Norwich University MSISA Progress

Rumblr33

Anyone else notice the due dates of the paper's change from Sunday at 11:55pm to Saturday at 11:55pm? My current Instructor told us not to worry about it and he would allow them to be due on Sunday. I am in the Information Technology class right now. Great to see everyone just plugging away and getting this MSISA completed.

FSF150

Rumblr33 wrote: »

Anyone else notice the due dates of the paper's change from Sunday at 11:55pm to Saturday at 11:55pm? My current Instructor told us not to worry about it and he would allow them to be due on Sunday. I am in the Information Technology class right now. Great to see everyone just plugging away and getting this MSISA completed.

I think all of my classes so far have followed a Sun-Sat week with grading, at least with the dropbox deadlines. I'm not sure if every professor handles it a bit differently or what.

fullcrowmoon

For some reason, the first half of my third seminar (Human Factors and Managing Risk) had Sunday due dates. Norwich changed that and said it had been a mistake. I think Saturday due dates are the norm.

FSF150

fullcrowmoon wrote: »

For some reason, the first half of my third seminar (Human Factors and Managing Risk) had Sunday due dates. Norwich changed that and said it had been a mistake. I think Saturday due dates are the norm.

Yeah, now that I think about it there was one week where we had an exam AND a lab due. I was certain the due date was 11:55 Sunday. Reeeeallly glad I double checked that Saturday evening. Still made for an unpleasant few hours.

globalenjoi

I've been reading through this thread to get some info on Norwich after my rejection from Penn State. It looks a little less technical than what I was looking for originally, but does this program go pretty far in prepping you for the CISSP? I thought I read somewhere on these forums that it does, but I really don't know much about the school, so I'm digging for info. It does seem like its a ton of writing for sure. I'm looking for alternatives to Penn State now, especially since I don't have a reason for the rejection to make adjustments and improvements on.

FSF150

globalenjoi wrote: »

I've been reading through this thread to get some info on Norwich after my rejection from Penn State. It looks a little less technical than what I was looking for originally, but does this program go pretty far in prepping you for the CISSP? I thought I read somewhere on these forums that it does, but I really don't know much about the school, so I'm digging for info. It does seem like its a ton of writing for sure. I'm looking for alternatives to Penn State now, especially since I don't have a reason for the rejection to make adjustments and improvements on.

You have the option to sign up for a CISSP class to run concurrently with another seminar if you want, I"ll do that during my electives. I've only completed half of the core right now, but I wouldn't expect to be prepared for CISSP just off of the core material. We'll see what fullcrowmoon says, though, she's actually got the cert.

fullcrowmoon

When I applied to Norwich I was told they preferred for you to have the CISSP already. Some of the stuff covered in the 4 core classes relates to the CISSP, but I wouldn't depend on it for your only resource unless you've got a really strong technical background. I do have a technical background so I studied on my own for about 4 months and then took a week-long boot camp that included the exam, and I passed.

In other news, I took the CISM on June 11th and have no idea whether I passed or not. Nail-biting has commenced.

FSF150

fullcrowmoon wrote: »

When I applied to Norwich I was told they preferred for you to have the CISSP already. Some of the stuff covered in the 4 core classes relates to the CISSP, but I wouldn't depend on it for your only resource unless you've got a really strong technical background. I do have a technical background so I studied on my own for about 4 months and then took a week-long boot camp that included the exam, and I passed.

In other news, I took the CISM on June 11th and have no idea whether I passed or not. Nail-biting has commenced.

I really hope ISACA moves to computer-based by the time I sit for CISA. Good luck to you - can't imagine CISM would be much more brutal than CISSP. Is it a more policy-based than technical test?

fullcrowmoon

The CISM was far less technical than the CISSP, so that's something.

snakeuptilit

FSF150 wrote: »

I think we're all scheduled for the 2017 one. Give us a report if you're going!

Sorry for the late reply, I attended the residency about two weeks ago. It was really awesome! Meeting everyone and networking, it really made you feel like a part of Norwich, instead of just being an online student. I was also able to attend a hackathon which was ran by one of the forensics/incident response professors and that was also an incredible learning experience. I've been told that it will be at next years as well, I highly recommend signing up for it. I'm about 5 weeks into my last class (Vulnerability Management II) and have been very happy with my norwich experience. If anyone has any questions about residency or the VM focus please feel free to ask!

fullcrowmoon

snakeuptilit wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply, I attended the residency about two weeks ago. It was really awesome! Meeting everyone and networking, it really made you feel like a part of Norwich, instead of just being an online student. I was also able to attend a hackathon which was ran by one of the forensics/incident response professors and that was also an incredible learning experience. I've been told that it will be at next years as well, I highly recommend signing up for it. I'm about 5 weeks into my last class (Vulnerability Management II) and have been very happy with my norwich experience. If anyone has any questions about residency or the VM focus please feel free to ask!

I'm going with Computer Forensics/Incident Response, but I'd really like to hear details about the Vulnerability Mgmt concentration. I'd love to do both, but I'm uncertain about committing to that much work. Talk to me!

FSF150

I'm almost too excited for the vulnerability management classes, it's making me view the core as the slog I need to make it through for the fun stuff.

Yes - I'd love to hear about them. Do they follow a similar format to the other classes, or are they more lab-oriented, less writing? What was your background going in, and did you have trouble keeping up or was it a good crawl-walk-run kind of deal?

snakeuptilit

fullcrowmoon wrote: »

I'm going with Computer Forensics/Incident Response, but I'd really like to hear details about the Vulnerability Mgmt concentration. I'd love to do both, but I'm uncertain about committing to that much work. Talk to me!

That's an excellent idea! I signed up for the hackathon at Residency which was lead by the professor that runs that concentration. He gave us a crash course on forensics after we finished early and he is a really really good instructor. VM has been a good concentration, I've learned a ton about metasploit and how to conduct a penetration test, from paperwork to executing the test to the report, it's been really cool.

FSF150 wrote: »

I'm almost too excited for the vulnerability management classes, it's making me view the core as the slog I need to make it through for the fun stuff.

Yes - I'd love to hear about them. Do they follow a similar format to the other classes, or are they more lab-oriented, less writing? What was your background going in, and did you have trouble keeping up or was it a good crawl-walk-run kind of deal?

One of the main reasons I decided with VM is the lack of long writing assignments. There is only one per class and it's not difficult at all, it's about penetration testing, besides that they're are not papers. It's very much lab oriented, you get connections to VMs that run Metasploit and other type of vulnerability management related tools. My background, I have about 3 years direct info-sec experience and CISSP,SEC+. I'm currently in VM II and it's not hard to keep up at all, definitely crawl walk run.

Feel free to ask any more questions, I am an a open book about Norwich, Residency, and Vulnerability management as I finish up within the next month

FSF150

snakeuptilit wrote: »

One of the main reasons I decided with VM is the lack of long writing assignments. There is only one per class and it's not difficult at all, it's about penetration testing, besides that they're are not papers. It's very much lab oriented, you get connections to VMs that run Metasploit and other type of vulnerability management related tools. My background, I have about 3 years direct info-sec experience and CISSP,SEC+. I'm currently in VM II and it's not hard to keep up at all, definitely crawl walk run.

If I wasn't sold already.... VM for the win!

Did you do the river run? Ring ceremony?

snakeuptilit

Yeah, The vulnerability management focus is really great.

Indeed I did the Dog River run, it's definitely a must and very fun! I did not buy a ring so no ceremony. I highly recommend signing up for the Leadership Summit, the Hackathon, and honor society induction.

Read about the hackathon here: Norwich graduate students to hack a local business by request | Office of Communications

SRM1985

As somebody who is seriously considering this program, this thread has been great. I do have a question regarding the labs, though. Can somebody explain what the term "lab" means to the Norwich program? I have been told that there really isn't any hands-on labs work (in the traditional sense) unless you take the VM concentration.

FSF150

SRM1985, The core labs are hands-on, but not super difficult even to a neophyte like myself. You're logging in to a virtual windows or linux system and doing basic sysadmin or security tech stuff. You'll then answer questions related to the lab. While they didn't always mirror the weekly studies I thought the labs were a cool insight into the actual security work which I haven't gotten to do. Since you already have that pile of certifications I don't think you'll have any trouble with them.

In practice, the labs are fun and an easy A if you just do them. On average they don't take more than a couple hours. I did have one timeout on me once, re-doing it all wasn't fun. Didn't make that mistake again. They're a pleasant distraction from the research/papers/conferences.

It does sound like the VM labs will be even more fun.

SRM1985

FSF150 - thanks for the insight. While I do have some experience and certs, none of my roles have required much in terms of hands on application which is one of the reasons I am looking at Masters program. It's good to hear the Norwich program doesn't overlook that.

FSF150

SRM1985 wrote: »

FSF150 - thanks for the insight. While I do have some experience and certs, none of my roles have required much in terms of hands on application which is one of the reasons I am looking at Masters program. It's good to hear the Norwich program doesn't overlook that.

It's definitely not a "technical" program. The labs give you experience with active directory, some linux network stuff, tools such as Nessus, Wireshark, NetWitness, etc, but it's introductory. That's why I'm doing the VM route. Six months straight of lab/hacking work? Yes. Yes please.

snakeuptilit wrote: »

Yeah, The vulnerability management focus is really great.

Indeed I did the Dog River run, it's definitely a must and very fun! I did not buy a ring so no ceremony. I highly recommend signing up for the Leadership Summit, the Hackathon, and honor society induction.

Read about the hackathon here: Norwich graduate students to hack a local business by request | Office of Communications

Thanks for the insight! I'm the last person anyone would describe as an outgoing active participant type, but I anticipate signing up for every event possible that week. Great opportunities.

Rumblr33

Well I cannot wait until these other classes are over and I am doing the VM labs. This Information Assurance Technology class is dragging.

fullcrowmoon

My current scorecard:
GI512A Foundations & Historical Underpinnings of Info Ass - A
GI522L Info Ass Tech - A
GI532A Human Factors & Managing Risk - A
Info Ass Mgmt & Analytics - In Progress
Computer Security Incident Response Team Management - TBD
Computer Forensic Investigation - TBD

My official concentration is the Computer Forensics/Incident Response track, but I've emailed the student advisor to ask if they'll let me double-up with Vulnerability Management as well. If the VM track is really mostly lab work, then I feel like with my 15+ years as a UNIX Admin/Network Engineer/etc. I can handle it, while still writing papers for the other concentration. My mother is an English teacher so I can write quickly and well, which is lucky for me. The student advisor hasn't gotten back to me yet, so I'll probably call her today to see what the verdict was. I'll be surprised if they let me carry 12 hours at once, but it would totally rock if they said yes.

Regardless, I'll be at the June 2017 Residency. Sounds like there will be several of us there!

MickyDee

I was on the fence between Norwich, UMUC, and Excelsior, but after reading all of the positive reviews for this school, I applied and was accepted for the Fall 2016 cohort. I'm a little hesitant to start another Master's program, as I already have an MBA, but I am looking forward to learning all of the new material in regards to information security.

fullcrowmoon

The Norwich MSISA Program Director gave me permission to do the CFIR and VM concentrations simultaneously, but after having a think I'm going to do the VM only. This is a win for the I-want-to-have-fun-rather-than-think-too-hard-because-I'm-tired-of-adulting-so-much team.

My current scorecard:
GI512 Foundations & Historical Underpinnings of Info Ass - A
GI522 Info Ass Tech - A
GI532 Human Factors & Managing Risk - A
GI542 Info Ass Mgmt & Analytics - In Progress
GI562 Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing I - TBD
GI563 Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing II - TBD

FSF150

MickyDee wrote: »

I was on the fence between Norwich, UMUC, and Excelsior, but after reading all of the positive reviews for this school, I applied and was accepted for the Fall 2016 cohort. I'm a little hesitant to start another Master's program, as I already have an MBA, but I am looking forward to learning all of the new material in regards to information security.

The MS plus the MBA should be a good one-two punch. At least, I hope so!

fullcrowmoon wrote: »

The Norwich MSISA Program Director gave me permission to do the CFIR and VM concentrations simultaneously, but after having a think I'm going to do the VM only. This is a win for the I-want-to-have-fun-rather-than-think-too-hard-because-I'm-tired-of-adulting-so-much team.

Welcome to the dark side. I see someone heard back about CISM, congrats!

fullcrowmoon

FSF150 wrote: »

Welcome to the dark side. I see someone heard back about CISM, congrats!

I did, indeed! Just faxed in my application to become an official CISM. I'm done with certifications for now, at least until I finish Norwich.

FSF150

Hard to believe we're almost done another class. Paper #3, Quiz #2, then the big'un... How did Analytics turn out? One class left in the core, feels like I just started.

I like not having labs in Human Factors but they were always a reliable "A" to pad the grade. I'm going to have to take my final assignments seriously to keep that 4.0 going.

For those who are considering vulnerability management I emailed the instructor and asked for some recommendations to ensure I could handle jumping into it without a true tech background. He said total neophytes had done fine, but knowing the following would be helpful:

-basic networking: CIDR addressing, the OSI model (a general understanding, you don't need in depth knowledge of each layer or even the ability to name each layer off the top of your head). If you don't already have this knowledge, the Wikipedia pages for these topics would be a good start.
-bash and windows command line: you need the ability to get around on a system. You should be familiar with cd, ls, dir, rm, cp, mv, cat, chmod, grep, ifconfig/ipconfig, etc. If you don't already have this knowledge, your best starting point would be to Google "windows command line tutorial" or "bash tutorial"
-Virtualization: the labs are virtual, so a very basic understanding of VMs can be useful for troubleshooting any issues you run into. For example, you should know the difference between suspending and resetting a machine.

The codeacademy command line tutorial is a quick intro, and I'll be searching for bash tutorials as well.

fullcrowmoon

FSF150 wrote: »

Hard to believe we're almost done another class. Paper #3, Quiz #2, then the big'un... How did Analytics turn out? One class left in the core, feels like I just started.

I like not having labs in Human Factors but they were always a reliable "A" to pad the grade. I'm going to have to take my final assignments seriously to keep that 4.0 going.

For those who are considering vulnerability management I emailed the instructor and asked for some recommendations to ensure I could handle jumping into it without a true tech background. He said total neophytes had done fine, but knowing the following would be helpful:

The codeacademy command line tutorial is a quick intro, and I'll be searching for bash tutorials as well.

This won't be too hard for me then, given my UNIX/Linux admin experience. I'm so tired of writing papers. I'm ready to have some fun! It looks like the majority of my cohort is going with the Vuln Mgmt & Pen Testing concentration. Two Cyber Laws, two Project Managements, and one lone Computer Forensics/Incident Response dude.

FSF150

fullcrowmoon wrote: »

I'm so tired of writing papers. I'm ready to have some fun!

That's me, for sure. I'm looking at the prompt for the final paper like...

fullcrowmoon

I have to finish my final paper for this last core class, and write a little bit of something for extra credit that the professor agreed to give me. I've got the paper started but man, I am dragging ass. 20,000 words in papers + weekly forum posts over 11 weeks at a time since September 5, 2015 is a LOT of frickin' WORDS. I'm tahrd. Just gotta push through this last bit and then it's on to Vulnerability Management and Penetration Testing which I hope will be all playing with tools that I already know and very few papers. My poor brain needs a rest.

MickyDee

I am starting Norwich's program on September 5th; just finished the online orientation. Since there are many members that are going to be finished with this program soon, I am wondering if you have any advice for somebody who isn't really that tech savvy and what you would have liked to known prior to starting this program? I'm about to sit for the Security+ exam soon, but aside from that and various readings, I don't have that strong of a background in the material.