Texas Foundations of Cybersecurity (NEW)
107 Standards
127.792.d.1.a
identify and demonstrate employable work behaviors such as regular attendance, punctuality, maintenance of a professional work environment, and effective written and verbal communication
127.792.d.1.b
identify and demonstrate positive personal qualities such as authenticity, resilience, initiative, and a willingness to learn new knowledge and skills
127.792.d.1.c
solve problems and think critically
127.792.d.1.d
demonstrate leadership skills and function effectively as a team member
127.792.d.1.e
demonstrate an understanding of ethical and legal responsibilities and ramifications in relation to the field of cybersecurity
127.792.d.2.a
identify job and internship opportunities and accompanying job duties and tasks
127.792.d.2.b
research careers in cybersecurity and information security and develop professional profiles that match education and job skills required for obtaining a job in both the public and private sectors
127.792.d.2.c
identify and discuss certifications for cybersecurity-related careers
127.792.d.2.d
explain the different types of services and roles found within a cybersecurity functional area such as a security operations center (SOC)
127.792.d.3.a
demonstrate and advocate for ethical and legal behaviors both online and offline among peers, family, community, and employers
127.792.d.3.b
investigate and analyze local, state, national, and international cybersecurity laws such as the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, General Data Protection Regulation, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
127.792.d.3.c
investigate and analyze noteworthy incidents or events regarding cybersecurity
127.792.d.3.d
communicate an understanding of ethical and legal behavior when presented with various scenarios related to cybersecurity activities
127.792.d.3.e
define and identify tactics used in an incident such as social engineering, malware, denial of service, spoofing, and data vandalism
127.792.d.3.f
identify and use appropriate methods for citing sources
127.792.d.4.a
identify motivations and perspectives for hacking
127.792.d.4.b
distinguish between types of threat actors such as hacktivists, criminals, state-sponsored actors, and foreign governments
127.792.d.4.c
identify and describe the impact of cyberattacks on the global community, society, and individuals
127.792.d.4.d
differentiate between industry terminology for types of hackers such as black hats, white hats, and gray hats
127.792.d.4.e
determine and describe possible outcomes and legal ramifications of ethical versus malicious hacking practices
127.792.d.5.a
define cyberterrorism, state-sponsored cyberterrorism, and hacktivism
127.792.d.5.b
compare and contrast physical terrorism and cyberterrorism, including domestic and foreign actors
127.792.d.5.c
define and explain intelligence gathering
127.792.d.5.d
explain the role of cyber defense in protecting national interests and corporations
127.792.d.5.e
explain the role of cyber defense in society and the global economy
127.792.d.5.f
explain the importance of protecting public infrastructures such as electrical power grids, water systems, pipelines, transportation, and power generation facilities from cyberterrorism
127.792.d.6.a
identify and understand the nature and value of privacy
127.792.d.6.b
analyze the positive and negative implications of a digital footprint and the maintenance and monitoring of an online presence
127.792.d.6.c
discuss the role and impact of technology on privacy
127.792.d.6.d
identify the signs, emotional effects, and legal consequences of cyberbullying and cyberstalking
127.792.d.6.e
identify and discuss effective ways to deter and report cyberbullying
127.792.d.7.a
define personally identifiable information (PII)
127.792.d.7.b
evaluate the risks and benefits of sharing PII
127.792.d.7.c
describe the impact of granting applications unnecessary permissions such as mobile devices accessing camera and contacts
127.792.d.7.d
describe the risks of granting third parties access to personal and proprietary data on social media and systems
127.792.d.7.e
describe the risks involved with accepting Terms of Service (ToS) or End User License Agreements (EULA) without a basic understanding of the terms or agreements
127.792.d.8.a
define cybersecurity and information security
127.792.d.8.b
identify basic risk management and risk assessment principles related to cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, including the Zero Trust model
127.792.d.8.c
explain the fundamental concepts of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad)
127.792.d.8.d
describe the trade-offs between convenience and security
127.792.d.8.e
identify and analyze cybersecurity breaches and incident responses
127.792.d.8.f
identify and analyze security challenges in domains such as physical, network, cloud, and web
127.792.d.8.g
define and discuss challenges faced by cybersecurity professionals such as internal and external threats
127.792.d.8.h
identify indicators of compromise such as common risks, warning signs, and alerts of compromised systems
127.792.d.8.i
explore and discuss the vulnerabilities of network-connected devices such as Internet of Things (IoT)
127.792.d.8.j
use appropriate cybersecurity terminology
127.792.d.8.k
explain the concept of penetration testing, including tools and techniques
127.792.d.8.l
explore and identify common industry frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK, MITRE Engage , and Cyber Kill Chain, and the Diamond Model
127.792.d.9.a
define malware, including spyware, ransomware, viruses, and rootkits
127.792.d.9.b
identify the transmission and function of malware such as trojan horses, worms, and viruses
127.792.d.9.c
discuss the impact of malware and the model of "as a service"
127.792.d.9.d
explain the role of reverse engineering for the detection of malware and viruses
127.792.d.9.e
describe free and commercial antivirus and anti-malware software also known as Endpoint Detection and Response software
127.792.d.10.a
define system hardening
127.792.d.10.b
use basic system administration privileges
127.792.d.10.c
explain the importance of patching operating systems
127.792.d.10.d
explain the importance of software updates
127.792.d.10.e
describe standard practices to configure system services
127.792.d.10.f
explain the importance of backup files
127.792.d.10.g
research and explain standard practices for securing computers, networks, and operating systems, including the concept of least privilege
127.792.d.10.h
identify vulnerabilities caused by a lack of cybersecurity awareness and training such as weaknesses posed by individuals within an organization
127.792.d.11.a
identify basic network devices, including routers and switches
127.792.d.11.b
define network addressing
127.792.d.11.c
analyze incoming and outgoing rules for traffic passing through a firewall
127.792.d.11.d
identify well known ports by number and service provided, including port 22 (Secure Shell Protocol/ssh), port 80 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol/http), and port 443 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure/https)
127.792.d.11.e
identify commonly exploited ports and services, including ports 20 and 21 (File Transfer Protocol/ftp), port 23 (telnet protocol), and port 3389 (Remote Desktop Protocol/rdp)
127.792.d.11.f
identify common tools for monitoring ports and network traffic
127.792.d.12.a
define what constitutes a secure password
127.792.d.12.b
create a secure password policy, including length, complexity, account lockout, and rotation
127.792.d.12.c
identify methods of password cracking such as brute force and dictionary attacks
127.792.d.12.d
examine and configure security options to allow and restrict access based on user roles
127.792.d.13.a
identify different types of user accounts and groups on an operating system
127.792.d.13.b
explain the fundamental concepts and standard practices related to access control, including authentication, authorization, and auditing
127.792.d.13.c
compare methods for single- and multi-factor authentication such as passwords, biometrics, personal identification numbers (PINs), secure tokens, and other passwordless authentication methods
127.792.d.13.d
define and explain the purpose and benefits of an air-gapped computer
127.792.d.13.e
explain how hashes and checksums may be used to validate the integrity of transferred data
127.792.d.14.a
explain the importance of digital forensics to organizations, private citizens, and the public sector
127.792.d.14.b
identify the role of chain of custody in digital forensics;
127.792.d.14.c
explain the four steps of the forensics process, including collection, examination, analysis, and reporting
127.792.d.14.d
identify when a digital forensics investigation is necessary
127.792.d.14.e
identify information that can be recovered from digital forensics investigations such as metadata and event logs
127.792.d.14.f
analyze the purpose of event logs and identify suspicious activity
127.792.d.15.a
explain the purpose of cryptography and encrypting data;
127.792.d.15.b
research historical uses of cryptography
127.792.d.15.c
review and explain simple cryptography methods such as shift cipher and substitution cipher
127.792.d.15.d
define and explain public key encryption
127.792.d.15.e
compare and contrast symmetric and asymmetric encryption
127.792.d.16.a
explain how computer vulnerabilities leave systems open to cyberattacks
127.792.d.16.b
explain how users are the most common vehicle for compromising a system at the application level
127.792.d.16.c
define and describe vulnerability, payload, exploit, port scanning, and packet sniffing
127.792.d.16.d
identify internal threats to systems such as logic bombs and insider threats
127.792.d.16.e
define and describe cyberattacks, including man-in-the-middle, distributed denial of service, spoofing, and back-door attacks
127.792.d.16.f
differentiate types of social engineering techniques such as phishing; web links in email, instant messaging, social media, and other online communication with malicious links; shoulder surfing; and dumpster diving
127.792.d.16.g
identify various types of application-specific attacks such as cross-site scripting and injection attacks
127.792.d.17.a
compare vulnerabilities associated with connecting devices to public and private networks
127.792.d.17.b
explain device vulnerabilities and security solutions on networks such as supply chain security and counterfeit products
127.792.d.17.c
compare and contrast protocols such as HTTP versus HTTPS
127.792.d.17.d
debate the broadcasting or hiding of a wireless service set identifier (SSID)
127.792.d.17.e
research and discuss threats such as mandatory access control (MAC) spoofing and packet sniffing
127.792.d.18.a
define application security
127.792.d.18.b
identify methods of application security such as secure development policies and practices
127.792.d.18.c
explain the purpose and function of vulnerability scanners
127.792.d.18.d
explain how coding errors may create system vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows and lack of input validation
127.792.d.18.e
analyze the risks of distributing insecure programs
127.792.d.19.a
define commonly used risk assessment terms, including risk, asset, and inventory
127.792.d.19.b
identify risk management strategies, including acceptance, avoidance, transference, and mitigation
127.792.d.19.c
compare and contrast risks based on an industry accepted rubric or metric such as Risk Assessment Matrix