CyberLex Blue Team Academy — Where Defenders Are Forged.

EPISODE 4 — THE LOGIN THAT DIDN’T BELONG TO THE USER Security+ Domain 4 concepts • CySA+ authentication analytics • SOC identity anomaly detection

Some attacks don’t start with a password guess…They start with a login that looks valid — but doesn’t make sense.

A user signs in at a time they never work. From a device they don’t own. From a network they’ve never touched. And yet… authentication logs say everything is normal.

In this cinematic scenario, you’ll learn how defenders identify identity anomalies — the subtle authentication signals that reveal compromise long before the attacker makes noise.

What you’ll learn:

• How SOC analysts detect suspicious authentication events

• Why valid credentials can still indicate compromise

• How MFA fatigue leads to real-world breaches

• How to correlate logs, timing, geography, and behavior

• How attackers perform reconnaissance after initial access

• Why IAM monitoring is essential for modern operations

Security Operations Skills Covered:

✔ IAM fundamentals & monitoring

✔ MFA misuse & authentication anomalies

✔ Session analysis

✔ Rogue device detection

✔ Behavioral baseline deviations

✔ When and how to initiate incident response

This scenario reinforces key concepts from:

* Security+ (SY0-701) — IAM, authentication monitoring, behavioral anomalies

* CySA+ (CS0-003) — Identity analytics, credential misuse detection, MFA attack patterns

Designed to support exam learners and real SOC analysts.

Ideal for:

* Security+ learners

* CySA+ learners

* ISC2 CC beginners

* SOC Tier 1 analysts

* Identity & Access teams

* Anyone learning to detect authentication misuse early

This isn’t a lecture. It’s how identity-based attacks actually unfold — quiet signals, subtle inconsistencies, and high-stakes decisions made in seconds.

New episodes weekly.

Explore the works of M.G. Vance on Amazon — including Security+, CySA+, CISA, CISM, CRISC, and The Breach Nobody Saw Coming titles.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0FX7TZSV4/

CyberLex Learning — Forge the Defender.