Week 8 - Back it Up

We’ve all heard that backing up our data is important, but not every backup works the same way. The three common types are full, incremental, and differential backups, and each has its own advantages.

A full backup copies everything. It gives you a complete copy of your data, which makes restoring files easier, but it also takes the most time and storage space. An incremental backup only saves data that has changed since the last backup. This makes backups faster and saves space, but restoring everything can take longer because several backups may be needed. A differential backup is somewhere in between. It saves everything that has changed since the last full backup, so each backup gets larger until another full backup is completed.

There really isn’t one backup type that works best for every situation. Choosing the right one comes down to balancing storage space, backup speed, and how quickly you need to recover your data.

Week 7 - Finding the Right Balance Between Security and Access

Not every organization protects its data the same way, which is why different access control methods exist.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) gives people access based on their job. If you're in HR, you get HR resources. If you're in accounting, you get accounting systems. It's simple to manage and works well for most businesses.

Discretionary Access Control (DAC) lets the owner of a file or resource decide who can access it. This makes sharing easy, but it can also increases the chance of someone accidentally giving the wrong person access.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC) is the strictest option. Access is based on security clearances instead of user decisions, making it ideal for government or military environments where sensitive information must stay protected.

Each method has its strengths, so the best choice depends on the organization's security needs. Finding the right balance between security, flexibility, and ease of management is the key to protecting valuable information.

Week 6 - Why One Layer of Security Isn't Enough

If you've ever locked your front door, set your home alarm, and checked your security cameras before leaving, you've already used the idea behind defense in depth. Instead of relying on just one layer of protection, defense in depth uses multiple security measures to make it much harder for attackers to succeed. If one layer fails, another is there to help stop the threat. In cybersecurity, those layers can include firewalls, multi-factor authentication, antivirus software, encryption, and employee security training. No single tool can stop every attack, but combining several defenses makes a huge difference. I think that's what makes this strategy so effective. It assumes that something might eventually go wrong since no security measure is bullet proof and instead plans for it rather than hoping one security tool can handle everything. 

Week 5 - What's the Deal with VXLAN?

When I first heard about VLANs and VXLANs, I thought they were basically the same thing. It turns out they're pretty similar, but VXLAN is built for much bigger networks.

A VLAN is a way to separate devices on the same network. For example, a company can keep the HR and IT departments on different virtual networks, even if they're using the same physical equipment. It helps keep things organized and a little more secure.

VXLAN does the same basic job, but it works across different locations and cloud environments. It also supports way more virtual networks, which makes it a better fit for large companies using cloud services.

So, if you think of a VLAN as working well for a single office, VXLAN is like taking that idea and making it work on a much bigger scale. As more businesses move to the cloud, that's exactly why VXLAN has become so important.