![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ids493fall25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40235\/2025\/11\/Lion-Fountain_Homecoming-Blue_3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to my E-Portfolio. This collection is the agent of integration for my degree, showcasing the key competencies I have masted throughout the cybersecurity program. On the following pages, you will find specific artifacts that prove my proficiency across the three core learning outcomes: the ability to manipulate and protect computer systems, the skill to apply troubleshooting and identify security lapses, and the competency to examine and collect forensic evidence. Please proceed to the next pages to view my work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Learning<\/strong> Outcome 1: Manipulate and Protect Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is proven by a Password Cracking Lab from my CYSE 301 course. This work shows proficiency in setting up penetration environment, identifying weak points (unprotected password hashes), and using tools (Metasploit, John the Ripper, aircrack-ng) to exploit access controls in live Linux and Windows network environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning Outcome 2:<\/strong> Apply Troubleshooting\/Identify Lapses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is reflected in my Policy and Political Effects Analysis Paper from my CYSE 425W course. I address how political or financial friction in a chain of command (“human element” security lapse) prevents a technical defense from working. I analyze why a successful security response is often sabotaged by arguments over prioritization and budget after an attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Policy and Political Effects Analysis Paper:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Incident response policy is an organization\u2019s number one defense strategy when it comes to technical documents that regard a cyber crisis. All business organizations must have an incident response policy, it is not a choice but a requirement. However, this strategy often drags more attention than needed, these policies have deep political foundations rooted within them. An incident response policy is a political document. The policy always forces decisions that deal with power, blame, money and communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first and most crucial step to an incident response policy is to establish who is the head of the table, who calls the \u201cshots\u201d at the top of the chain of command. This portion of the policy starts the “hierarchy” process for an organization. When an organization appoints a head of command, they typically refer to high intelligence positions that are known as a \u201cCISO\u201d. A CISO stands for Chief Information Security Officer, these positions are the pinnacle of trust at the senior executive level. They usually have the highest form of authority over all departments, they also deal with changes of leadership across departments as well. These decisions can lead to conflict, they make real time changes that may ruffle the feathers of other executives. These decisions usually create a political \u201cminefield\u201d that the CISO has to navigate through to ensure that the right changes are being made without creating division. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The CISO has the most power and that comes with a lot of responsibility. The CISO analyzes the entire incident at hand and determines how to properly defend against current cyber threats and future threats. During the investigation process the CISO must determine who was at \u201cfault\u201d. This accountability that the CISO has to follow through with is not only stressful but also extremely political. The accusation of a department at fault never runs over smoothly, some departments may use the policy’s language as a tool or scapegoat to push the blame onto others. This makes the investigation process for a CISO extremely difficult due to the political influence that \u201cclouds\u201d over the analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Incident Response policy\u2019s political nature does not just halt after dictating who was at fault. The policy also has to deal with the financial aspect of an incident that an organization faces as well. The budget after an incident for repairs, legal fees, fines, and even forensic consultants all contribute to the political background of an Incident Response policy. The policy must determine where a majority of all the funds are allocated within an organization. This can cause division because other departments may find anger with the decision, causing a conflict between the IT leadership and Financial leadership. Typically, every department head will argue their beliefs on why their department should receive the most funds over other departments. Prioritization is the solution that the incident response policy enforces when these hardships arise. This portion of the incident response policy is extremely political because it enforces the necessity of each department, which always results in the political priorities of one department over another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (2023). Cybersecurity Incident Response | CISA<\/em>. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Policies & Priorities<\/em>. (n.d.). Cio.gov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyber Incident Reporting: A Unified Message for Reporting to the Federal Government<\/em>. (2016, July 28). Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Learning Outcome 3: Examine and Collect Forensic Evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is showcased by my analysis paper on the Ecuadorian election, “The Night of April Thirteenth.” My paper is a deep dive into a real-world scenario involving claims of evidence tampering and the official investigation process to verify those claims. This artifact fulfills the requirement to “examine and collect forensic evidence” by proving I can apply a critical, forensic mindset to a complex situation to determine the integrity of the evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This story stems all the way back to a dark night on April 13th. Tensions remain high as the main stage is set, this battle will determine the trajectory of this country. The battle between Daniel Noboa vs Luisa Gonzalez, has the general public torn down the middle. Recent gang violence has taken over the country, causing thousands of casualties and chaos to ring through air. Change needs to be made as the people thirst for hope, the decision will need to be made urgently. The country of Ecuador remains silent as they wait for the arrival of their new president. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The country of Ecuador was in a state of emergency months prior to the election, the president at the time was Daniel Noboa. The reason why the country was under such harsh conditions was due to the release of a supreme gang leader named Adolfo Macias who went by the name of \u201cFito\u201d. This is where Daniel Noboa had started formulating the foundation steps to his presidential campaign, strategically progressing through each obstacle with marketability. Noboa saw the evil that \u201cFito\u201d had filled his streets with, he had decided to announce an \u201cinternal armed conflict\u201d against \u201cFito\u201d and 22 other gangs. Noboa no longer considered \u201cFito\u201d and his men as a \u201cgang\u201d but as a terrorist organization, any gangs that followed the same mantra as \u201cFito\u201d were subject to the same consequence. Noboa used this announcement as a flair, Noboa had deployed the nation\u2019s military to eliminate the issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Noboa had made sure to document all of his achievements that his military had completed while on deployment. He also made sure to monetize mainstream television with mandatory commercials that would display his face and soldiers working hard. Noboa\u2019s hard work using the help of the media and military built him a strong fanbase with an even greater reputation, his approval rating had jumped over 80% from his initial presidential rating. Monetizing the media was a hidden trick that was used by Noboa but that just wouldn\u2019t be his last trick used during the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noboa realized the power he had, so he decided to use his approval ratings for his best benefit. He decided to gauge the temperature to understand how much his country loves him, so he held a referendum. He had won by a landslide, the voters had approved all of his proposals on security, there were a total of 11 proposals submitted by Noboa. He had almost won over all of these 11 proposals except for two, those two proposals were based on economics. This was the first initial sign of distrust within president Noboa, the country trusted him in the fight but not with their funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Noboa\u2019s reputation only began to grow weaker and fade as two key events completely skewed the general public opinion. The initial big hit to the country were the non-stop power outages. This was due to an extreme energy crisis, many small businesses and large corporations fell victim to these outages which cost the country billions of dollars. The second blow to his reputation and presidential campaign was a result of his ego. Noboa had gotten into a heated rivalry with his own vice president Veronica Abad. Unfortunately, this heated tension became viral, Noboa decided to retaliate quickly by making her the ambassador to Israel. This action had forced her on the sideline for 150 days. Many in the public viewed this as a political strategy to lengthen his term as president and solidify his strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The month of April has arrived, which has signaled to the country that the election has now entered the voting and final decision making process. Noboa realizes his vulnerabilities but instead of falling victim he uses them to his advantage to solidify presidential success. Just 24 hours before the election took place, Noboa had announced a state of emergency, but not for the entire country. Noboa had announced the threat within seven provinces of Ecuador, those provinces were known to be heavy areas in support of his rival Gonzalez. Noboa stated that the military would be patrolling the area with strict curfews and restrictions on travel set for these provinces. He had also set up a telecom surveillance system to monitor any citizens in case of any behavior deemed illegal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Noboa did not just stop there, he also made sure to relocate the polling stations after declaring the state of emergency. This is where Luiza Gonzalez has stated that there is absolute evidence that malice was done. Gonzalez and her party argue that there were strange anomalies across the board that didn\u2019t make logical sense. Gonzalez and her party argued that over 600 arrests were made in favor of Noboa, due to the fact that these arrests were made in provinces that heavily favor Luisa. Gonzalez also stated that her team hired a private group of experts to investigate the legitimacy of ballots recorded. It was stated that her team had found rigging of the ballots due to \u201ctransferrable\u201d ink, these ballots were initially meant to represent one vote but after folding of the ballot is where the compromise was done. The experts believed when the ballots were folded, the ink was tampered with to benefit Noboa. The national electoral council (CNE) was called to investigate the situation. After investigation the CNE had found there was no tampering done, if any votes were tampered with, it would not benefit either party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gonzalez still finds disgust with Noboa, stating that this was the most \u201cdishonest\u201d campaign in political history. Gonzalez explains how Noboa monetized mainstream media with the use of political power by using forced advertisements and fake social media pages to benefit his campaign. Luisa has also demanded that the CNE review and recount every result from all 1,729 polling stations across the country. Currently, the CNE have announced that they found Noboa\u2019s campaign unfair in some aspects but overall peaceful. They have also agreed to review the stations for any flaws, while the verdict remains cold, Luiza and much of the country remain fierce with hope in their heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi, I am Isaas Lozada. I am majoring in Cybersecurity to deepen my practical knowledge of the field. What started as an interest in a few high school courses quickly became a clear career path, especially since cybersecurity is known as the “profession of the future” and is very popular in my local area. I… <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ids493fall25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40235\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-17-190118-2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n