SRA 221: Information Security Foundations Lab Collection

Information Security Foundations Case Study

Overview

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SRA 221 provided an early overview of information security through a sequence of hands-on labs.

The available coursework supports a broad foundational security narrative covering:

• lab environment setup
• web application security testing with OWASP ZAP
• website reconnaissance
• protocol analysis with Wireshark
• live machine and service discovery
• automated security analysis with SPARTA
• VPN server configuration with OpenVPN
• firewall configuration with pfSense
• Active Directory domain user account management
• introductory file system forensics
• log analytics with Splunk
• cyber incident writing and breach analysis

This page is intentionally written as a portfolio-safe summary. It does not publish raw screenshots, full lab submissions, private lab credentials, complete answers, or detailed step-by-step procedures.

The strongest portfolio angle is security foundations. This course helped establish practical awareness of the tools and concepts that later appear in more advanced cybersecurity work, including CYBER 262, CYBER 366, CYBER 440, IST 454, IST 456, and ServiceNow SecOps workflow thinking.

Why This Project Matters

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SRA 221 matters because it represents the early hands-on layer of my cybersecurity education.

Before advanced malware analysis, incident response, forensics, or ServiceNow SecOps work, a security analyst needs a base understanding of:

• how web application testing tools identify issues
• how reconnaissance supports assessment
• how packets reveal communication behavior
• how to identify live systems and services
• how automated scanning can support analysis
• how VPNs support secure remote access
• how firewalls enforce traffic control
• how directory services manage users
• how file systems can contain forensic evidence
• how SIEM/log analytics tools support detection

This course helped build that practical foundation.

Portfolio-Safe Publishing Approach

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This page excludes:

• raw lab screenshots
• complete academic submissions
• private lab credentials
• private course instructions
• raw scan results
• exact lab environment details
• full answer sheets
• copy-paste-ready procedures
• private student identifiers

Instead, it presents:

• lab topics
• security concepts
• tools used
• portfolio-safe summaries
• professional lessons learned
• connection to later cybersecurity work

Lab Collection Summary

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Major Security Domains Covered

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Technical Learning Path

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Web Application Security Evidence

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The OWASP ZAP lab introduced web application security analysis.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• web application testing workflow
• proxy-based security analysis
• identifying potential application issues
• understanding how automated tools support review
• recognizing that tool results still require analyst interpretation
• connecting web testing to broader application security awareness

This supports later vulnerability management and ServiceNow SecOps work because web application findings need triage, ownership, remediation, validation, and documentation.

Reconnaissance and Service Discovery Evidence

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The reconnaissance and unknown-network labs introduced early assessment concepts.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• information gathering
• identifying visible services
• understanding target exposure
• recognizing live systems
• documenting findings
• using reconnaissance as an early phase of security assessment

This is relevant to vulnerability management because you cannot secure what you cannot identify.

Protocol Analysis Evidence

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The Wireshark lab introduced packet-level analysis.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• reviewing network traffic
• understanding protocols
• observing communication behavior
• interpreting packet-level data
• using network evidence to support technical analysis

This supports later work in CYBER 362 network traffic analysis, CYBER 440 incident response, and general security operations.

VPN and Firewall Evidence

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The OpenVPN and pfSense labs introduced defensive infrastructure concepts.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• secure remote access
• encrypted VPN connectivity
• firewall configuration
• traffic filtering
• access control
• network boundary protection
• defensive network architecture

These concepts matter because security operations depends on understanding the controls that protect network access and traffic flow.

Active Directory Evidence

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The Active Directory lab introduced centralized identity concepts.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• domain user account management
• identity administration
• centralized account control
• access management foundations
• relationship between identity and security operations

This is relevant because identity is central to modern cybersecurity. Many incidents involve account compromise, privilege misuse, weak credentials, or poor access governance.

File System Forensics Evidence

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The introductory forensics lab connected information security to evidence handling.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• file system evidence
• forensic thinking
• investigation workflow
• artifact review
• relationship between file evidence and incident investigation

This supports later forensic work in IST 454 and CYBER 440.

Splunk Log Analytics Evidence

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The Splunk lab introduced log analytics and SIEM-style analysis.

Portfolio-safe concepts included:

• searching log data
• reviewing events
• interpreting security-relevant records
• using logs to support investigation
• connecting system activity to analyst conclusions

This supports later work in SIEM, detection, incident response, ServiceNow SecOps, and cybersecurity analysis.

Breach Writing and Security Awareness

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The extra writing assignment reviewed a recurring payment-system breach involving compromised payment records across multiple cities.

The useful portfolio angle is not the specific breach itself, but the reasoning it supported:

• recurring incidents suggest failed remediation
• patching and recovery processes must be validated
• repeated compromise can create accountability concerns
• smaller breaches still matter when prior incidents were not fully resolved
• security writing must explain impact clearly

The “Do Something Good” assignment is not a cybersecurity lab, so it is not central to this page. It can be treated as a minor civic/community note, but not a main portfolio artifact.

Capability-to-Evidence Map

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Relationship to Later Coursework

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SRA 221 is best understood as an early foundation for later cybersecurity coursework.

What I Learned

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This course reinforced several foundational lessons:

• security tools require analyst interpretation
• reconnaissance is a normal part of security assessment
• network traffic can reveal important technical context
• exposed services expand attack surface
• automated scanning can assist but not replace analysis
• VPNs and firewalls support secure access and traffic control
• identity management is central to security operations
• file systems can contain investigative evidence
• logs are essential for detection and response
• early security foundations support more advanced malware, forensics, SIEM, and incident response work

Professional Relevance

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This project supports roles and tasks involving:

• cybersecurity analysis
• security operations
• vulnerability management
• ServiceNow SecOps consulting
• web application security awareness
• network investigation
• firewall and VPN awareness
• Active Directory basics
• digital forensics foundations
• Splunk/log analytics foundations
• incident response preparation

It is especially relevant to ServiceNow SecOps because findings from web testing, reconnaissance, identity review, firewall controls, forensic evidence, and logs often need to become tracked work: triage, ownership, remediation, validation, exception handling, and closure.

Difference from CYBER 262

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SRA 221 and CYBER 262 both support security foundations, but they play different roles.

SRA 221 is best treated as the earlier overview course that prepared the ground for later technical cybersecurity lab work.

Portfolio-Safe Redaction Notes

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This case study intentionally excludes:

• raw lab screenshots
• full lab submissions
• private lab credentials
• complete answer sheets
• exact lab environment details
• private course instructions
• full scan outputs
• copy-paste-ready procedures

The goal is to show information security foundation and tool exposure without publishing raw academic work.

Related Portfolio Areas

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Next Steps

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This project can later be connected to:

• the cybersecurity foundations capability section
• the CYBER 262 page
• the IST 454 forensics page
• the CYBER 440 capstone page
• a security operations review path
• a web application security foundations note
• a log analytics / Splunk foundations note

For now, this page serves as the main portfolio-safe summary of my SRA 221 Overview of Information Security work.