A detection can look perfect in Splunk and still fail against real endpoint telemetry. I tested my PowerShell detections with Atomic Red Team and MITRE ATT&CK T1027. One passed. One failed. I investigated why, refined the detection & improved the alert for SOC triage. #Cybersecurity #SOCAnalyst

From Manual Testing to Repeatable Detection Validation with Atomic Red Team

How to Validate PowerShell Detections in Splunk with Sysmon, Atomic Red Team, and MITRE ATT&CK

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The new TryHackMe SOC Level 2 path is an interesting look at how the SOC analyst role is evolving: AD, Entra ID, AWS, threat hunting, Sigma, CTI, net analysis, detection engineering, AI/automation... I wrote a deeper analysis here: medium.com/@citadelcybe... #Cybersecurity #SOC #tryhackme

TryHackMe SOC Level 2: What Changed, and What It Says About the Future of the SOC Analyst Role

Exploring the new skills, technologies and investigative mindset behind TryHackMe’s updated L2 curriculum

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Once you understand how the AI system works, you can begin evaluating specific attack techniques, like Prompt injection. Lakera Gandalf provided a fun, hands-on way to explore how these attacks can influence LLM behavior. No longer online, but more challenges are here: play.lakera.ai/agent-breaker

How do you assess the security of an AI system? In my latest article I share what I learned from INE's AI Systems Security Specialist learning path, mainly, how to think systematically about AI-enabled systems: architecture, trust boundaries, data flows, APIs... #CyberSecurity #AISecurity

Beyond AI Security: Learning How to Assess AI Systems

My Experience with INE’s AI Systems Security Specialist (eAIS) Learning Path

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In my new article "AI Security: Cybersecurity Applied to a New Attack Surface", I share my experience completing TryHackMe's AI Security learning path, covering prompt injection, RAG security, AI forensics, supply chain risks, and key AI security insights. #Cybersecurity #AISecurity #InfoSec

AI Security: Cybersecurity Applied to a New Attack Surface

A reflection on completing TryHackMe’s AI Security learning path

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What should a SOC analyst see within the first minute of a shift? I built a Tier 1 SOC Dashboard in Splunk to answer that question using my SOC homelab with Active Directory, Sysmon, pfSense, and Windows telemetry; design decisions, SPL, and detections behind it. #CyberSecurity #Splunk #SOCAnalyst

Building a Tier 1 SOC Dashboard in Splunk

Designing an operational dashboard for authentication, endpoint, network, and threat hunting visibility

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New article: SOC Homelab #5 Investigated AD authentication & lateral movement in Splunk, including logons, Kerberos, SMB admin shares, Sysmon, and attempted WinRM/WMI/Scheduled Tasks execution.👇 medium.com/@citadelcybe... #CyberSecurity #SOC #Splunk

Investigating Lateral Movement and Authentication Activity in Active Directory Using Splunk

Correlating failed logons, Kerberos authentication events, SMB access, and blocked lateral movement attempts in a hardened Active Directory…

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Apple Drops Cryptic “Neuromancer” Series Tease www.darkhorizons.com/apple-drops-...

A hands-on SOC analyst exercise focused on investigation and triage. I simulated suspicious PowerShell activity on a Windows 11 endpoint and investigated it using Sysmon, PowerShell logging, and Splunk. #CyberSecurity #BlueTeam New homelab write-up:

Investigating Suspicious PowerShell Activity with Splunk

Simulating attacker techniques, analyzing endpoint telemetry, and building a detection rule in a SOC homelab.

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Built a SOC homelab with pfSense, Active Directory, Windows, Sysmon, and Splunk. The most valuable part wasn't the setup, it was solving problems: • Missing telemetry • DNS failures • Time sync issues • Segmentation mistakes #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #BlueTeam

6 Real Problems I Solved While Building My SOC Homelab

Root Cause Analysis, Fixes and Lessons Learned During My SOC Homelab Deployment

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I investigated a Volt Typhoon-inspired intrusion using a real-world SOC methodology rather than a typical lab approach. The result was a full incident report covering timeline reconstruction, threat hunting & MITRE ATT&CK mapping through different phases. #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #ThreatHunting

SOC Incident Report: Investigation of a Volt Typhoon-Inspired Intrusion

A Complete Write-Up Demonstrating Real SOC Investigation Methodology

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Built a SOC homelab from scratch featuring Active Directory, pfSense, Sysmon, Windows Event Logging, and Splunk Enterprise. In this new article I get into Networking, Segmentation, Firewall, Logs and Telemetry details. #Cybersecurity #Splunk #homelab

Building a SOC Homelab from Scratch: Active Directory, pfSense, Sysmon, and Splunk

Designing an Enterprise-Style Security Monitoring Environment for Blue Team Skill Development

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“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

100+ cybersecurity labs taught me incident response. Building my own SOC homelab taught me how enterprise systems actually work. pfSense | AD | Win11 | Splunk | Sysmon | Centralized logs New blog series is live (link below). #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #BlueTeam

I Completed 100 Cybersecurity Labs. Why Build a SOC Homelab Too?

Lessons learned building a SOC homelab with Splunk, Active Directory, Sysmon, and pfSense

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“The wise mind adapts to circumstance without surrendering virtue.” Confucius

I knew what I needed to know to become a SOC analyst. But how do you learn to think like one? I wrote a review of CyberDefenders CCDL1. A certification focused on real SOC investigations: SIEM (Splunk & Sentinel), DFIR, phishing analysis & cloud security workflows. #cybersecurity #BlueTeam #DFIR

CyberDefenders CCDL1 Review — Practical SOC Analyst Training Beyond the Fundamentals

A hands-on path into modern blue team operations

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I published a Conti ransomware investigation treating it as a live SOC incident instead of a CTF. I reconstructed the full attack chain using Splunk, Sysmon, and Windows logs, covering web shell access, credential dumping, privilege escalation, persistence, and execution. medium.com/@citadelcybe...

SOC Alert Reporting: Conti Ransomware Investigation Using Splunk

Simulating Real-World SOC Triage, Threat Hunting, and Incident Reporting Through a Conti Ransomware Investigation

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Thrilled to be a #CertifiedCyberDefender! CyberDefenders CCDL1 built on my SOC foundation with hands-on Splunk threat hunting, Windows/Linux forensics & AWS cloud investigations. Strengthened investigative workflows & MITRE ATT&CK use for real-world SOC challenges. #BlueTeam #DFIR #CyberSecurity

Published a new DFIR write-up on investigating a phishing attack using Volatility 3 and Olevba. The walkthrough covers malicious macros, memory forensics, C2 analysis, process investigation, and persistence detection from the TryHackMe Boogeyman 2 room. #CyberSecurity #DFIR #SOCAnalyst

Investigating a Phishing Attack with Volatility and Olevba | TryHackMe Boogeyman 2

A hands-on DFIR walkthrough covering phishing analysis, malicious macros, memory forensics, C2 investigation, and persistence detection.

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A “Potential Ransom Note” alert turned into a full ransomware investigation across endpoint, network, and AWS logs. In this write-up, I break down how I reconstructed the attack using Splunk — from persistence and lateral movement to S3 data exfiltration. #CyberSecurity #ThreatHunting #Ransomware

Unraveling a Ransomware Attack Chain: TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 8: Promotion Night

Hands-on Splunk investigation covering ransomware deployment, persistence mechanisms, lateral movement, and AWS data exfiltration

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Reverse Shell Alert: SOC Investigation Writeup I analyzed PCAPs + Splunk logs to uncover: • C2 channel • ARP spoofing (MITM) • DNS data exfiltration • Plaintext credential leak If you're into #CyberSecurity, #SOCAnalysis, or #TryHackMe this is for you. #NetworkSecurity #DFIR #BlueTeam

Unraveling a Network-Based Attack: TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 7: The Crown Jewel

Network Traffic Analysis and Forensics to Identify C2 Channels, ARP Spoofing, and Data Exfiltration Techniques

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🔍Just published a detailed SOC investigation based on a TryHackMe CTF, analyzing a multi-stage attack using Splunk. From malicious file execution to credential dumping with Mimikatz and lateral movement. #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #Splunk #ThreatHunting #IncidentResponse

Investigating a Multi-Stage Attack: TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 6: Zero Tolerance

Hands-on Splunk analysis covering initial access, persistence, credential dumping, and lateral movement

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🕵️‍♂️I analyzed a full attack chain: Brute force → Web shell → Data exfiltration Working with: · Web server and WAF logs · XDR telemetry · MITRE ATT&CK mapping TryHackMe First Shift CTF – Task 5: Portal Drop Writeup #cybersecurity #socanalyst #blueteam #tryhackme #incidentresponse

Inside a Web Shell Attack: TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 5: Portal Drop

A SOC Threat Intelligence Investigation into Brute Force, File Upload Exploitation, and Web Shell Persistence

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New write-up: Inside a Phishing Attack — TryHackMe First Shift CTF, Task 4. I walk through a real SOC-style phishing investigation: email header analysis, DMARC findings, attachment decoding, obfuscation, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and threat actor attribution. #Cybersecurity #Phishing

Inside a Phishing Attack: TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 4: Phishing Books

A SOC phishing analysis: email header forensics, obfuscated payload decoding, and adversary attribution

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Growing steadily in Defensive Security 🔒 My TryHackMe Capability Score places me at a Mid-level Security Professional, showing the power of persistence and curiosity. Focused on: SOC challenges, real-world scenarios, and continuous learning documented in write-ups. Learning. Adapting. Defending.

🧑‍💻 I just published a hands-on SOC investigation from TryHackMe’s First Shift CTF (Task 3), covering: • Threat intelligence analysis • IOC enrichment • Malware investigation • MITRE ATT&CK mapping #CyberSecurity #ThreatIntelligence #BlueTeam #InfoSec

A SOC Threat Intelligence Investigation. TryHackMe First Shift CTF — Task 3: Probably Just Fine

A practical walkthrough of SOC investigation techniques, including IOC analysis, malware classification, and MITRE ATT&CK mapping.

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

Just published the second part of TryHackMe Splunk 2 (Bots v2). A hands-on SOC workflow covering: • Ransomware • Malware execution • C2 traffic • Persistence analysis #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #Splunk #SIEM

Splunk 2 TryHackMe Writeup (Part 2) — BOTS v2 SOC Investigation (300 & 400 Series)

Advanced Threat Investigation Using Splunk (BOTS v2 Dataset)

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🎉 I passed AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals) last week! Building a strong defensive skill set: Security+, SAL1, BTL1, SPLK-1001 & Google Cybersecurity Cert. Focused on log analysis, SOC workflows & Blue Team skills. Seeking entry-level SOC Analyst roles. #cybersecurity #SOCAnalyst #BlueTeam

My new post on my TryHackMe Splunk 2 (Bots v2) investigation covers: • Data collection & filtering • Deep-dive into raw event logs • Pattern recognition & correlation • Identifying phishing & exfiltration activity A practical look at real SOC investigation workflows. #InfoSec #BlueTeam #Splunk

Splunk 2 TryHackMe Writeup (Part 1) — BOTS v2 SOC Investigation (100 & 200 Series)

Practical Log Analysis from the Boss of the SOC (BOTS v2) Dataset

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