Projects

Self-taught NIST Cybersecurity Framework v2.0 and NIST SP 800-61 Revision 3 to design a comprehensive incident response plan and playbook for a private health and social care organisation. Integrated all six core functions: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover — aligned with UK legislation including DPA and GDPR. Awarded Best Dissertation at the GradX ceremony, judged across all final year Cyber Security and Digital Forensics students.

Established and executed a comprehensive penetration testing engagement in a virtualised lab environment against three vulnerable virtual machines, strictly adhering to PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard). Conducted OSINT reconnaissance using theHarvester and Shodan, vulnerability scanning, targeted exploitation, and post-exploitation. Achieved root on all three targets. Mapped all findings to MITRE ATT&CK, PCI-DSS, OWASP Top 10, and Cyber Kill Chain. Delivered a professional report. 100% objective completion.

Exploited a Linux RDP server vulnerability via a file upload flaw, injecting and executing a malicious script to achieve Remote Code Execution and escalate to root privileges. Demonstrated post-exploitation capabilities including persistence maintenance and proof-of-concept documentation for professional reporting.

Manipulated the MQTT protocol to execute a Man-in-the-Middle attack on the MQTT server. Intercepted and manipulated message broker traffic using Wireshark, demonstrating understanding of IoT protocol security vulnerabilities and network-level attack capabilities relevant to critical infrastructure assessments.

Performed comprehensive SQL injection attacks against vulnerable web applications demonstrating knowledge of OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and secure coding flaws. Validated impact and documented remediation guidance. Combined manual testing techniques with SQLMap automation.

Worked collaboratively in a simulated Security Operations Centre using Splunk to simulate real-world incident scenarios. Reviewed logs and alerts, detected attack patterns, and applied MITRE ATT&CK framework for threat classification and response planning. Practised Tier 1 workflows and escalation procedures in a team environment.

Built a web application as part of the Web Applications and Cloud Security module in Year 2. Demonstrated understanding of cloud hosting, web security principles, and secure development practices. Video walkthrough produced to document the project outcome.

Analysed three malware samples identifying behaviours including C2 communication and persistence mechanisms. Documented Indicators of Compromise and produced chain-of-custody reports simulating forensic triage for SOC investigation handoff.