🌊 InfoSec Diary

So I've started a private group chat with a couple of mates where we initially practiced CTF under the encrypted chat application called Signal. It's been active for just over 3 years now! 

P.S. It's more of a casual OSINT and Q&A forum now with DevOps Engineering topics covered every now and then. We tend to have some pretty decent yarn 😊

About Me

"Checkmate!" as my papa would say to me with a smirk after my 100+ attempts on trying to beat him at chess. Papa, my grandad, seemed like such a grandmaster when you're young.

He had this bravado to him. I always just thought that maybe it had to do with his background as once the Chief of Intelligence for the Philippine National Police around the late 70s. I have fond memories of his action packed stories. He used to talk about the everyday crimes that occured in the nation in his prime. He was also a decorated athlete, achieving a medal in mid-distance running for the nationals. 

He's incredible and this all probably led to my desire on emulating his strengths. Although, I was never quite the athlete growing up so I thought that I was likely better suited as a musician. My grandmother was a Jazz singer afterall and I could play the keys pretty well by ear. 

My minimal hacking station 😊

Years later, I instead found myself sitting in a Computer Science class. Why? Well, I ended up a nerd. I played lots of Tekken, a fighting game, and took it as sign that I probably wouldn't mind staring at a screen to pay the bills. 

I wasn't a prodigy but I was always very high in work ethic. I remember learning about nothing but code for 3 months with my girlfriend in the University Piano Room. I felt behind in my ability so this was my solution. From there, I ended up being pretty confident with my C# programming skills that opened up doors for me to provide private tutoring to a few first year students.

My work ethic probably rooted from being literally addicted to watching boxers drill their tactics on YouTube. Manny Pacquiao's forward attacker style was so satisfying for me along with Floyd Mayweather's more defensive but cerebral approach. I always enjoyed analysing that sort of thing.

I just seem to always find myself gravitating to anything attack/defense related that involved problem solving. My Lichess Puzzle Streak score should stand as pretty solid evidence for this too I think 😁

Eventually, as I worked throughout the years in ICT, I discovered a YouTuber's Day in the Life video about being a Cyber Security Analyst. I found it so interesting! There was something relatably human about his character but I thought that maybe it was fluke. Then I discovered more YouTubers that cover Cyber Security and they had backgrounds that were relatable to my interest. Fast forward, here I am, currently enjoy reading through 'Ghost in the Wires' about Kevin Mitnick, who was once the most wanted hacker. I've caught the bug for it 🙂

I also noticed that a lot of these cyber security folks were either from Military, Ex-criminals or just generally enjoyed combat/strategy games like I did. It's also a bonus that they come across self-aware. 

It's crazy to me because all this time, there was a part of the technology industry that was all about strategy and security. It's mind blowing because, in my opinion, outside of maybe management, technology has more emphasis on building than defending. Cyber Security was different. It was about protecting assets and just like my grandad, in a nerdy way, I get to protect people. 

Within a few years, I passed my examination for CompTIA Security+ and finished a mini triathlon that same year! 

I got a subscription for hack the box.

I bought a Cyber Security inspired card game.

Bought more games that's "Cyber Themed" like Decrypto and a Padlock puzzle.

Overall, we'll see how lucky I get. The best I can do's to keep preparing myself through the digital space and continue filling my 'Seguridad' (Filipino word for security) physical knowledge base until someone gives me an opportunity to get my foot in the door ♞ 

P.S. Check out this guy scamming scammers 🤣 

Thanks for reading 😊