190 Courses in Birmingham delivered Live Online

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Emily MacDonald joined 42 management and production company in 2019, working with Eugenie Furniss across her clients. She is now an agent in the Books Department, and is building her own list. Send Emily a story with characters that just won't leave her and a narrative that pulls her in, keeping her immersed in the world well after she has finished reading. She reads across a wide-range and has a particular interest in: book club, high-concept crime/thriller, upmarket and literary fiction. In fiction, Emily would love to find a crime/thriller set within a subcult: a modern retelling of British folklore (think Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire); an unconventional love story; and a character led journey of self-discovery (especially one set within a diasporic community). Emily is also looking for narrative non-fiction which immerses the reader into an untold true story (personal or historical), exploring a new point of view, and providing a compelling social commentary, with an investigative twist. Think the obsessive vein of Kirk W. Johnson or personal/political dispatches of Aidan Hartley. Emily wants her horizons to expand while she reads. In both fiction and non-fiction, Emily loves stories woven into their surroundings, where the setting is as central a character as those who drive the narrative. In both spheres, she is keen to hear from Scottish and regional voices with stories to tell. Please note, Emily is not currently accepting submissions for Children's lit/YA and SFF. Emily would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 - 2 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Emily is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 6th August 2025 at 12 noon UK BST

IPsec training course description This hands on course focuses on IPsec VPNs. Rather than focusing on one implementation this course concentrates on the technologies and protocols of IPsec. Starting with an overview of the complete IPsec architecture the course then moves onto ESP packet analysis along with encryption and authentication provided. IKEv1 and IKEv2 are both covered in detail. Having covered IPsec with pre shared keys the course then moves onto IPsec with certificates followed by IPsec issues. The course is vendor neutral with hands on with both Cisco and Microsoft implementations. What will you learn Explain how IPsec works. Explain the role of AH, ESP and IKE. Configure IPsec. Troubleshoot IPsec. IPsec training course details Who will benefit: Technical staff working with IPsec. Prerequisites: Definitive IP VPNs for engineers. Duration 3 days IPsec training course contents What is IPsec? How to spell IPsec, IPsec is IP security, confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, replay protection, what is a VPN? Network layer security, IPsec and IPv4, IPsec and IPv6, the suite of protocols, the standard, IPsec RFCs, IPsec history. Hands on Analysis of 'normal' IP packets. IPsec architecture The IPsec protocols, AH vs ESP, Why two headers? transport mode, tunnel mode, Remote access VPNs, site to site VPNs, security associations, SA database, Security Parameters Index, implementations: Host tack, Bump in the Stack, Bump in the Wire. Hands on Configuring IPsec. AH What AH does, the stack, The AH header, What is authenticated? Device authentication. AH in transport mode, AH in tunnel mode. Hands on AH packet analysis. ESP What ESP does, the ESP header, ESP in transport mode, ESP in tunnel mode, ESP and SA, ESP and SPI. Hands on ESP packet analysis, policy configuration. IPsec encryption IPsec is a framework, standard algorithms, ESP keys, the role of IKE, key lifetimes, how IKE generates the keys, DES, 3DES, AES, cipher block chaining, counter mode, other encryption. Hands on Encryption configuration. IPsec authentication Authentication types, IPsec authentication, Authentication algorithms: MD5, keyed SHA-1, HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA-1, HMAC-RIPEMD, other authentication algorithms. Hands on Authentication configuration. IKE Internet Key Exchange, IKE and the SAD, the two phase negotiation, ISAKMP, ISAKMP header, pre shared keys, digital signatures, public key encryption, Diffie Hellman, proposals, counter proposals, nonces, identities, phase 1 negotiation: main mode, aggressive mode, base mode. Phase 2 negotiation: quick mode, new group mode. Hands on IKE packet analysis. More IKE PFS, IKE and dynamic addresses, XAUTH, hybrid authentication, CRACK, ULA, PIC. User level authentication. IKE renegotiation, heartbeats. Hands on Troubleshooting IPsec. IKEv2 The IKEv2 exchange, IKE_SA_INIT, IKE_AUTH, CREATE_CHILD_SA, IKEv2 packets, the informational exchange. Comparing IKev1 vs IKE v2. Hands on IKEv2 configuration and analysis. PKI What is PKI?, Digital certificates, Certificate authorities, CA servers, RA, VA, certificates, CA hierarchy, CRLs, certificate formats. Hands on installing and configuring certificate servers. IPsec issues NAT, IPsec overhead and fragmentation. Summary IPsec strengths and weaknesses. Where to get further information.

This English for Specific Purposes (ESP) tutoring course is designed to cater to the specific language needs of adult learners in their professional or academic fields. Participants will focus on developing their communication skills in English within their specific area of expertise. Through targeted lessons, practical exercises, and industry-specific materials, learners will enhance their ability to effectively communicate in English within their professional or academic contexts.  Course Duration: 10 weeks (40 sessions) Course Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will: 1. Communicate confidently and effectively in English within their specific field. 2. Expand industry-specific vocabulary and terminology. 3. Develop listening skills to understand specialised language and accents. 4. Enhance reading comprehension skills for professional or academic texts. 5. Write accurately and coherently for specific purposes within their field. Course Outline: Week 1: Introduction and Needs Analysis - Introduction to course objectives, expectations, and ESP methodology - Conducting a needs analysis to identify participants' specific language requirements - Establishing individual learning goals and expectations within their field of expertise Week 2: Speaking Skills for Specific Purposes - Developing effective oral communication skills for professional or academic contexts - Practicing role-plays, presentations, and discussions within participants' fields - Enhancing fluency and confidence in expressing ideas and opinions Week 3: Listening Skills for Specific Purposes - Developing listening skills to understand specialised language, accents, and speech patterns - Authentic listening materials related to participants' field of expertise - Strategies for effective note-taking and comprehension of specialised content Week 4: Vocabulary Expansion within Participants' Field - Expanding industry-specific vocabulary and terminology - Exercises and activities to reinforce and practice specialized vocabulary - Incorporating technical terms and jargon into spoken and written communication Week 5: Reading Comprehension for Professional/Academic Texts - Developing reading skills for professional or academic texts within participants' fields - Strategies for skimming, scanning, and understanding complex texts - Identifying main ideas, supporting details, and summarizing key information Week 6: Writing Skills for Specific Purposes - Improving writing skills for specific purposes within participants' field - Practice exercises for writing reports, proposals, academic papers, etc. - Enhancing clarity, coherence, and professional tone in written communication Week 7: Presentation and Public Speaking Skills - Developing effective presentation skills within participants' field - Techniques for organizing content, engaging the audience, and delivering impactful presentations - Practice sessions with feedback and guidance Week 8: Negotiation and Business Communication Skills - Enhancing negotiation and business communication skills for professional contexts - Role-plays and practical exercises for effective communication in meetings, negotiations, etc. - Polishing language and strategies for successful business interactions Week 9: Cross-Cultural Communication - Understanding cultural nuances and adapting communication styles within participants' field - Developing intercultural communication skills for international professional contexts - Practicing effective communication in multicultural environments Week 10: Review and Final Evaluation - Reviewing course content and addressing individual needs - Comprehensive review exercises for all language skills within participants' field - Final evaluation and feedback session Note: This syllabus serves as a guideline and can be customised based on the specific needs, interests, and proficiency levels of the participants. The course may also include guest speakers or industry-specific field trips to provide further immersion and practical application of language skills.

SIP security training course description A hands-on course covering SIP security. It is assumed that delegates already know SIP as this course focuses purely on the security issues in SIP IP telephony networks. Hands-on practicals follow each major theory session and include use of various SIP security tools such as vomit, sipp, sipsak and sivus amongst others. What will you learn Secure SIP networks Use various SIP security tools SIP security training course details Who will benefit: Technical staff working with SIP. Technical security staff. Prerequisites: SIP for engineers Duration 2 days SIP security training course contents SIP review SIP infrastructure and entities, example SIP session. Hands on Simple SIP network with and without authentication. SIP security attacks DOS attacks, infrastructure attacks, eavesdropping, spoofing, replay, message integrity. Hands on Basic SIP packet capture, infrastructure attacks. SIP tools SIP packet creation: Sivus, SIPsak, PROTOS, SFTF, SIP bomber, SIPp, Seagull, Nastysip. SIP packet generators: SIPNess, NetDude. Monitoring: Wireshark, Cain & Abel, Vomit, Oreka, VoiPong. Scripts and tools: SIP-Fun, Skora.net, kphone-ddos, sip-scan, sip-kill, sip-redirectrtp. Health of different tools. Hands on Generating SIP packets, rebuilding conversations from captured packets, password cracking. VPNs and SIP IPSec, AH, ESP, transport mode, tunnel mode, Pre Shared Keys, Public keys. Hands on SIP calls over IPSec. Secure SIP signaling SIP relationship with HTTP, Deprecated HTTP 1.0 basic authentication, HTTP 1.1 Digest authentication, S/MIME, SIPS, SIPS URI, TLS, DTLS, PKI infrastructures. Hands on SIP with TLS. Secure media streams SRTP, features, packet format, default encryption, default authentication, key distribution. S/MIME, MIKEY, SDP security descriptions. SIP security agreements. Hands on Analysing SRTP packets. Firewalls NAT traversal. Impact of firewall on infrastructure attacks. TLS and firewalls. SIP specific firewalls. Hands on SIP calls through a firewall.

IPv6 training course description IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol. This hands-on course looks at the benefits and features of the new protocol along with an assessment of the likely impact of the protocol and migration strategies. Practical exercises using PCs and routers follow the major sessions in order to reinforce the theory. What will you learn Configure PCs and routers for IPv6. Troubleshoot IPv6 networks. Analyse IPv6 packets. Plan migration strategies for IPv6. Integrate IPv6 and IPv4 networks. IPv6 training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working in the field of networking. Prerequisites: TCP/IP Foundation for engineers Duration 3 days IPv6 training course contents Introduction Reasons for IPv6, IPv4 weaknesses, what is IPv6? IPv4 solutions for solving address wastage, the origins of IPv6. hands on IPv6 on a PC, IPv6 on a router. IPv6 addressing IPv6 address allocation, address format, Prefixes but no masks, address categories, scope zones, aggregatable global unicast, link local, Unicast, Multicast, Anycast. Prefix delegation. hands on Link local addresses, manual address configuration, name resolution. Plug and play Plug and play addressing, ICMP neighbour discovery, router solicitation, DHCPv6, stateful autoconfiguration and stateless autoconfiguration. hands on Plug and play addresses and default gateways. The IPv6 header The IPv4 header, IPv6 header format, QoS, flow control, priority field, extension headers, hop by hop, destinations header, fragmentation header, security, IPsec, AH, ESP, TCP and UDP, ICMPv6. hands on IPv6 packet analysis. Migrating to IPv6 Overview, migration, dual stack, IPv4 compatible addresses, DNS, IPv6 DNS issues, AAAA records, IPv6 reverse delegation, DNS transport, protocol translators, NAT-PT, NAPT-PT, NAT64, DNS64, tunnelling, tunnel establishment, tunnel brokers, Tunnel types. hands on Dual stack operation, tunnelling, IPv6 name resolution. IPv6 routing IPv6 routing, RIPng packet format, RIPng for IPv6, OSPF for IPv6, MBGP, multiprotocol routing, MBGP and multicasts, MBGP and IPv6. hands on Base router setup for IPv6, IPv6 static routes, RIPng, OSPFv3. MBGP

IP security training course description Connection to the Internet is becoming an essential business tool. This course looks at firewalls, digital certificates, encryption and other essential topics for e-commerce sites. A generic course that looks at firewalls and VPNs. Hands on sessions include using hacking tools and configuring firewalls. What will you learn Describe: Basic security attacks RADIUS SSL IPSec VPNs Implement digital certificates Deploy firewalls to protect Web servers and users. Secure Web servers and clients. IP security training course details Who will benefit: Network administrators. Network operators. Security auditors Prerequisites: TCP/IP foundation for engineers Duration 2 days IP security training course contents TCP/IP review Brief overview of the relevant headers. Hands on Download software for course, use analyser to capture passwords on the wire. Security review Policies, Types of security breach, denial of service, data manipulation, data theft, data destruction, security checklists, incident response. Security exploits The Internet worm, IP spoofing, SYN attack, hijacking, Ping o' Death… keeping up to date with new threats. Hands on Use a port scanning tool, use a 'hacking' tool. Firewalls Products, Packet filtering, DMZ, content filtering, stateful packet inspection, Proxies, firewall architectures, Intrusion Detection Systems, Viruses. Hands on Set up a firewall and prevent attacks. NAT NAT and PAT, Why use NAT, NAT-ALG, RSIP. Encryption Encryption keys, Encryption strengths, Secret key vs Public key, algorithms, systems, SSL, SSH, Public Key Infrastructures. Hands on Run a password-cracking program. Authentication Types of authentication, Securid, Biometrics, PGP, Digital certificates, X.509 v3, Certificate authorities, CRLs, PPP authentication, RADIUS. Hands on Using certificates. Web client and server security Cookies, browser certificates, censorship, PICS. Operating system security, Web server user authentication, Restricting access, Logging, Securing CGI scripts. Hands on Browser security. VPNs and IPSec What is a VPN, tunnelling, L2F, PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, AH, ESP, transport mode, tunnel mode.

Definitive VPNs training course description A hands on course covering VPNs from the basics of benefits and Internet vs. Intranet VPNs through to detailed analysis of the technologies involved in VPNs. All the major VPN protocols are covered including PPPoE, L2TP, SSL, IPsec and dynamic VPNs. MPLS L3 VPNs are also covered. What will you learn Describe what a VPN is and explain the difference between different VPN types. Recognise the design and implementation issues involved in implementing a VPN. Explain how the various technologies involved in a VPN work. Describe and implement: L2TP, IPsec, SSL, MPLS L3 VPNs. Evaluate VPN technologies. Definitive VPNs training course details Who will benefit: Network personnel. Prerequisites: IP Security foundation for engineers. Duration 3 days Definitive VPNs training course contents VPN overview What is a VPN? What is an IP VPN? VPNs vs. Private Data Networks, Internet VPNs, Intranet VPNs, Remote access VPNs, Site to site VPNs, VPN benefits and disadvantages. VPN Tunnelling VPN components, VPN tunnels, tunnel sources, tunnel end points, hardware based VPNs, Firewall based VPNs, software based VPNs, tunnelling topologies, tunnelling protocols, which tunnelling protocol should you use? requirements of tunnels. VPN security components Critical VPN security requirements, Encryption and authentication, Diffie Hellman, DES, 3DES, RSA, PKI, Ca server types, pre shared keys versus certificates, Enrolling with a CA, RADIUS in VPNs. PPP Encapsulation, operation, authentication. Hands on Setting up PPPoE and analysing PPP packets. PPTP Overview, Components, How it works, control and data connections, GRE. Hands on Building a PPTP VPN. L2TP Overview, components, how it works, security, packet authentication, L2TP/IPSec, L2TP/PPP, Layer 2 versus layer 3 tunnelling. Hands on Implementing a L2TP tunnel. IPSec AH, HMAC, ESP, transport and tunnel modes, Security Association, use of encryption and authentication algorithms, manual vs automated key exchange, NAT and other issues. Hands on Implementing an IPSec VPN. Intranet VPNs Headers, architecture, label switching, LDP, MPLS VPNs. VPN products and services PE and CPE, management, various VPN products. VPN issues and architectures VPN architectures: terminate VPN before/on/ after/in parallel with firewall, resilience issues, VRRP, performance issues, QoS and VPNs. documentation.

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Marilia Savvides founded The Plot Agency in 2024. She began her career in publishing at Peters Fraser and Dunlop, where she spent eight years, first as International Rights Agent, and later as Literary Agent, building her own list of authors. In 2019, she joined 42MP, where she worked as Literary Agent for four years, helping to launch and set up the Book Division. She is particularly interested in fiction that is beautifully written and cleverly constructed, but still accessible to a wide readership. She is often drawn to darker tales that weave together excellent characters and an impossible-to-put-down story, from immersive book club novels with a splash of suspense, crime and thrillers, accessible horror, and speculative, genre-bending or dystopian stories. She also adores smart, witty contemporary rom-com in the style of Emily Henry. In the thriller, crime and mystery space she is interested in most areas, except military thrillers and organised crime/ mafia / mob stories. Big hooks and clever set ups are a big bonus! She adores Karin Slaughter (especially her standalone novels) and Gillian Flynn. In the book club / reading group space, she’s particularly drawn to fiction in the vein of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng, and absolutely fell in love with Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll, both for the incredible voice, and the exquisite use of structure and time. Complicated family dynamics, empathetic and smart approaches to controversial issues, stand out protagonists (like Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry or Bernadette in Where D’You Go Bernadette), long buried secrets, complicity, the road to justice, and impossible decisions, are all themes she finds herself drawn to. In the horror space, she’s a sucker for amazing female-centric stories in the vein of Yellowjackets, and the kind of contemporary, accessible horror that Stephen King always nails. She wants to get lost in a world that feels within reach of ours. In the speculative and dystopian spaces, she’s interested in genius ideas that set up big questions or reflect the most broken (and sometimes hidden) parts of society. She loves Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, and also adored The Leftovers, Station Eleven, Wanderers, and The Power. The what-ifs of life and fiction fascinate her. In the grounded sci-fi space, she’d love to find a smart, immersive, and accessible story like The Martian. She doesn’t represent fantasy or romantasy. In regards to sci-fi, unless it’s very grounded and has crossover potential to a mainstream audience, it’s not for her. In the romance space, she’s particularly drawn to smart, complex and witty characters, where the chemistry is jumping off the page. She loves contemporary settings and all the tropes, though the voice and characters must come first to make the reading experience fully immersive. She wants to be cackling, and rooting for the characters with all her heart. She is very hands-on editorially, and loves working with her authors to shape their manuscripts, and brainstorm ideas. The best part of the job is discovering debut authors, and helping them find a home for their books. Marilia would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 - 2 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single Word document.  (In addition to the paid sessions, Marilia is kindly offering one free session for low income/underrepresented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 13th August 2025

LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Daisy Chandley joined PFD in 2019 after graduating from the University of Oxford with a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She is an Associate Agent and assistant to Senior Agent Annabel Merullo and Head of Books Tim Bates as the UK sub-agent for New Directions Publishing in the US. Daisy is actively building a list of both fiction and non-fiction authors across a range of genres. With fiction, Daisy's wishlist roughly falls into three categories – if something feels like it overlaps between them, even better! 1) Sharp, original novels on the literary to upmarket spectrum, all the way from deeply dark and boundary-pushing books like Hurricane Season, Under The Skin or In The Cut to those balancing edge, heart and humour, like Detransition, Baby or A Visit From The Goon Squad. She loves irreverent wit, daring approaches in narrative or form, and seriously unsettling stories in equal measure, and if you can bring a few of those elements into one, it’ll go straight to the top of her. 2) Com-heavy rom-coms, whether in the dry but ultimately sob-inducing vein of Greta and Valdin or a Nora Ephron film, the escapist screwball delight of a Cary Grant classic, or the more unusual, genre-bending style of something like Palm Springs. Daisy is a sucker for Emily Henry and will always be happy to see an innovative take on tropey love stories, but is equally very keen to see to things a bit outside of the box, whether that’s integrating speculative elements, dark humour, or topical issues. In any case, humour and originality are my priority, and affectionately snarky bickering is the best way to make her fall head over heels with a couple. 3) Sleuths! Daisy is not the right person for police procedurals, but loves classic detectives and amateur sleuths. Whether it’s a delightful Knives Out or Nancy Drew homage or an intricate, unputdownable mystery on the darker side, the minute someone finds a good old fashioned clue, count her in! Overall, whether it’s a delightfully fun and scandalous page-turner or something really bold and experimental, if it’s stylish and smart – and maybe even a bit sexy – Daisy would love to see it. Daisy is definitely interested in literary speculative fiction, though not generally looking for hard SFF. Across the board, she is always looking for stories that explore sexuality, race, gender, and disability, and would particularly love to hear from writers whose voices and experiences aren’t given enough space in publishing. On the non-fiction side, Daisy is looking for bold new insights and underrepresented voices on popular science, nature writing, relationships, social issues and politics, and am always especially interested in fresh, playful and exciting writing on pop culture, love and the internet. She’d also love to see illuminating narrative non-fiction, whether a beautiful and lyrical exploration, or an enthralling and explosive deep-dive. A (large) handful of authors past and present whose work Daisy loves include Patricia Lockwood, Toni Morrison, Elif Batuman, Gillian Flynn, Shirley Jackson, Raven Leilani, Max Porter, Carmen Maria Machado, Virginia Woolf, Sayaka Murata, Kiley Reid, Sally Rooney, George Saunders, Joan Didion, Amy Liptrot, Ottessa Moshfegh, J.D. Salinger, Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, and Fernanda Melchor. Daisy is not the right fit for Children’s or YA authors.  Daisy would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 2,500 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Daisy is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Thursday 14th August 2025

Cyber security training course description This cyber security course focusses on the network side of security. Technologies rather than specific products are studied focussing around the protection of networks using firewalls and VPNs. What will you learn Describe: - Basic security attacks - RADIUS - SSL - VPNs Deploy firewalls and secure networks Explain how the various technologies involved in an IP VPN work. Describe and implement: - L2TP - IPsec - SSL - MPLS, L3, VPNs. Cyber security training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working in the security field. Prerequisites: TCP/IP foundation for engineers Duration 5 days Cyber security training course contents Security review Denial of service, DDOS, data manipulation, data theft, data destruction, security checklists, incident response. Security exploits IP spoofing, SYN attacks, hijacking, reflectors and amplification, keeping up to date with new threats. Hands on port scanning, use a 'hacking' tool. Client and Server security Windows, Linux, Log files, syslogd, accounts, data security. Hands on Server hardening. Firewall introduction What is a firewall? Firewall benefits, concepts. HAnds on launching various attacks on a target. Firewall types Packet filtering, SPI, Proxy, Personal. Software firewalls, hardware firewalls. Firewall products. Hands on Simple personal firewall configuration. Packet filtering firewalls Things to filter in the IP header, stateless vs. stateful filtering. ACLs. Advantages of packet filtering. Hands on Configuring packet filtering firewalls. Stateful packet filtering Stateful algorithms, packet-by-packet inspection, application content filtering, tracks, special handling (fragments, IP options), sessions with TCP and UDP. Firewall hacking detection: SYN attacks, SSL, SSH interception. Hands on SPI firewalls. Proxy firewalls Circuit level, application level, SOCKS. Proxy firewall plusses and minuses. Hands on Proxy firewalls. Firewall architectures Small office, enterprise, service provider, what is a DMZ? DMZ architectures, bastion hosts, multi DMZ. Virtual firewalls, transparent firewalls. Dual firewall design, high availability, load balancing, VRRP. Hands on Resilient firewall architecture. Testing firewalls Configuration checklist, testing procedure, monitoring firewalls, logging, syslog. Hands on Testing firewalls. Encryption Encryption keys, Encryption strengths, Secret key vs Public key, algorithms, systems, SSL, SSH, Public Key Infrastructures. Hands on Password cracking. Authentication Types of authentication, Securid, Biometrics, PGP, Digital certificates, X.509 v3, Certificate authorities, CRLs, RADIUS. Hands on Using certificates. VPN overview What is a VPN? What is an IP VPN? VPNs vs. Private Data Networks, Internet VPNs, Intranet VPNs, Remote access VPNs, Site to site VPNs, VPN benefits and disadvantages. VPN Tunnelling VPN components, VPN tunnels, tunnel sources, tunnel end points, tunnelling topologies, tunnelling protocols, which tunnelling protocol? Requirements of tunnels. L2TP Overview, components, how it works, security, packet authentication, L2TP/IPsec, L2TP/PPP, L2 vs L3 tunnelling. Hands on Implementing a L2TP tunnel. IPsec AH, HMAC, ESP, transport and tunnel modes, Security Association, encryption and authentication algorithms, manual vs automated key exchange, NAT and other issues. Hands on Implementing an IPsec VPN. SSL VPNs Layer 4 VPNs, advantages, disadvantages. SSL. TLS. TLS negotiation, TLS authentication. TLS and certificates. Hands on Implementing a SSL VPN. MPLS VPNs Introduction to MPLS, why use MPLS, Headers, architecture, label switching, LDP, MPLS VPNs, L2 versus L3 VPNs. Point to point versus multipoint MPLS VPNs. MBGP and VRFs and their use in MPLS VPNs. Hands on Implementing a MPLS L3 VPN. Penetration testing Hacking webservers, web applications, Wireless networks and mobile platforms. Concepts, threats, methodology. Hands on Hacking tools and countermeasures.