Module objectives

OS Security

Attacks land on operating systems, and the same handful of model-level ideas (accounts, privilege boundaries, credentials and how they are proven) decide whether an attacker who gets a foothold can go further. This module builds that working knowledge across the two systems you will meet most and the authentication layer that sits over both.

By the end you will be able to:

• Read Linux file permissions, spot the SUID bit, and recognise the sudo and shadow-file details an attacker enumerates first.
• Tell discretionary from mandatory access control and explain why MAC contains even a root-level compromise.
• Recognise the Windows and Active Directory security model and read the Security event IDs that matter.
• Name the AD credential attacks (pass-the-hash, kerberoasting and the rest) from a description of what the attacker did.
• Classify authentication factors and access-control models, and identify password attacks like spraying from a log.

The exam is practical: ten self-contained artifacts to read and classify, graded in your browser. Get seven of ten and the certificate is yours.