Vendor Learning Hubs¶

Why Vendor Resources Matter¶

Vendor blogs, training hubs, and tool repos are excellent places to:

• Stay current on new threats, TTPs, and defensive techniques.
• Learn product-specific detection/response workflows (Defender, Sentinel, Splunk, etc.).
• Access hands-on labs and sandboxes for realistic practice.
• Use vendor toolkits and open-source projects to accelerate detection, hunting, and automation.

Use vendor content to complement vendor-neutral learning — combine vendor labs with generic frameworks (MITRE, Sigma) for best results.

Vendor Portals & Academies¶

• Huntress Academy — Threat hunting and managed detection training.
• Splunk Education — Splunk query, admin, and analytics courses (free & paid).
• Palo Alto Beacon — Research, labs, and threat intel from Unit 42.
• CrowdStrike University — Falcon platform training and detection engineering.
• Elastic Security Labs — Elastic Stack training for detection and observability.
• Fortinet NSE Training Institute — Vendor certs and product-focused labs.
• Cisco Learning Network — Networking and security paths with Cisco tech.
• AWS Skill Builder – Security Path — Cloud security labs and role-based learning.

Free & Notable Vendor Programs¶

• AttackIQ Academy — Threat-informed validation and testing resources.
• Google Cloud Skills Boost – Security — GCP security labs and quests.
• Microsoft Learn for Partners — Microsoft role-based learning and sandboxes.
• Splunk Free Courses — Introductory Splunk training.
• Elastic Virtual Workshops — Short workshops and hands-on sessions.

Vendor Security Blogs (research & intel)¶

• Mandiant / Google Threat Intelligence — Incident research, threat reports, and remediation guidance.
• Unit 42 (Palo Alto Networks) — Threat research, malware analysis, and attack trends.
• Red Canary Blog — Detection engineering, threat intelligence, and incident response insights.
• Check Point Research Blog — Vulnerability and exploit analysis.
• LevelBlue / AT&T Cybersecurity Blog — Research and operational guidance.
• AdSecurity (Active Directory & Enterprise) — Deep AD defensive and offensive content.
• SpecterOps Posts — Advanced red-team and adversary simulation writeups.
• ValiMail Blog (Email Security) — Email threat research and best practices.

Vendor Tools & GitHub Repos¶

Explore vendor-supported open-source tools and repos for detection, hunting, and automation:

• Palo Alto Unit42 Public Tools
• Mandiant Open Source Tools
• Red Canary GitHub
• ProjectDiscovery (recon & tooling)

Suggested Workflow for Using Vendor Content¶

1. Pick a product stack (e.g., Defender + Sentinel, Elastic, or Splunk).
2. Consume vendor labs for hands-on familiarity (deploy sandboxes or use provided trial tenants).
3. Map vendor telemetry to vendor-neutral frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK, Sigma).
4. Build and test detections in your lab; tune using vendor guidance.
5. Follow vendor blogs for IOCs, detection patterns, and mitigation advice.

Recommended Reading & Bundles¶

• PlexTrac Hacking Resources (PDF) — Curated collection of training and blogs.
• SecGen – Create Vulnerable VMs — Build reproducible lab VMs for vendor tooling tests.
• Awesome SOC (GitHub) — SOC playbooks, tools, and operational references.

Join the Discussion

Got a question, idea, or a better way to do it? Drop it below — I read every comment and update guides based on real-world feedback.

Add something useful. Ask good questions. Help someone else learn.