks again, Bill. And, of course, Im very grateful for the support my wife gave me as I worked on this update, giving me the time and space I needed to finish it in a timely manner.
INTRODUCTION
The importance of information technology (IT) security increases every day. The news is filled with reports of data breaches where customer data is lost and companies are forced to scramble with crisis management. Rarely a day goes by when users dont see phishing e-mails in their inbox, with each phishing e-mail trying to trick them into clicking an unsafe link or giving up valuable information. Individual botnets commonly control tens of thousands of computers, all ready at a moments notice to launch attacks.
All of these risks can cause substantial losses for an organization. Instead of waiting for an incident and then responding, organizations are realizing they must be more proactive with IT security. The alternative is to do nothing and then watch profits slip away.
More IT security jobs have become available to fill this void, but employers often find it difficult to locate professionals with the right mix of knowledge and skills, including security knowledge and skills. Hiring managers typically want to have some indication that the person theyre hiring for an IT job has at least some security knowledge, and thats where certifications fit in. Individuals with a security certification such as the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) will often get the job interview, while individuals without a security certification may be overlooked.