Projects & Lab Builds

Real-world cybersecurity and cloud projects demonstrating practical skills in threat detection, SIEM engineering, and Azure infrastructure.

โ— Live Lab
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Home Penetration Testing Lab โ€” Kali & Metasploitable 2

Built a fully isolated attack/detect environment using Kali Linux and Metasploitable 2 on VMware Workstation Pro. Executed a complete penetration test including network reconnaissance, exploitation of three critical CVEs, SSH brute force credential attacks, post-exploitation credential dumping, and offline password cracking.

30+ Ports Found
3 CVEs Exploited
3/7 Hashes Cracked
  • Configured VMware Workstation Pro with Kali Linux and Metasploitable 2 on an isolated host-only network
  • Performed full port scan with Nmap โ€” discovered 30+ open services including FTP, SMB, MySQL, VNC, and Tomcat
  • Gained instant root access via port 1524 bindshell โ€” no exploit required
  • Exploited CVE-2011-2523 (vsftpd 2.3.4 backdoor) using Metasploit โ€” opened Meterpreter session as root
  • Exploited CVE-2007-2447 (Samba usermap_script) โ€” command injection via SMB yielded root shell
  • Conducted SSH brute force attack using Medusa against OpenSSH 4.7 โ€” successfully recovered credentials
  • Performed post-exploitation credential dumping โ€” extracted /etc/shadow via Meterpreter download
  • Cracked 3 of 7 password hashes offline using John the Ripper and the rockyou.txt wordlist
  • Documented all findings with CVE references, CVSS scores, and remediation recommendations
Kali Linux Metasploit Nmap Medusa John the Ripper VMware CVE-2011-2523 CVE-2007-2447 Meterpreter
โ— Live Lab
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Azure SIEM Lab โ€” Microsoft Sentinel

Deployed a cloud-based SIEM using Microsoft Sentinel on Azure. Configured live threat detection against real-world brute force attacks targeting an exposed Windows Server VM.

67K+ Attacks Detected
5+ Source IPs
Real Threat Data
  • Provisioned Windows Server 2022 VM in Azure with intentionally exposed RDP to simulate a honeypot environment
  • Connected VM to a Log Analytics Workspace and enabled Microsoft Sentinel as the SIEM layer
  • Configured Windows Security Events data connector via Azure Monitor Agent
  • Built KQL detection rule triggering on 3+ failed RDP logins within 5 minutes (EventID 4625)
  • Created live workbook dashboard visualizing failed login attempts by IP and time
  • Observed and analyzed over 67,000 real brute force attempts from global threat actors within hours of deployment
  • Hardened NSG by restricting RDP access to a single authorized IP after data collection
Microsoft Sentinel Azure Log Analytics KQL Windows Server 2022 NSG Azure Monitor Agent
โ— Completed
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Vulnerability Assessment Lab โ€” Nessus Essentials

Conducted a real-world vulnerability assessment across 3 live network hosts using Nessus Essentials. Identified, analyzed, and documented findings including a High severity vulnerability with full CVE and CVSS scoring analysis.

3 Hosts Scanned
1 High Finding
2 Medium Findings
  • Installed and activated Nessus Essentials on macOS โ€” configured scan policies and live targets
  • Scanned 3 live network hosts including router and endpoints across a live /24 subnet
  • Identified 1 High severity finding on endpoint host with full CVE and CVSS v3 analysis
  • Identified Medium severity misconfiguration on network router โ€” documented remediation steps
  • Analyzed 90+ informational findings to map network attack surface and exposed services
  • Exported full Nessus vulnerability report and documented findings in structured assessment format
  • Applied NIST 800-53 risk prioritization to rank findings by exploitability and business impact
Nessus Essentials CVE Analysis CVSS Scoring NIST 800-53 Network Scanning Risk Assessment
Coming Soon
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Active Directory Home Lab

Simulated enterprise AD environment with user provisioning, GPO management, and privilege escalation scenarios.

Active Directory Windows Server PowerShell GPO

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These projects reflect the same hands-on approach KD Cyber Solutions brings to every engagement.

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