Security Engineering & Operations Topics
Operational security practices, secure systems implementation, threat modeling, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and security operations at production scale. Covers network security, endpoint security, secure architecture implementation, incident response mechanics, and security automation. Distinct from Security & Compliance (which addresses governance, compliance frameworks, and policy) and from Security Research & Innovation (which addresses novel techniques and research contributions).
Windows User Account and Access Management
Managing user identities, accounts, and access on Windows systems including both local and domain environments. Topics include creating and modifying local and domain user accounts, password resets and policy enforcement, enabling and disabling accounts, and account lockout handling. Group management practices such as creating security groups, nested groups, assigning users to groups, and managing membership for least privilege. File system permission management using New Technology File System file system permissions and share permissions, covering read, write, execute, modify, and full control, plus permission inheritance and effective permission evaluation. Working with built in privileged groups such as local administrators and domain administrators, and understanding User Account Control elevation and when administrative privileges are required. Common administrative tools and interfaces such as the Services console for related tasks, Computer Management, Active Directory Users and Computers, command line utilities, and PowerShell for interactive management and audit reporting.
Access Control and Security Fundamentals
Covers principles and practices for controlling access to systems, files, and network resources. Topics include authentication versus authorization, common authentication methods such as password based and key based authentication, multi factor authentication concepts, and key management for Secure Shell. Explain authorization models including discretionary access control, mandatory access control, role based access control, and attribute based access control, and concrete implementations such as Unix style file permission bits and access control lists. Understand identity stores and local versus network authentication approaches, including directory services. Emphasize the principle of least privilege, delegation of administrator privileges and use of superuser tools, privileged account management, and secure account lifecycle practices. Also cover basic security hardening measures, configuration management to reduce attack surface, and audit logging and monitoring for access events to support detection and forensic analysis.
Remote Access and VPN Basics
Covers secure remote administration and virtual private network fundamentals. Topics include virtual private network topologies and client types, secure shell access and tunneling, bastion host patterns, authentication and authorization for remote access including multi factor approaches, split tunneling and routing considerations, operational practices for remote troubleshooting, and trade offs for performance and security.
User and Permission Management
Administering user identities and access controls across servers and directory services. Topics include the account lifecycle of creating modifying disabling and deleting accounts, group membership and policy based access controls, file and directory permission models and ownership on Linux and Windows file systems, configuring privilege escalation mechanisms for administrative tasks, role based access control patterns, authentication options including multi factor authentication and single sign on, audit logging and access review practices, and implementing the principle of least privilege to limit blast radius. Interviewers may probe directory services integration and reporting for compliance.
Infrastructure Security and Access Control
Design and implementation of security controls within infrastructure and access management. Topics include network segmentation and isolation, security groups and network access control lists, identity and access management policies and least privilege principles, encryption at rest and in transit, secrets management and key management practices, audit logging and monitoring, secure remote access patterns such as bastion hosts and virtual private networks, session recording and privileged access governance, threat modeling for infrastructure components, and trade offs for compliance and operational complexity.
Infrastructure Security and Compliance
Designing, implementing, and operating security and compliance controls for infrastructure and delivery pipelines at scale. Topics include identity and access management, authentication and authorization patterns, role based access control and least privilege, secrets management and rotation, encryption for data at rest and in transit, network segmentation and microsegmentation, zero trust architecture, audit logging and retention, vulnerability scanning and patch and remediation workflows, endpoint protection, threat detection and monitoring, threat modeling and risk assessment, incident detection and response planning and runbooks, software supply chain security including artifact signing and dependency scanning and provenance, policy as code and automated security gates in continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines, automated testing and validation of controls, and the trade offs between security controls and developer velocity. Also covers embedding and operationalizing compliance requirements from common regulatory frameworks and standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Service Organization Controls two, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and International Organization for Standardization two seven zero zero one, and how those requirements influence architecture, controls, automation, monitoring, and auditability as systems scale globally.
Linux Security Hardening and Access Control
Covers security hardening and host level access control practices on Linux systems. Topics include enforcing least privilege, mandatory access control frameworks such as Security Enhanced Linux or AppArmor, secure shell configuration and key management, host firewall configuration and policy, audit logging and integrity verification, patch and configuration management, integration with centralized identity and access management solutions, and compliance considerations. Interviewers assess the ability to design and implement secure, auditable, and maintainable configurations at scale.
Network Segmentation and Security Architecture
Design and justify network architectures that use intentional segmentation and trust boundaries to protect assets and limit lateral movement. Candidates should demonstrate understanding of segmentation strategies such as demilitarized zones for internet facing services, separation of management and production networks, separation by trust level including guest and sensitive data zones, and isolation of production from non production environments. Implementation techniques include virtual local area networks and subnet design, routing and access control lists, firewall placement and firewall rule set design for physical and virtual firewalls, host based firewalls and microsegmentation for workload isolation, secure administrative access using bastion hosts and virtual private networks, proxies and reverse proxies, and network address translation considerations. The topic covers defense in depth principles applied across network, system, application, and data layers including intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems, web application firewalls, endpoint hardening, data encryption at rest and in transit, and data loss prevention. Candidates should be able to design interzone traffic controls and firewall rules to control traffic between segments, explain zero trust architecture principles that verify every access request, and plan logging, monitoring, alerting, and incident response to detect and contain compromises. Include cloud and on premise considerations such as security groups, network policies for container orchestration platforms, hybrid and multicloud design patterns, compliance driven segmentation requirements, and trade offs between security, availability, performance, and operational complexity.
Enterprise Security Architecture and Framework Design
Designing comprehensive security architecture and enterprise scale security frameworks for large organizations. Topics include layered security and defense in depth applied at enterprise scale, zero trust and microsegmentation strategies, identity and access management at scale, network segmentation and secure network architecture, encryption strategies for data at rest and in transit, secrets and key management, audit logging and telemetry placement, incident response integration, backup and disaster recovery planning, and platform and infrastructure hardening. Candidates should demonstrate how to align security architecture with business goals, translate an architectural vision into a prioritized roadmap and governance model, reason about scalability and interoperability, justify trade offs between security and developer velocity, and design automation and orchestration to enable secure operations at scale.