Skills & Expertise

Understanding how attackers gather intel and build their arsenal. This phase combines reconnaissance techniques with resource development — from OSINT to malware analysis.

I'm naturally curious and love digital detective work. Whether it's hunting down obscure IOCs or reverse-engineering malware samples, I approach threats proactively rather than reactively. My background in BAS means I think like both attacker and defender.

Detecting and preventing the initial breach. Covers phishing, social engineering, web exploits, and delivery mechanisms attackers use to get their foot in the door.

I have a sharp eye for detail and can spot phishing attempts that others miss. My communication skills help me explain complex social engineering tactics to non-technical teams, building human firewalls alongside technical ones.

Identifying how malware executes and maintains its foothold. From PowerShell obfuscation to registry manipulation, this covers the technical methods attackers use to run code and survive reboots.

I geek out on digital forensics. Tracing execution timelines and finding hidden persistence mechanisms is like solving a puzzle. KAPE and Volatility are my go-to tools for uncovering what attackers thought they deleted.

Catching attackers trying to hide their tracks. This includes detecting obfuscation, anti-forensics techniques, and methods used to evade EDR and AV solutions.

Attackers think they're sneaky, but I'm sneakier. I've built detections for obfuscation techniques that bypass commercial tools. Finding timestomped files or log deletions gives me the same satisfaction as checkmate in chess.

Stopping credential theft in its tracks. From Mimikatz to brute force attacks, this covers detection and prevention of techniques used to steal passwords and authentication tokens.

Credentials are the crown jewels. I've hunted Mimikatz in memory dumps and built SIEM rules that catch brute force attempts before the 3rd failed login. Protecting authentication is personal—attackers won't get the keys on my watch.

Catching attackers as they explore the network and move between systems. Combines reconnaissance within compromised networks and techniques for pivoting to additional hosts.

I love AD forensics—every logon event tells a story. Spotting lateral movement patterns in DC logs is second nature. When attackers try to blend in with normal network traffic, my correlation rules light them up like a Christmas tree.

Identifying covert communication channels. From HTTP beaconing to DNS tunneling, detecting C2 requires understanding both normal network behavior and creative hiding techniques.

C2 detection is my bread and butter. I've built Splunk dashboards that visualize beacon patterns and detect DNS tunneling with scary accuracy. When I see periodic callbacks at 3-minute intervals, I know it's game on.

Preventing attackers from gaining higher-level permissions. Covers exploitation of vulnerabilities, token manipulation, and abuse of legitimate system features to elevate privileges.

Privilege escalation attempts trigger my competitive side—it's a direct challenge. I've analyzed everything from kernel exploits to creative scheduled task abuse. Understanding both Windows internals and attacker creativity is key.

Detecting data theft before it leaves the network. Combines identifying how attackers gather and stage data with catching exfiltration attempts across various channels.

Data is what attackers came for—stopping exfiltration is the ultimate win. I monitor for compression, staging, and abnormal outbound transfers. Cloud exfiltration is especially tricky, but behavioral baselines make the impossible possible.

Mitigating destructive attacks. From ransomware to wipers, this category focuses on detecting and responding to techniques designed to cause damage, disruption, or ransom demands.

Ransomware is personal—it's digital terrorism. I've analyzed countless ransomware families and built detections for encryption behavior patterns. Nothing is more satisfying than catching ransomware BEFORE encryption starts.

The defensive backbone. This category represents the continuous monitoring, threat detection, and security analytics that enable early identification of malicious activity across all other categories.

This is where I thrive—active defense. I build detection rules that catch threats others miss. My Splunk dashboards are works of art. Threat hunting isn't a job; it's a passion. I wake up excited to hunt bad guys.

Managing the full incident lifecycle. From initial detection to recovery and lessons learned, this encompasses the structured approach to handling security incidents and improving defenses.

Under pressure, I excel. Incident response requires calm leadership, technical precision, and clear communication—all my strengths. I don't just clean up incidents; I ensure we learn and improve so they don't happen again. Resilience is my superpower.