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-905: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analysis

 

Course Overview:

TechNow has worked worldwide enterprise infrastructures for over 30 years and has developed demos and labs to exemplify the techniques required to demonstrate technologies that effectively support CTI.  This course integrates well with our courses TN-575: Open Source Network Security Monitoring and TN-865: Wireshark Network Traffic and Security Analysis .

TechNow develops Cyber Ranges and makes them available for conferences in support of annual meetings for Cyber Threat Response Teams.  Developing scenarios and reacting to them appropriately is a big part of the value in understanding the contexts required to comprehend valuable CTI.   As with many advanced TechNow security courses, there is a large hands-on ratio.  This course helps Cyber Protection Teams (CPT), Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO), and Mission Defense Teams (MDT) to collect, analyze and apply targeted cyber intelligence to defensive operations in order to proactively act on and tune response to attacks by cyber adversaries.  CPT, DCO, and MDT can take preemptive action by utilizing CTI, understanding CTI tools, techniques and procedures (TTPs) needed to generate and consume timely and relevant intelligence to improve resilience and prevention.

This course focuses on the collection, classification, and exploitation of knowledge about adversaries and their TTPs. .  MDT puts us close the mission and helps define the internal context to be analyzed against the CTI.  TechNow pushes the student to truly understand how to think about and use CTI to make a difference.

Attendees to TN-905: Cyber Threat Intelligence Analysis will receive TechNow approved course materials and expert instruction.

Date/Locations:

No Events

Course Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

  • Learn to comprehend and develop complex scenarios
  • Identify and create intelligence requirements through practices such as threat modeling
  • Utilize threat modeling to drive intelligence handling and practices 
  • Breakdown tactical, operational, and strategic-level threat intelligence
  • Generate threat intelligence to detect, respond to, and defeat focused and targeted threats
  • How to collect adversary information creating better value CTI
  • How to filter and qualify external sources, mitigating low integrity intelligence
  • Create Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) in formats such as YARA, OpenIOC, and STIX
  • Move security maturity past IOCs into understanding and countering the behavioral tradecraft of threats
  • Breaking down threats mapped against their tradecraft to tweak IOCs
  • Establish structured analytical techniques to be successful in any security role
  • Learn and apply structured principles in support of CTI and how to communicate that to any security role.

Course Prerequisites:

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TN-125: Introduction to UNIX and Linux

 

Course Overview:

This hands-on course provides an intensive overview of fundamental UNIX commands that are common to all flavors of UNIX, but the focus is on RedHat. At the end of this course students will have a firm grasp of how the UNIX operating system works, how to accomplish powerful functions using multiple commands & most importantly of all, how to think UNIX. With the skills gained in this course, students can move on to RedHat System Administration I or Linux System Admnistration I.

Attendees of TN-125: Introduction to UNIX and Linux will receive course materials and expert Instruction.

Date/Locations:

Date/Time Event
07/13/2026 - 07/17/2026
08:00 -16:00 		TN-125: Introduction to UNIX and Linux
TechNow, Inc, San Antonio TX
10/19/2026 - 10/23/2026
08:00 -16:00 		TN-125: Introduction to UNIX and Linux
TechNow, Inc, San Antonio TX

Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

  • Unix Overview
  • Introduction to the UNIX command Line
  • Managing and controlling access to files
  • Batch Scripting and tools
  • Regular Expressions, Pipelines, and IO Redirection
  • Text File Manipulation
  • Basic Network Commands
  • Managing Unix Processes
  • GNOME Graphical Desktop

Prerequisites:

  • Basic Knowledge of Computers

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User: trkdashin

Instructor comments: Very knowledgeable

Facilities comments: Nice Hotel

 

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TN-335: Advanced Penetration Testing Using Open Source Tools

Course Overview:

This is an advanced course that assumes the attendee is a qualified security professional with experience using security tools and understands the concepts behind penetration testing. Courses that build up the expertise that enables a student to succeed in this course is Security+, CEH, CISSP, and any of the GIAC certifications. This course is completely hands-on and utilizes the BackTrack tool suite from backtrack-linux.org. The course covers, in detail, various attacks and tools that are contained in the BackTrack tool suite.

Attendees to TN-335: Advanced Penetration Testing Using Open Source Tools will receive TechNow approved course materials and expert instruction.

Dates/Locations:

No Events

Duration: 5 days

Course Objectives:

  • Information Security and Open Source Software
  • Operating System Tools
  • Firewalls
  • Scanners
  • Vulnerability Scanners
  • Network Sniffers
  • Intrusion Detection Systems
  • Analysis and Management Tools
  • Encryption Tools
  • Wireless Tools
  • Forensic Tools
  • More on Open Source Software

Prerequisites:

  • Experience in IT Security
  • Solid basic knowledge of networks and TCP/IP
  • Experience in command line under Linux and Windows is required

 

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CT-415: CompTIA SecAI+

CompTIA SecAI+ is the first certification in CompTIA’s expansion series, designed to help you secure, govern and responsibly integrate artificial intelligence into your cybersecurity operations. You’ll build the skills to defend AI systems, meet global compliance expectations and use AI to enhance threat detection, automation and innovation—so you can strengthen your expertise and help keep your organization’s systems and data secure.

SecAI+ helps you build practical AI security and automation skills on top of your existing expertise, so you can secure AI deployments, use AI‑assisted security tools with confidence, and stay ready for the next step in your cybersecurity career.

Course Objectives:

  • Apply AI concepts to strengthen your organization’s cybersecurity posture
  • Secure AI systems using advanced controls and protections to safeguard data, models, and infrastructure
  • Leverage AI technologies to automate workflows, accelerate incident response, and scale security operations
  • Navigate global GRC frameworks to ensure ethical and compliant AI adoption across industries
  • Defend against AI-driven threats like adversarial attacks, automated malware, and malicious use of generative AI
  • Integrate AI securely into DevSecOps pipelines and enterprise security strategies.

Dates/Locations:

No Events

Prerequisites: Recommended experience: 3–4 years in IT and 2+ years hands-on cybersecurity; Security+, CySA+, PenTest+, or equivalent recommended

SecAI+ (V1) exam objectives summary

     Basic AI concepts related to cybersecurity (17%)

  • Explain core AI principles and terminology: Machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and automation.
  • Identify AI applications in security: Use cases for AI in threat detection, defense, and security operations. 
  • Recognize AI-driven threats: Automated phishing, polymorphic malware, adversarial machine learning, and malicious use of generative AI.

Securing AI systems (40%)

  • Implement security controls: Protect AI systems, data, and models using robust technical safeguards. 
  • Secure AI deployment environments: Apply best practices across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures. 
  • Mitigate adversarial risks: Defend against attacks targeting AI models, data pipelines, and inference layers. 

AI-assisted security (24%)

  • Enhance detection and response: Use AI-driven tools to identify anomalies, detect threats, and accelerate incident remediation. 
  • Automate security workflows: Integrate AI for event triage, alert correlation, and response orchestration. 
  • Apply AI techniques in operations: Incorporate AI into threat modeling, behavior analysis, and continuous monitoring. 

AI governance, risk, and compliance (19%)

  • Understand regulatory frameworks: Identify global governance requirements and their implications for AI adoption. 
  • Integrate GRC into AI projects: Incorporate governance, risk management, and compliance practices throughout the AI lifecycle. 
  • Ensure responsible AI use: Apply ethical guidelines, legal standards, and industry frameworks such as GDPR and NIST AI RMF.