Beyond the Resume

Introduction

Over the last four years, I have been completing my bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity at
Old Dominion University. With my degree, I hope to gain a career in penetration testing, ethical
hacking, and risk management. To achieve these goals, I participated in various courses that
would allow me to gain experience and professional skills to excel. Each of these skills is
important because in any cybersecurity career, the cyber analyst will need to understand digital
infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities within a system, and have the technical skills to work
within the computers Operating System. Sometimes they will also be tasked with website design
or programming apps for certain companies on cybersecurity awareness or including information
about the company itself. Three of the main skills that will be showcased on my e-portfolio
include: ethical hacking and penetration testing, vulnerability management, and cyber
programming. In the career field I am hoping to join, these are the most impactful skills to
showcase because it shows my knowledge of cybersecurity attacks, as well as how to perform
them to find missing or deleted data, identifying and using tools to detect suspicious activity
over a network, and writing scripts to customize hacking tools or test web applications.

Skill 1: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing

Ethical hacking and penetration testing is an especially important skill to have as a
cybersecurity analyst because it allows them to operate proactively. Analysts will be able to
make informed decisions because they can fully comprehend how to identify and address
vulnerabilities by bridging security gaps before an attack can occur.
I have included different artifacts in my e-portfolio that can clearly represent my
improved ability to perform these skills. One of the artifacts I have chosen to include was
evidence of a Hands-on lab where I was exploiting a Windows server using a payload I created.
In this lab, I was in a Kali Linux OS environment, where I was executing commands and interacting with the system at a low level. I had to perform multiple commands to open a tool called Metasploit, set
and create the payload. Next, I was able to gain system information and establish reverse shell
connections to give admin permission to myself. During this lab I was tasked with being in a
hacker’s position, rather than an employee who already has access to the systems information.
Gaining the skills from this lab have helped me better understand the vulnerabilities in a
Windows system, information on commands to use when working in an OS system and create a
component that will help me access data that may be inaccessible at the time.

In addition to my first artifact, I also included an artifact that shows my knowledge in Steganography. Steganography is the process of hiding a message within a digital picture or file, in a way that the message cannot be easily found by another person. This artifact was also a hands-on lab I completed during one of my courses. I had to code into another Kali Linux OS environment using a tool named Steghide. I also was tasked with performing several commands that gave me the ability to create text files, checking the checksum (storage) information, viewing encrypted hashes, creating passwords for the file, successfully merging the text file with a picture, and extracting the message from the picture. This lab is extremely beneficial in my career if I must deal with and send sensitive data to another person effectively during my career.

Skill 2: Vulnerability Management

            Vulnerability management skills are very useful to have as a cybersecurity professional since they must work with various infrastructure systems to ensure the company’s network remains safe and nearly free from cyberattacks.

            The artifacts included in my ePortfolio demonstrate my development and growing proficiency in this skill. The first artifact I included was a part of my workload during my cybersecurity internship. Every day I worked at my internship, I was tasked with monitoring an employee phishing email chain. I would take any emails routed to this account and examine them for common mistakes made by scammers trying to get their login info. Then if I couldn’t find any, I would use tools like Barracuda to see where an email was coming from and if the email has been seen by others and they saw it was a scam. This experience filtering through emails strengthened my skills to detect common errors by phishing scammers and experience the proper way to use tools to further my research.

Another artifact I have involved in my e-portfolio is a technical lab, where I was

configuring a DNS server on a windows OS. In this lab, I had to use windows PowerShell to

ping websites, use admin functions, download the DNS Serve, analyze network traffic, and view

system data. This represents how I have gained knowledge filtering through network traffic, and

the proper way to configure a Windows system to better protect a companies’ network resources,

user information, and devices.

Skill 3: Computer Programming

Computer programming is also a substantial skill to have when entering a cybersecurity

field because along with ethical hacking it creates a better ability to identify security threats,

customize tools and easier communication efforts with software developers to address security

flaws in a program.

An artifact I incorporated to show my expertise in computer programming is my final

project creation of a socket program on social media platforms. I had to research information for

several social media platforms, create a client-server connection using python, use various script

functions to ensure the program displayed information for each platform when asked. Thisexperience taught me the process of creating program and how easy it is to have vulnerabilities. I

also learned how to fix some of the issues I had while working on this project, which means I’ll

be able to effectively communicate with a developer using python to voice concerns.

Another artifact I’ve inserted is a python code where I created various files to represents

student grades, names, math equations, and text. For this assignment, I had to create multiple

programs, that merged various files to create several output files. I had to format some of the

programs to calculate mean or square the number in the first file it was connected to. This

assignment has helped me develop the skills to merge files together and provide exposure to how

function work in case of duplication or solving problems that may need to be solved quickly,

allowing me to focus on other complex issues.

Describing My Skills to an Employer or Supervisor

An impactful skill I have gained during my studies is vulnerability management. I was

able to improve this skill during my cybersecurity internship using Microsoft Defender,

managing a corporate phishing email chain, and configuring windows systems. I have learned

how to spot vulnerabilities, use proactive tactics towards malicious sites and IP addresses, and

how to better protect systems when the network isn’t being watched by a professional. These

skills will be most useful in a cybersecurity career that values endpoint security and the

investigation of threats.

Computer programming is a skill I have learned through my coursework and internship

while at ODU. I have gained this skillset by doing various assignments to create program files

that interact with each other to create an output file of the results. I learned how to properly

format python codes to create programs used for math, grading, and duplicating text. These skills

will be most helpful when communicating with software developers, customizing tools, and

efficiently using my time on work projects.

Lastly, ethical hacking is a skill I also gained form my courses. I have learned to perform

steganography skills, while completing an assignment. I had to hide a text file within a picture by

coding into a Kali Linux system. This experience assisted me in building strong confidentiality

management and attention to detail skills that will be most advantageous in cybersecurity jobs

that view and send confidential information that requires a certain level of clearance to be read.

Strongest Skill Reflection

I believe my strongest skill is vulnerability management. While each skill is important to

have, the focus as a cybersecurity professional is to prevent cybersecurity attacks from occurring.

I have developed these skills through cyber labs analyzing network traffic, researching

cybersecurity frameworks and compliance laws, and maintaining endpoint systems with security

updates. However, I developed this skill the most during my internship by using web tools to

sanction and unsanction vulnerable sites and apps, block domains and IP addresses, learn about Palto Alto infrastructure, and research IDS systems. I hope to use this skill in my future career by

protecting the company network from security threats and monitoring network traffic.

Applying My Skills Going Forward

When moving forward into my cybersecurity career, I hope to continue strengthening

each of these skills in a professional setting. I hope to protect various network systems, recover

hidden data for important cases, handle high-clearance information and create programs to

improve the efficiency of the cybersecurity team. As the world continues to be more

technologically advanced, it is extremely consequential that cybersecurity analysts excel in these

areas when preparing for cyber threats, combating cybercrime, or maintaining a secure

infrastructure to protect their systems and network frameworks