Palo Alto Networks Firewall Training Course Lab

Working with the TechNow lab for the PA-215: Palo Alto Networks Firewall Essentials FastTrack course has been nothing less than a techie's idea of fun. When students come in we are immediatly configuring the Cisco 3750 switches for access ports, VLANS, and trunks. We then cable the switch to the Palo Alto Networks Firewall. Each student gets their own Palo Alto Firewall Pod of hardware and software. What we find as fun is the VLAN environment, with an array of virtual machines hosted on an ESXi server that can really exercise the abilities of the Palo Alto Firewall. The DMZ VLAN hosts virtual machines that support enterprise services and also potentialy vulnerable web services. The Trust VLAN has Windows and Linux clients. The UnTrust VLAN has Web services and a VM of Kali. The hardware Firewall is additionally connected to a Management VLAN. All those VLANs are trunked into an ESXi server where the student also has a VM-Series Palo Alto Networks Firewall for High Availability.

After configuring all the trunking, VLANs, and network interfaces we learn about the firewall and configure it for the lab environment. Using Metasploitable and Kali/Metasploit nefarious penetration attempts are executed. Using packet captures, custom APP-ID's and custom signatures are generated. Custom logging and reporting are created to similate and enterprise and assist the desired Incident Response. It is always fun in a training environment to learn all about the controls available in a product, even though specific controls may not be used in the operational environment. In the end we have a good understanding of the Palo Alto Networks Firewall.

TN-855: Advanced and In-Depth ICD 503 RMF, Controls, and Assessments

Course Overview:

This course is very hands-on with respect to SP 800-53 controls as related to ICD-503, leveraging experience with DCD 6/3, and incorporating a broad array of technologies found in the field. Assessors and Auditors have to face many technologies that are not part of the main stream. TechNow has gone to great efforts to build a very broad, comprehensive, and complex lab to simulate many scenarios and architectures. Technologies such as a network appliance that is not a typical infrastructure product, a radio/satellite communications device, or many other technologies that build up a weapon system. Students learn how controls are integrated into many different devices and how they fit in the overall security architecture of monitoring, reporting, and compliance testing.

Directly discussed are overlays for different requirements i.e.: tactical, medical, network type: JWICS, SIPR; IC or AF. TechNow has developed a funnel concept to overlays to exemplify the encapsulation of a control within different requirements. TechNow has over 15 years experience in Trusted Solaris/Trusted Extensions and labeled security. Cross Domain overlays are presented that fits the work flow of an assesor. PII overlays and any overlays that an organization uses and can be made available are also presented.

This course allows the student to leverage years of experience in DoD DCD 6/34 for transition to the Risk Management Framework (RMF) applied to the Intelligence Community as mandated by ICD 503. Utilizing NIST SP 800-37 to establish a baseline of RMF knowledge, the student learns how to integrate the NIST pubs to provide cohesive information assurance architectures and compliance. ICD 503 scorecard evaluations are integral in demonstrating a successful ICD 503 compliance program. TechNow's ICD 503 course provides students with the skill to assess security programs and evaluate ICD 503 compliance to build an improvement and sustainable program for score consistency. TechNow's instructors have unparralleled expertise in federal compliance initiatives, and we bring this expertise instructing students on the complete life cycle of RMF.

More than a simple checklist, we instruct students not only how to validate essential security controls, programs, and metrics, but that they are operating effectively. The student leaves the course knowing how to: identify gaps where controls, programs, or metrics are incomplete, missing or ineffective, and provide actionable findings and recommend remediation strategies. Students learn to internalize NIST pubs to meaningul and effective IA guidelines and work with the Body of Evidence templates which include: Risk Assessment Report (RAR), Systems Security Plan (SSP), Security Assessment Report (SAR), and Plans of Action and Milestone (POAM).

TechNow training materials are aligned with the most recent set of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) policies standards, processes, policies and instructions to be addressed/explained include ICD 503, ICS 503-1, ICS 500-16, ICS 500-18, ICS 500-27, ICD 502, NIST SP 800-37, NIST SP 800-30, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-53A, NIST SP 800-137, NIST SP 800-47, CNSSP 22, CNSSI 1253, and CNSSI 4009.

A majority of time is spent on in-depth compliance review of NIST SP 800-53 controls. Instruction discusses which method should be used to test and validate each security control and what evidence should be gathered. This course is not theory or death by power point. Real scenarios are presented as exercises. A complete live cyber range simulating the IC is utilized for hands-on labs for techniques of validating and documenting compliance of NIST SP 800-53 controls as related to ICD 503.

Date/Locations:

No Events

Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

Establish a baseline of RMF knowledge
Validate essential security controls, programs, and metrics
DoD DCD 6/3 to ICD 503 Transition
Lab Environtment and the Cyber Range
Overlays: Tactical, Medical, Network type(JWICS, SIPR; IC or AF), Cross Domain, PII
Risk Assessment Report (RAR)
Systems Security Plan (SSP)
Security Assessment Report (SAR)
Plans of Action and Milestone (POAM)

Prerequisites:

Experience in the field of auditing and assesments.

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TN-8155: HCISPP Preparation Seminar

Course Overview:

The HCISPP is the only certification that combines cybersecurity skills with privacy best practices and techniques. It demonstrates you have the knowledge and ability to implement, manage, and assess security and privacy controls to protect healthcare organizations using policies and procedures established by the cybersecurity experts at (ISC)2. TechNows HCISPP Certification Boot Camp is a comprehensive review of Healthcare cybersecurity with privacy best practices & industry best practices.

Attendees to TN-8155: HCISPP Certification Preparation Seminar will receive TechNow approved course materials and expert instruction..

Date/Locations:

No Events

Course Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

Strategically focus your preparation for HCISPP Certification
Cover a broad spectrum of topics in the 7 domains of the HCISPP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK)
Gain knowledge on the Healthcare industry including third party relationships and health data management concepts
Identify applicable regulations, compliance frameworks, privacy principles and policies to protect information security
Develop risk management methodology and identify control assessment procedures

Audience:

The HCISPP certification is ideal for security professionals responsible for safeguarding protected health information (PHI). Take this HCISPP training course to prepare to manage and implement security controls for healthcare information. HCISPPs are instrumental to a variety of job functions: Compliance Officer, Information Security Manager, Privacy Officer, Compliance Auditor, Risk Analyst, Medical Records Supervisor, IT Manager, Privacy & Security Consultants, and Health Information Manager.

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TN-969: Windows Security Administrator Course

Course Overview:

A skills focus enables the student to better absorb the subject matter and perform successfully on the job. This is not death by power point. The course is aligned with information assurance operators and executing hands-on labs to secure Windows systems. Lecture and labs start with quick review of Active Directory and group policy to enforce security mechanisms within the Windows architecture. Students then gain network experience and use sniffing to help exemplify the benefit of learning wired and wireless security configurations. PowerShell is made for SecOps/DevOps automation and students will learn to write PowerShell scripts to automate security operations and Desired State Configuration (DSC). The course concludes with exercising real attack strategies to demonstrate the effectives of properly securing your host.

Attendees to TN-969: Windows Security Administrator course will receive TechNow approved course materials and expert instruction.

Date/Locations:

No Events

Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

Active Directory and BloodHound
Security Controls
PKI
Encryption
Wireless & Network Security and Hardening DNS
802.1x and Endpoint Protection
Firewalls and VPN
PowerShell Scripting
JEA, DSC, Enterprise Security with PowerShell
Windows Attack Strategies

Prerequisites:

Security+
Windows System Administration Skills

Comments

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User: bbrabender

Instructor comments: Instructor was very knowledgeable and help more inexperienced users with concepts as well explaining in a way that can be understood.

Facilities comments: N/A

User: dale.r.anderson

Instructor comments: Instructor was well knowlegeable accross alot of domains.

Facilities comments: Pretty good

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TN-825: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Seminar

Course Overview:

The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification program is developed specifically for experienced information security managers & those who have information security management responsibilities. The CISM certification is for the individual who manages, designs, oversees and/or assesses an enterprise’s information security (IS). The CISM certification promotes international practices & provides executive management with assurance that those earning the designation have the required experience & knowledge to provide effective security management & consulting services. Individuals earning the CISM certification become part of an elite peer network, attaining a one-of-a-kind credential. The CISM job practice also defines a global job description for the information security manager & a method to measure existing staff or compare prospective new hires.

This course is designed to assist in your exam preparation for the CISM exam.

Attendees to TN-825: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Seminar will receive TechNow approved course materials and expert instruction.

Dates/Locations:

Date/Time	Event
11/17/2025 - 11/21/2025 08:00 -16:00	TN-825: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Seminar TechNow, Inc, San Antonio TX

Duration: 5 Days

Course Objectives:

Information Security Governance (24%)
Establish and/or maintain an information security governance framework and supporting processes to ensure that the information security strategy is aligned with organizational goals and objectives
Information Risk Management (30%)
Manage information risk to an acceptable level based on risk appetite to meet organizational goals and objectives
Information Security Program Development and Management (27%)
Develop and maintain an information security program that identifies, manages and protects the organization’s assets while aligning to information security strategy and business goals, thereby supporting an effective security posture
Information Security Incident Management (19%)
Plan, establish and manage the capability to detect, investigate, respond to and recover from information security incidents to minimize business impact

Prerequisites:

A minimum of five years of information security work experience, with a minimum of three years of information security management work experience in three or more of the job practice analysis areas.

Comments

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User: tracycampbell

Instructor comments: Dave had great command of the class and the flow of information. The lessons seem relevant to the exam and the course material should assist greatly with passing. As a bonus, his breakdown of PKI helped with my current job requirements.

Facilities comments: The Home2Suites by Hilton was FANTASTIC!

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