Advanced Data, Cloud, and Incident Defense

This unit synthesizes advanced defensive and operational topics including cloud access control, backup and recovery strategies, vulnerability/penetration testing, insider and third‑party risk, and security awareness program management. Students will apply hands‑on techniques and programmatic controls to detect, respond to, and recover from incidents while measuring and improving organizational security posture.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze cloud, third‑party, and insider risks and select appropriate access controls, backup frequency and retention strategies to maintain data integrity, availability, and confidentiality
• Apply a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing process to identify, document, and recommend remediation for system weaknesses such as network infrastructure poisoning, poisoned web services, and malvertising
• Demonstrate incident response and recovery procedures, including containment and remediation of stolen data, restoring from backups and archives, and coordinating recovery when compromises involve third parties
• Evaluate and redesign a security awareness program by defining day‑0 and ongoing metrics, incorporating social engineering countermeasures, password handling best practices, and promotion strategies to measurably improve security behavior