Network Security

Network security is the practice of protecting a network and the data moving across it from unauthorized access, misuse and attacks. It combines preventive controls such as firewalls, network segmentation and VPN encryption with detective controls such as intrusion detection, traffic analysis and SIEM monitoring, so defenders can both block attacks and spot the ones that get through.

This collection brings together Cracking Station’s hands-on network security content: network discovery and scanning, detecting command-and-control (C2) traffic, securing industrial control systems that use the Modbus protocol, log analysis with Splunk, and setting up secure VPN and OpenVPN connections on Windows, Linux and Kali. Most guides come from our Advent of Cyber and TryHackMe walkthroughs.

Written by a certified CEH and CEI instructor, each tutorial explains both the attacker’s technique and the defender’s response. Test only on networks you own or are authorized to assess.