Explore KSACs by Pathway
Explore Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Credentials (KSACs) by IT Pathway.
In late 2025, the Partnership pulled together members of industry from across tech to share how the in-demand skillsets for entry-level roles in their fields have changed in the last two years. The KSACs below reflect their feedback on entry-level expectations, especially in a tech workplace increasingly shaped by AI.
9. Systems Security
| Label | KSAC Description | Bloom's Taxonomy Level | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | Explain the objectives and functions of modern operating systems, identify potential threats to operating systems and list the security features designed to guard against them. | knowledge | 2 |
| b | Discuss networked, client-server, distributed operating systems and how they differ from single user operating systems. | knowledge | 2 |
| c | Understand the role and importance of physical security, including proximity securiity (proximity readers, access lists, biometrics, and protected distribution. | knowledge | 2 |
| d | Perform authentication control | skill | 3 |
| e | Imolement a life cycle methodology including continuous monitoring and end of life managemnt | skill | 3 |
| f | Use the kernel and user mode for executing progams in an operating system. | skill | 4 |
| g | Describe the need and the potential run-time problems arising from the concurrent operation of separate tasks. | knowledge | 2 |
| h | Summarize techniques for achieving synchronization in an operating system (e.g., describe how to implement a semaphore using OS primitives). | knowledge | 4 |
| i | Describe the difference between processes and threads. | knowledge | 2 |
| j | Summarize the principles of virtual memory as applied to caching and paging. | knowledge | 4 |
| k | Describe the role of identify and access management to manage who can access what in an neterprise | knowledge | |
| l | Implement authorization control (e.g., least privilege, separation of duties, mandatory access, rule-based access control, role-based access control), so managing priveleged access | skill | 3 |
| m | Understand authentication techniques (e.g., tokens, common access card, smart card, multifactor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), biometrics, personal identification verification card, username, federation, transitive trust/authentication). | knowledge | 2 |
| n | Understand security implications of third party connectivity and access. | knowledge | 2 |
| o | Discuss hypervisors and the need for them. | knowledge | 2 |
| p | Create, configure, and use virtual machines. | skill | 3 |