May 2025 INE News: Learn about Net+ Certification Prep, New CVE Labs, and more!

Welcome to the May edition of the INE Newsletter highlighting: newly released and coming soon training and certifications, upcoming events, and other news and resources.

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2025 Trend Watch: Insights from the INE Community

The INE LinkedIn community provides insights into what organizations leading IT and Cyber teams are facing in 2025. We asked the following question:

What's the biggest cybersecurity skills gap in your organization right now?

38% - Threat Hunting & Incident Response

27% - Cloud Security Architecture

18% - Secure Coding Practices

18% - Security Automation & Orchestration

[image from brad]

Key Takeaways

• Zero Trust is dominating security priorities: With 68% of respondents identifying Zero Trust implementation as their most critical networking priority, organizations are clearly prioritizing security models that verify every access request regardless of source or network location. This represents a significant shift from traditional perimeter-based security approaches.
• Traditional networking technologies taking a backseat: The combined low percentages for SD-WAN deployment (8%) and multi-cloud connectivity (9%) suggest that while these technologies remain relevant, they're currently overshadowed by the urgent need for comprehensive security frameworks. Even network automation (15%) is receiving less focus compared to Zero Trust initiatives.

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The More You Know

Check out what we’ve been talking about in the INE halls:

Blog | Critical Thinking: Your Key Weapon Against Evolving Cyber Threats

Blog | Navigating Mid-Career Shifts in Cybersecurity

Article | Cybersecurity Burnout Crisis: INE Security Offers Solutions to Sustainable Cybersecurity Careers

Article | INE Security Alert: World Password Day 2025 Cybersecurity Training Insights

What’s New

Threat Hunting Professional - New Learning Path Available Now!

INE launched a new learning path designed to help learners establish a proactive defense mentality and proactively hunt for threats in Threat Hunting Professional.  During the learning path, you’ll leverage tactical threat intelligence, memory forensics, endpoint/IDS/IPS events, uncommon data sources, SIEM solutions, and more. 

Check out the courses:

• Introduction to Threat Hunting
• Threat Hunting: Hunting the Network & Network Analysis
• Threat Hunting: Hunting the Endpoint & Endpoint Analysis

Check out the learning path!

CCIE Data Center - New Course!

Now Available: Automating VXLAN BGP EVPN with Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) is an advanced training course designed to guide you through the automation of data center fabrics using Cisco NDFC. Explore core concepts and real-world implementations of VXLAN BGP EVPN, learn how to deploy fabrics using LAN Classic and Easy Fabric modes, and more.

Devnet Professional CORE Exam: 350-901 DEVCOR - New Courses!

Now Available:

• Software Development & Design
• Using APIs
• Application Deployment & Security

Coming Soon:

• Cisco Platforms
• Infrastructure & Automation

Check out all the learning paths and courses available now on my.ine.com.

Live Virtual Training

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Interested in discounted Live Virtual Trainings for your team?

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Trending Certifications

Junior Penetration Tester (eJPT) Certification

A milestone red team certification that simulates the skills utilized during a real-world engagement.

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Certified Incident Responder (eCIR) Certification

An advanced cybersecurity certification that offers complex Incident Handling & Response scenarios to challenge cybersecurity professionals.

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Certified Professional Penetration Tester (eCPPT) Certification

A 100% practical and highly respected Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Professional certification.

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Check out our site to see the full list of offerings from INE Security!

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CTF Arena 

Round 16 | Token Takeover

Red Team | Medium | 14 Days

Token Takeover

Token Takeover is a practical challenge that explores common weaknesses in JSON Web Token implementations. Participants interact with a simulated environment to identify and exploit authentication flaws, misconfigurations, and logic errors in token handling. The lab focuses on demonstrating how insecure JWT practices can lead to privilege escalation and unauthorized access, highlighting the importance of proper validation and secure implementation.

About the Challenge:

This challenge simulates a realistic file management system that uses JWTS for authentication and access control. Participants will analyse and exploit multiple JWT vulnerabilities by:

• Brute-forcing a weak secret key to reveal sensitive token data.
• Manipulating token payloads to escalate privileges unexpectedly.
• Injecting malicious payloads into the token header to trigger SQL Injection effects.
• Forging tokens by bypassing signature verification due to misconfiguration.

This multi-layered challenge emphasises critical thinking, precision, and a hands-on approach to exploiting JWT security flaws. The ultimate goal is to capture the hidden flag by chaining these vulnerabilities.

Open May 5-19, 2025!

Play Now!

New! in Skill Dive: Enhanced Lab Practice

Get extra hours of hands-on experience with Skill Dives enhanced lab practice. By using practical scenarios in training, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the threats and mitigation tactics.

New CVEs Added to Vulnerabilities Lab Collection:

• OpenMetadata Authentication Bypass
• OpenMetadata RCE