Chapter 2. General Security Practices

Terms you'll need to understand:

• Mandatory Access Control (MAC)

• Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

• Rule-Based Access Control (RBAC)

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

• Kerberos authentication

• Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)

• Certificates

• Tokens

• Biometrics

Techniques you'll need to master:

• Recognizing the forms of access control (MAC/DAC/RBAC)

• Understanding the process of authentication and the various forms of authentication available

• Recognizing asymmetric and symmetric encryption methods

• Understanding biometrics and the part they play in security

The concept of security within the network environment includes aspects drawn from all operating systems, application software packages, hardware solutions, and networking configurations present within the network to be secured, as well as within any network sharing connectivity directly or indirectly with the network to be secured. Clients studying for the Security+ exam need to develop the broadest set of skills possible, gaining experience from the most specific to the most general of security concepts.

You need to be aware of general security concepts, and this chapter and Chapter 3, "Nonessential Services and Attacks," provide an overview of the general concepts you should familiarize yourself with in particular. As a prospective security professional, you should also take every opportunity you can find to expand your skill base beyond these. The practice of a security professional is never an end unto itself but rather a never-ending path threaded through constant change and ever-evolving possibility.