CYBERSECURITY ANALYST ROADMAP · STAGE 02 OF 04
Identity, vulnerabilities, and secure basics
Learn foundational defensive controls for accounts, applications, and known weaknesses.
Explain how access is granted and how security teams prioritize and track remediation.
CORE SKILLS
Key concepts in identity, vulnerabilities, and secure basics
Identity and access management
Control who can access a resource and what actions their identity is allowed to perform.
Topics include
- Authentication versus authorization
- Least privilege and role-based access
- MFA and account lifecycle
Vulnerability management
Track weaknesses through validation, prioritization, remediation, and verification rather than treating a scanner score as the whole risk.
Topics include
- Asset and software inventory
- Severity and exposure context
- Patch and mitigation verification
Application security concepts
Recognize common classes of software weakness and the defensive practices that reduce exposure.
Topics include
- Input handling and access checks
- Dependency and secret hygiene
- Secure development lifecycle
Endpoint protection
Understand how endpoint controls collect signals and help limit the impact of suspicious activity.
Topics include
- Endpoint telemetry
- Policy and update management
- Isolation and escalation concepts
APPLY WHAT YOU LEARN
Practical project
Create a defensive asset and vulnerability triage worksheet using fictional systems, documenting exposure, business context, owner, and remediation verification.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
You are ready to move on when
- Can explain why asset context matters for prioritization.
- Can document mitigation and confirm whether it worked.