Overview

This course establishes a foundation for advanced study in cyber operations pertinent to DoD and DoN missions. An extensive introduction of principles associated with computer engineering is provided, beginning with computer architecture, CPU interaction with memory and peripherals, and Linux operating system design. An introductory discussion of C language compilation, binary process loading and execution, and x86/64 assembly language is provided to include static and dynamic disassembly. The course focuses on network traffic analysis and offensive cyber operations which includes traffic collection and analysis; network reconnaissance, exploitation, exfiltration and lateral movement; and APT cyber tactics and techniques. The course will also address tools commonly used in offensive cyber capability development (e.g., Ghidra, gdb, Metasploit, Wireshark).

Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing this short course, you will:

1. Be able to trace a byte through the exploitation process, from finding a vulnerability in code to executing an exploit.
2. Be able to understand how the Linux operating system uses the various physical components of a computer (CPU, Memory, peripherals) to execute a process.
3. Be able to understand how a C program is transformed into machine language and executed on a x86/64 Linux operating system.
4. Be able to identify common protocols traversing networks and how to effectively collect and filter each.
5. Be able to explain the tactics, techniques, and procedures of exploitation, exfiltration, and lateral movement.