Lesson 1: Threats, Attacks, and Social Engineering
Week of Tue, Sep 15 · lesson closes Mon, Sep 21
Take Meerk's quiz for Lesson 1
This lesson's items
Exact due times are in Canvas.
Watch — Professor Messer
Watch — Professor Messer: Threats and Social Engineering (SY0-701)
Free, independent educational resource. Not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA. Watch, then read the notes below.
Know these cold
- Threat actors: nation-state (sophisticated, persistent, state-funded), hacktivist (ideological), organized crime (financial), insider threat (trusted access), script kiddie (automated tools, low skill).
- Social engineering: phishing (email), vishing (voice), smishing (SMS), spear phishing (targeted), whaling (executives), pretexting (fabricated scenario), tailgating (physical).
- Indicators of compromise (IoCs): unusual outbound traffic, unexpected admin accounts, files in odd locations, disabled security tools, unexplained performance degradation.
Meerk's quiz — open the Lesson 1 gate
10 questions, no time limit. 85% on your first attempt in a 24-hour window opens the gate. Retakes inside the window are practice — they help you learn, they don't count. Work alone; the point is to know it, not to have seen it.
Dinner Table Question
Ask at home: Why is the human being considered the 'weakest link' in cybersecurity?
En español: ¿Por qué se considera al ser humano el 'eslabón más débil' en la ciberseguridad?