Physical Security and Network Attacks Online Training

In the context of cybersecurity, physical security is what you do to protect physical assets from unwanted access or damage. Physical security is, like its name suggests, everything that keeps the physical things (servers, hardware, facilities, and even – in extreme environments – people) secure. Physical security can range from very simple things like making sure important doors get locked, to complex implementations of access control, biometric systems and surveillance systems.

Physical security is crucial in cybersecurity – not just for obvious reasons. Of course, unauthorized access or tampering can occur without physical security which could compromise sensitive data or disrupt operations. But in addition to big security measures, physical security also consists of the small actions taken every day by each person who comes into contact with the network. Implementing physical security is a large-scale operation that involves the entire organization.

If you imagine the internet like the wild west, then hackers are the bank robbers and big networks are the small town banks. Networks are constantly under threat, and there are many different types of attack. Types of attacks like malware, denial of service (DoS), Man-in-the-Middle and phishing are usually delivered digitally via email or spoofed websites. But breaches can also occur through physical access points, unsecured endpoints and unlocked doors.

No, this skills-based physical security course isn't designed to prepare you for any particular certification. However, most cybersecurity certifications have questions related to different categories of security, and a thorough knowledge of physical security theory and practice will help you with those certs. Vendor-agnostic certifications like the CompTIA Security+ or the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) from ISACA will be easier to earn after taking this physical security course.

This is a short, skills-focused course on physical security and it's valuable for anyone who touches or uses computer networks on a regular basis. The ideal audience is cybersecurity professionals looking to round out their familiarity with different network vulnerabilities and how to counter them, but there are important lessons about how even the simplest actions keep a network safe and how to identify attacks before they happen.