Think Positive Cyber

My name is Jeremiah O’Neal, and today is 6/10/2025, 6:33 PM. I’m at R8FA8CAA2-T2Phal-002-137 reflecting on my day’s studies and activities. This morning, I ran around Fiesta Island and practiced my Spanish, saying phrases like “In the morning, I ate an egg and a banana.” My afternoon included a 3.12-mile run in 33:15 minutes, followed by an engaging study session on cybersecurity fundamentals as I prepare for my SY0-701 Security+ exam.

Today’s key focus was understanding data at rest, data in transit, and data in use. Data at rest—stored on a hard drive, SSD, or flash drive—remains vulnerable without encryption. Full encryption ensures that every byte, including the OS, is protected. Rights and permissions are critical: operating systems allow file- and folder-level controls, supporting individual and group-level security.

Data in transit—moving through routers and switches—must be encrypted using protocols like TLS and IPsec. TLS protects web traffic, emails, and other application-layer exchanges through asymmetric encryption during handshakes and symmetric encryption during sessions. IPsec, on the other hand, operates at the network layer, securing entire packets via Transport or Tunnel modes.

Data in use is data actively processed by the system, typically decrypted in RAM. The Target breach in November 2013 is a stark reminder: attackers accessed memory to steal 110 million credit cards.

I also explored concepts like data sovereignty and GDPR, which govern data based on its physical location and jurisdiction. Technologies like GPS, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and mobile networks enable geolocation, determining user access based on their location. Corporations can fine-tune permissions to grant more access when users are on a corporate network.

Every step today—learning, running, and applying—brings me closer to Security+ success.