{"id":155,"date":"2025-01-31T06:08:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T06:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/cyberimpact1\/?page_id=155"},"modified":"2025-12-10T01:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T01:49:11","slug":"experience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 data-start=\"412\" data-end=\"453\"><strong data-start=\"415\" data-end=\"453\">Home Lab Architecture &amp; Operations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"454\" data-end=\"797\">Designed and configured a multi-network virtualized cybersecurity lab using Oracle VirtualBox to simulate real-world attack and defense scenarios. The environment includes multiple operating systems\u2014such as Kali Linux, Kali Purple, Parrot OS, and several Windows versions\u2014segmented into dedicated offensive, defensive, and vulnerable networks.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"799\" data-end=\"831\"><strong data-start=\"799\" data-end=\"831\">Key Skills &amp; Accomplishments<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"832\" data-end=\"1268\">\n<li data-start=\"832\" data-end=\"923\">\n<p data-start=\"834\" data-end=\"923\">Built and maintained isolated subnets to emulate enterprise-grade network segmentation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"924\" data-end=\"1041\">\n<p data-start=\"926\" data-end=\"1041\">Deployed virtual machines for penetration testing, network monitoring, blue-team analysis, and incident response.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1042\" data-end=\"1146\">\n<p data-start=\"1044\" data-end=\"1146\">Implemented log monitoring, firewall controls, and baseline hardening for realistic risk management.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1268\">\n<p data-start=\"1149\" data-end=\"1268\">Conducted controlled vulnerability assessments and exploitation using tools such as Metasploit, Nmap, and Burp Suite.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1486\"><strong data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1281\">Outcome<\/strong><br data-start=\"1281\" data-end=\"1284\" \/>Created a safe, fully functional environment for hands-on training in penetration testing, SIEM operations, network defense strategies, and adversarial simulation\u2014all without risking production systems.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1486\">\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1486\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-404 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-300x167.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard-538x300.png 538w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/OPNSense-Dashboard.png 1591w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-409 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"377\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-1536x866.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1-532x300.png 532w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/SecurityOnion-Security-alert-1.png 1591w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-403 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Nmap-Scan-for-Windows-7-e1765329476791-300x290.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Nmap-Scan-for-Windows-7-e1765329476791-300x290.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Nmap-Scan-for-Windows-7-e1765329476791-768x743.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Nmap-Scan-for-Windows-7-e1765329476791-310x300.png 310w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Nmap-Scan-for-Windows-7-e1765329476791.png 890w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-428 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-300x168.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"352\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-600x336.png 600w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home-945x530.png 945w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/New-Home.png 1515w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1544\"><strong data-start=\"1496\" data-end=\"1544\">Secure VPN Tunnel &amp; SSH Server Configuration<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1545\" data-end=\"1652\"><strong data-start=\"1545\" data-end=\"1557\">Project:<\/strong> Built and troubleshot a multi-client OpenVPN environment (Windows Client \u2194 Kali Linux Server).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1654\" data-end=\"1883\">Configured a certification-based VPN using Easy-RSA with custom encryption (AES-256-CBC) and authentication (SHA-256). Tuned server and client parameters to ensure successful tunnel negotiation and prevent TLS handshake failures.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1885\" data-end=\"1913\"><strong data-start=\"1885\" data-end=\"1913\">Skills &amp; Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1914\" data-end=\"2473\">\n<li data-start=\"1914\" data-end=\"2071\">\n<p data-start=\"1916\" data-end=\"2071\"><strong data-start=\"1916\" data-end=\"1955\">VPN Configuration &amp; PKI Management:<\/strong> Generated certificates, keys, and revocation lists using Easy-RSA; configured OpenVPN server and client profiles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2072\" data-end=\"2206\">\n<p data-start=\"2074\" data-end=\"2206\"><strong data-start=\"2074\" data-end=\"2102\">Network Troubleshooting:<\/strong> Diagnosed routing, DNS, VM networking (Bridged\/NAT), and firewall issues causing connection failures.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2207\" data-end=\"2341\">\n<p data-start=\"2209\" data-end=\"2341\"><strong data-start=\"2209\" data-end=\"2237\">Security Best Practices:<\/strong> Implemented strong ciphers, TLS-auth keys, proper key lifecycles, and hardened server configurations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2342\" data-end=\"2473\">\n<p data-start=\"2344\" data-end=\"2473\"><strong data-start=\"2344\" data-end=\"2369\">Systematic Debugging:<\/strong> Analyzed logs to resolve cryptographic mismatches, authentication failures, and configuration errors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-394\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Server-Configuration-e1765329664622-300x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Server-Configuration-e1765329664622-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Server-Configuration-e1765329664622-768x513.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Server-Configuration-e1765329664622-449x300.png 449w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Server-Configuration-e1765329664622.png 862w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-396\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-300x124.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"484\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-1024x424.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-1536x637.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running-600x249.png 600w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Windows-Openvpn-Running.png 1624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-392\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-300x101.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-1024x346.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-768x259.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-1536x518.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-2048x691.png 2048w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-055949-600x202.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-393\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-300x59.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"59\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-1024x202.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-768x152.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-1536x303.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-2048x404.png 2048w, https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38352\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-060005-600x118.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Lab Architecture &amp; Operations Designed and configured a multi-network virtualized cybersecurity lab using Oracle VirtualBox to simulate real-world attack and defense scenarios. The environment includes multiple operating systems\u2014such as Kali Linux, Kali Purple, Parrot OS, and several Windows versions\u2014segmented&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/experience\/\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30474,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":430,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions\/430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/georgesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}