This learning resource provides a practical introduction to defending networks. It covers topics such as network segmentation, firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), secure routing, monitoring, and common network attacks. The material helps students connect networking fundamentals to real-world defensive design and troubleshooting.
NOTE: This material is part of Prep4Uni.online, a free, independent learning hub dedicated to making high-quality university preparation accessible to all students. The platform offers a structured, top-down curriculum covering STEM, Humanities, and Business, designed to build strong academic foundations through practical tools and conceptual clarity. To ensure the highest standards of validity, the content is curated and led by Dr. Jacob Gan, a retired university professor with a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and over 20 years of experience in higher education and mentorship.
Type of Material:
Reference Material
Recommended Uses:
These materials are designed for independent, self-paced study and also can serve as supplemental resources for classroom discussion. These resources support autonomous learners while offering educators robust material for in-class engagement.
Technical Requirements:
Any Internet browser will suffice.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
In alignment with the Prep4Uni.online mission of providing structured, high-quality academic preparation, this module focuses on the technical foundations of modern network security. Curated under the academic oversight of Dr. Jacob Gan (Ph.D., University of Michigan), these materials bridge the gap between theoretical networking and professional-grade incident response. By the end of this unit, you will achieve the following four learning goals:
Architecting Zero Trust Environments: Master the transition from traditional perimeters to Zero-Trust-aware architectures, distinguishing between north-south (perimeter) and east-west (internal) traffic controls.
Hardening Infrastructure Protocols: Gain technical proficiency in maintaining "protocol hygiene" through the secure implementation of DNS, TLS encryption, and robust certificate management.
Optimizing Security Telemetry: Learn to identify high-value data signals and "right-size" log retention strategies to ensure visibility without overwhelming system resources.
Executing Incident Response: Develop the ability to translate security theory into action by building practical playbooks and runbooks for consistent, automated, and effective threat mitigation.
Target Student Population:
Ideal for high school or adult learners seeking to build a foundation at their own pace. It can also be used for High School, College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, and Graduate School as supplementary materials.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Curated by Dr. Jacob Gan, the content is academically rigorous and up-to-date, covering modern shifts like SASE, Service Mesh, and ZTNA.
It balances engineering precision with ethical considerations, such as the privacy implications of TLS inspection.
Concerns:
None.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The learning resource promotes conceptual understanding. By mapping technical controls directly to the OSI Model and the NIST CSF, the content reinforces industry professional standards. The inclusion of a hands-on lab validates theoretical knowledge through immediate feedback
Concerns:
The "Flipped Classroom" model requires students to have a local virtualization environment (VMs/Docker), which may pose a hardware barrier for some learners.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site has a clear and consistent layout.The material features an intuitive top-down navigation structure, moving from high-level concepts (Zero Trust) to granular implementations (WireGuard labs).
The use of copy-pasteable Terraform and Bash snippets makes the transition from theory to practice frictionless.
Concerns:
The high density of technical commands may overwhelm absolute beginners.
Creative Commons:
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