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About This Repository

If you are here, that means you are a student enrolled in our Cybersecurity & Computer Forensics program, or just taking some of the CFS classes for fun (I get it, they are a blast).

Or, you may be someone outside of our program taking advantage of the Open Educational Resources (OER) -- if so, welcome!

This repository is a living document that is continuously evolving. Development began during the Fall 2025 semester and it has been growing ever since. It is hosted on GitHub and built using MkDocs, a static site generator designed for project documentation.

Future Workshop

I have plans to create a workshop where you can build your own MkDocs site — it's a great skill to have and would look great on a resume.

Why This Exists

A strong focal point of my teaching philosophy is that of accessibility and equity. It wasn't that long ago that I was a full-time student, and I remember the frustration of outdated textbooks and lab materials when it came to cybersecurity learning. As a program coordinator, the two biggest pain points I identified was that of high costs for learning platforms/eBooks/cloud labs and the fact that, in a lot of cases, the material was already outdated or the lab experiences fell short.

My goals behind this repository of information and resources for the Stark State College CFS program are:

  • Open source your education. The information you learn here is freely accessible even after you complete a course or graduate, serving as a reference as you move into your career.
  • A single source of truth. One organized, centralized location for your course reading materials and additional resources that will best aid your academic journey.
  • Cut textbook costs. Where possible, courses are "textbook free" with reading material supplied here.
    • NOTE: Not all courses may be textbook free — please consult your instructor and syllabus at the start of each semester.
  • Full control over content quality. By owning the content directly, I can make it more interactive, more visual, and more aligned with what industry actually expects from you.
  • Keep pace with the field. Cybersecurity and digital forensics change constantly. This format allows me to make continuous updates and iterations as trends and technologies shift. This is something a traditional textbook simply cannot do. For transparency on how AI tools assist in that process, see the Content Philosophy & AI Transparency page.

What You'll Find Here

  • eBooks — Course-specific reading material organized by chapter, covering everything from digital forensics fundamentals to incident response, mobile forensics, network forensics, and Windows forensics. These serve as your primary reading material in place of a traditional textbook.
  • Interactive Activities — Simulated, hands-on exercises embedded directly into the site. These range from forensic tool walkthroughs to attack surface analysis and log correlation case studies. Look for the "Activity" callouts within the eBook chapters followed by a clickable screenshot of the activity.
  • CompTIA Prep — Work in Progress. Practice exams, study tips, and hands-on activities aligned to certification objectives. Goals are to have material for A+, Security+, CySA+, and Linux+. See below for timeline for these resources.

Note

This site hosts only the learning material. All assignments (like quizzes, discussions, labs, etc.) will be found within your Brightspace course. Always ensure to review the class syllabus, course outline, and due dates within Brightspace weekly modules.

What's Next (Rough Timeline)

CyberAI

Currently, we are exploring the quickly growing field of CyberAI and how this can be integrated into the program. This relates to not only the security OF AI (protecting AI models, your personal LLM accounts, prompt injection attacks, etc.) but also the USE of AI to automate repetative tasks within security and digital forensics job roles. The use of AI for automation is not necessarily knew, but the recent advancements has heavily increased the importance and immediate need for this skill; even in entry-level positions.

CompTIA Prep Expansion

Work on CompTIA Security+ SY0-801 and CompTIA CySA+ CS0-004 exam prepartion resources will be done over Summer 2026 and will be ready by the Fall 2026 semester. Some notes:

  • Both of these are NEW and updated exams, due to release in Fall 2026. The resources will be built utilizing these new exam objectives. This means they will be relevant for 3+ years.
  • CFS136 Principles of Information Security aligns with the Security+ (and will be fully updated for this new SYO-801 exam).
  • CFS210 Cyber Defense Fundamentals aligns with the CySA+ (and will be fully updated for this new CS0-004 exam).

Tip

Yes, there is a dark mode! Look at the icon just to the left of the Search bar. You can also use the Search function to quickly find topics across all courses.