CyberVibeCheck Lab Series
10 hands-on cybersecurity projects built and documented for the CyberVibeCheck YouTube channel
How to Monitor Network Availability with Uptime Kuma
Deploy a real-time uptime dashboard to monitor internal and external asset health. Configure automated Discord alerts so you know the second anything goes down — before your users do.
Proactive monitoring is the foundation of every SOC. This is how Tier 1 analysts know an incident happened before the helpdesk phones start ringing.
Launch Uptime Kuma via Docker: docker run -d --restart=always -p 3001:3001 -v uptime-kuma:/app/data louislam/uptime-kuma:1
Access the UI at http://localhost:3001 and create your first monitors
Configure Ping + HTTP(s) monitors for gateway and portfolio site
Integrate Discord Webhooks for automated incident alerting
How to Catch Hackers with Canary Tokens
Create digital tripwires that alert you the moment an attacker touches a file — including their IP, OS, and timestamp — without them ever knowing.
Deception technology is used by enterprise SOC teams at scale. Understanding it makes you stand out from candidates who only know detection — not deception.
Navigate to CanaryTokens.org and select "MS Word Document" as the token type
Provide a Discord webhook URL and a convincing label (e.g., "Q4_Salary_Review_Confidential.docx")
Download the token file and "leak" it onto a desktop or USB drive
Open the file and watch the real-time alert fire with IP and OS data captured
How to Perform OSINT on a Suspicious Domain
Investigate a malicious website without ever visiting it. Map an attacker's full infrastructure — IP history, redirect chains, sibling domains — in under 5 minutes.
At Tier 1 in a SOC, you triage 50–100 phishing URLs per shift. This passive OSINT workflow is the playbook. Knowing it cold is table stakes for the role.
Pull a confirmed phishing URL from PhishTank — never visit suspicious links directly
Paste into URLScan.io and analyze sandboxed screenshot, IP, redirect chain, and technologies
Search the domain on VirusTotal — check Detection, Relations, and Community tabs
Use WHOIS to find registration dates, registrar, and contact info patterns
How to Audit Cloud Security with ScoutSuite
Scan an AWS environment for open S3 buckets, weak IAM policies, and misconfigured security groups using a read-only automated audit — no destructive actions.
Cloud misconfiguration is the #1 cause of data breaches. AWS and Azure security skills add 20–40% to a Security Analyst's salary. This is where the money is.
Create IAM user "scoutsuite-auditor" with SecurityAudit + ReadOnlyAccess policies
Install ScoutSuite: pip install scoutsuite
Configure credentials via aws configure then run scout aws
Review HTML report for Danger-level findings: open S3, root account keys, no MFA
How to Build a Risk Assessment Heat Map
Translate scary tech vulnerabilities into business language that executives understand. Build a color-coded 5×5 risk matrix in Google Sheets that quantifies and prioritizes organizational risk.
This is the deliverable you hand to a CISO or Board of Directors. Grounded in NIST SP 800-30 and ISO 27005.
Create columns: Asset, Threat, Impact (1–5), Likelihood (1–5), Risk Score
Input 5+ realistic scenarios: Ransomware, Insider Threat, Phishing, Data Center Fire, Vendor Breach
Add formula =C2*D2 for Risk Score and IF formula for risk level labels
Conditional formatting: Red (16–25), Yellow (10–15), Green (1–9) plus 5×5 visual matrix
How to Analyze Email Headers for Phishing
Find where a fake email actually came from. Deconstruct raw email headers to trace the originating IP, validate SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, and expose spoofed sender infrastructure.
This is the #1 daily task for Junior Security Analysts. You triage 50–100 phishing reports per shift at Tier 1. Knowing this cold is table stakes.
Open suspected phishing email in Gmail → 3-dot menu → Show original
Paste raw headers into Google Admin Toolbox MessageHeader analyzer
Analyze Authentication-Results for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC pass/fail status
Locate X-Originating-IP and run through MXToolbox blacklist check
How to Identify Malicious Files Without Running Them
Never open a suspicious file to find out if it's safe. Use cryptographic hashing to generate a unique file fingerprint and match it against a global threat database — in under 60 seconds.
File hashing is standard in every IR playbook — it instantly tells you if you're dealing with known commodity malware or something novel to escalate.
Generate MD5: md5 ~/Downloads/filename
Generate SHA-256: shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/filename
Paste SHA-256 hash into VirusTotal Search tab and review detection results
Look up a known malware hash from abuse.ch MalwareBazaar for a live positive detection
How to Scan Web Vulnerabilities with OWASP ZAP
Find SQL injection and XSS vulnerabilities in a legal test environment. Run a full automated scan, analyze findings by severity, and generate a professional remediation report.
AppSec is one of the fastest-growing career paths in security. Bug bounty programs on HackerOne pay real money for exactly these findings.
Download and install OWASP ZAP from zaproxy.org
Use Automated Scan against a legal target: testphp.vulnweb.com
Review Alerts tab — filter by High severity first (SQL Injection, XSS)
Export HTML report with findings, request/response evidence, and remediation steps
How to Create a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA)
Build the compliance document required before any product touching personal data goes live. Map data flows, assign legal basis under GDPR/CCPA, score privacy risks, and define controls.
Meta was fined $1.3B for GDPR violations. Amazon, $746M. The analyst who understands both security controls AND regulatory requirements gets promoted.
Draft sections: System Description, Data Inventory, Legal Basis, Risk Assessment, Controls, Residual Risks, Sign-off
Apply template to a "Pizza Delivery App" — map every data type to its GDPR legal basis
Score each data type by Likelihood and Impact — color code Critical, High, Medium, Low
Identify residual risks and assign corrective actions with owners and due dates
How to Write an Executive Incident Report
Take a real incident — portfolio site down for 4m 13s — and turn it into the one-page report you'd hand to a CISO. Root cause, business impact, corrective actions. No jargon.
Technical skills get you the interview. Communication skills get you the offer. This proves you can explain a breach to someone who's never heard of a TLS handshake.
Document the real incident: portfolio site TLS failure detected by Uptime Kuma — April 29, 2026
Write a 3–4 sentence Executive Summary: what, when, impact, status
Build a timeline table with exact timestamps and run the 5 Whys for root cause
Create corrective action table: task, owner, due date, status — no "be more careful"
CyberVibeCheck YouTube
Breaking down complex cybersecurity concepts into hands-on, actionable projects — from the homelab to the terminal
Where Cyber Meets
Real Projects
10 labs. 10 videos. Every concept shown live — not just explained. Whether you're breaking into cybersecurity or leveling up your homelab, CyberVibeCheck is the hands-on guide that bridges theory and the terminal.
How to Monitor Network Availability with Uptime Kuma
Deploy a real-time uptime dashboard. Configure Discord alerts so you know before your users do.
How to Catch Hackers with Canary Tokens
Create digital tripwires — watch the Discord alert fire live with attacker IP and OS.
How to Perform OSINT on a Suspicious Domain
Map an attacker's full infrastructure in under 5 minutes — without touching the target.
How to Audit Cloud Security with ScoutSuite
Scan AWS for open S3 buckets, weak IAM policies, and misconfigured security groups.
How to Build a Risk Assessment Heat Map
Translate tech vulnerabilities into business language — the 5×5 risk matrix execs actually read.
How to Analyze Email Headers for Phishing
Trace originating IPs and validate SPF/DKIM/DMARC — the Tier 1 analyst daily workflow.
How to Identify Malicious Files Without Running Them
Cryptographic hashing + VirusTotal: 72 AV engines checked, zero file execution.
How to Scan Web Vulnerabilities with OWASP ZAP
Find SQL injection and XSS on a legal target — then write the remediation report.
How to Create a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA)
Build the GDPR-required compliance doc from scratch — 7 sections, legal basis mapped.
How to Write an Executive Incident Report
Turn a real 4m 13s outage into the one-pager a CISO hands to the Board.
Education & Coursework
University coursework, certifications, and the self-directed study that built the skillset
Bachelor of Business Administration
Risk Management
Cybersecurity focus · College of Business · Graduated December 2025
Arlington, TX · DFW Area
Certifications
Industry-recognized credentials validating hands-on security knowledge
Core BBA Coursework
Risk Management & Cybersecurity track, College of Business · UTA
- Enterprise Risk Management & Insurance
- Information Security Risk Management
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
- Corporate Finance & Financial Analysis
- Business Law & Regulatory Compliance
- Operations Management & Supply Chain Risk
- Organizational Behavior & Leadership
- Business Communications & Professional Writing
Cybersecurity Coursework
Hands-on courses bridging technical operations with business context
- Network Security Fundamentals (TCP/IP, firewalls, VPNs)
- Cybersecurity Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
- Security Operations Center (SOC) Concepts
- Digital Forensics & Incident Response
- Cloud Security Architecture (AWS focus)
- Application Security & OWASP Top 10
- Privacy Law & Data Protection (GDPR, CCPA)
- Ethical Hacking & Vulnerability Assessment
Hands-On Learning Path
Beyond the classroom — building and breaking things in a real homelab environment