Michelle's Projects

In this project, Michelle conducted comprehensive vulnerability assessments using industry-standard tools such as Wireshark, Nmap, and Nessus within both St. John’s University lab environments and her personal home lab. These assessments involved identifying potential risks, analyzing network traffic for suspicious behavior, and detecting vulnerabilities in systems and applications. she took the initiative to mitigate the identified risks by implementing security controls, patching vulnerabilities, and conducting follow-up scans to verify remediation. This hands-on experience solidified her skills in vulnerability management, risk assessment, and network security.

Michelle is currently developing a custom personal portfolio website, separate from my existing GoDaddy site, to showcase her cybersecurity skills and completed projects. Built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, this project is enhancing my front-end development skills. The website will include a detailed portfolio, resume, certifications, and contact information, serving as a central hub for her professional online presence. Through this endeavor, she is gaining practical experience in web development, user experience design, and coding best practices, while showcasing her technical capabilities.

In this project, Michelle dual-booted a Windows laptop with Ubuntu to enhance her familiarity with Linux systems and improve security through system partitioning. By creating separate partitions for each operating system, she was able to isolate environments for more secure usage and better system performance. This setup allowed me to experiment with threat mitigation techniques, particularly in securing Linux from potential threats. Additionally, she practiced critical skills such as bootloader configuration, file system management, and troubleshooting OS compatibility issues.

During this project, Michelle utilized FTK Imager and Autopsy to recover hidden and deleted data from various storage media, supporting cybersecurity investigations. The process involved identifying fragmented files, extracting data from unallocated disk space, and reconstructing the original files to retrieve critical information. To ensure the integrity of the recovered data, she employed hash functions (MD5, SHA-1) to generate checksums and verify that the extracted files had been altered. This project enhanced her data recovery skills and contributed to her understanding of digital forensics, as well as her ability to support investigative efforts by securing and verifying sensitive data.

In this project, Michelle gained hands-on experience with Linux system administration by navigating the file system, managing files and directories, and performing essential network diagnostics. She used Bash commands to efficiently navigate the file structure, create, edit, and delete documents, and manage permissions for various users. Additionally, she utilized the ping command and network utilities to troubleshoot network connections and test connectivity between systems.

She also enhanced my scripting skills by automating tasks, such as file backups and network monitoring, to improve system efficiency and security. This project deepened my understanding of Linux, strengthening my ability to manage system resources, perform basic administrative tasks, and troubleshoot network issues.

As part of Michelle's continuous development in cybersecurity, she has been actively learning through the TryHackMe platform, where she engaged in hands-on labs and guided challenges that cover a variety of topics such as penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and network security. These exercises have enhanced her practical skills in areas such as web exploitation, cryptography, and threat detection.

She's also gained proficiency in tools like Wireshark, Nmap, and Burp Suite, applying them in simulated environments to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, analyze network traffic, and secure systems. Each completed challenge reinforces her understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals and advanced techniques, allowing her to continuously refine her skill set in preparation for real-world scenarios.

Michelle has been expanding her technical skill set through Codecademy, focusing on web development and programming. This learning journey includes mastering HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build dynamic websites, as well as improving her proficiency in Python for various tasks.

Through hands-on projects and interactive lessons, she has gained experience in creating responsive web pages, handling user input, and implementing functionality with JavaScript. Her Python training covers topics such as data structures, control flow, and working with external libraries, enhancing my programming and problem-solving abilities. This ongoing initiative allows her to continuously develop her skills in a practical context.