Training: arcX - Cyber Threat Intelligence 101
FREE Foundational CTI training that's worth it! Even for those who might already know it all...
Intro
When it comes to Cyber Threat Intelligence training the options available to us CTI enthusiasts and researchers seems relatively thin or mostly aligned to red team and blue team sides of the Cyber Security fence, and OK - if you got a good chunk of spare change you have SANs courses offering a bunch of CTI focused content.
But, what about us more frugal folk?
Well, here is where the arcX Cyber Threat Intelligence 101 course comes in - absolutely free, and let me start by saying, this is worth paying for!
Who is arcX?
arcX is a CREST-accredited training provider, who focus on Cyber Threat Intelligence education. They offer two key certifications by examination:
Cyber Threat Intelligence Practitioner: which requires you to sit the CREST Practitioner Threat Intelligence Analyst (CPTIA) examination.
Advanced Cyber Threat Intelligence: which requires you to sit the CREST Registered Threat Intelligence Analyst (CRTIA) examination.
CREST sets the standard for what is required to become certified; arcX is an approved and accredited CREST training provider - and there isn’t all that many credible ones out there that are focused on providing course content for CPTIA and CRTIA. https://www.crest-approved.org/training-provider-search/
arcX has become a seemingly silent leading provider in CREST threat intelligence training.
CTI 101
Going full circle, the Cyber Threat Intelligence 101 course provided by arcX gives you a taste of what you might come across in their more complete and comprehensive course ‘Cyber Threat Intelligence Practitioner’ and above.
The course being FREE - provides excellent value, I was initially skeptical - given I’ve also completed a bunch of other FREE basic CTI courses in my travels - many being ‘thrilling’ or ‘exciting - to dig further’.
This course is different though!
The course is broken down to provide a foundational level of knowledge:
Threat actors / vectors
The Intelligence lifecycle
Legal and ethical considerations surrounding CTI
The content
The arcX brochure site doesn’t really give it justice to the quality of the content and user interface the platform offers - and for me, I find that I don’t learn by reading PowerPoint slides or flicking through childish animated videos (cough cough… CrowdStrike!) - so I was pleasantly surprised once I created my account and logged in and started as you get a real person presenting the content in a digital white board fashion - and more importantly its by someone who has credible real world Intelligence experience.
The course content is exceptionally rich for this being FREE training, it will leave you pausing the video, taking notes, taking screenshots, finding the reports mentioned and digging deeper - even if your ‘All across CTI’ its a good refresher!
There are end of module assessments where you get to test how you went; and these are quizzes are relatively fun, not lame or tedious they are provoking and test your knowledge rather well.
Don’t get me started on the platform aesthetics, it definitely aligns with the @m1019 theme we like of Cyber Punk dark blacks, greens and purples.
The Dashboard
An instant stand out aspect of the platform is the dashboard, its well thought out, clear and concise just like the content in the course.
For me the dashboard provided an easy to understand picture of where I was at with my learning from the course compared to that of my baseline knowledge that was pre-tested.
The Exam
Without disclosing details of the exam, the overall exam taking process was just like conducting the assessment quizzes, its multiple choice and if you take the time to work through - it is by no means a stretch to complete after going through the course content for anyone new to the CTI Domain.
For me the exam wasn’t the objective / end goal, it was to refresh on foundational knowledge and strengthen existing skills that these types of courses offer and allow you to do; and its humbling to go through the foundational content routinely to see if you ‘still got it’.
I found the content being the most valuable and has given me a taste into wanting to pursue a CREST-accredited CTI certification in the not too distant future… perhaps… we will see!
I’m a big believer in foundational knowledge - its always overlooked check out my other post if interested.
Conclusion
The CTI 101 course is FREE! and regardless of your self perceived experience or knowledge of the CTI domain; if you don’t hold a CREST certification in the CTI domain - then don’t sit by, sign up and give this course ago.
Once completing the final exam, you will receive arcX Foundation Level Threat Intelligence Analyst (FTIA) certification; who doesn’t like to get some bit of digital paper for their efforts.
till next time…