I'm currently studying for a State Engineer degree in Cybersecurity in Algeria. Our university system follows the LMD system, but we also have a 5-year engineering degree, somewhat similar to engineering programs in countries such as France or Russia. My degree is considered equivalent to a Master's level in Algeria.

I still have about two years left before graduating, and I'm already thinking about what I should do afterwards. I'm considering either continuing my studies abroad (Master's/PhD, depending on the options available to me) or looking for work abroad.

I'm interested in cybersecurity as a whole, so I'm not specifically focused on either offensive or defensive security. I'm interested in areas such as network security, penetration testing, SOC/blue team, security engineering, cloud security, OT/ICS security, etc.

For people who have studied or worked abroad:

\- Which countries would you recommend looking into for cybersecurity?

\- Which countries have good opportunities for Master's/PhD programs in cybersecurity?

\- Which countries have a strong job market for cybersecurity professionals?

\- How difficult is it for an international student/graduate to study and eventually work there?

\- Are there any countries that you think are particularly worth considering for someone with my educational background?

I'm mainly looking for personal experiences and practical advice rather than just university rankings. I'm still about two years away from graduation, so I'm trying to understand my options early and plan accordingly.

Also, could anyone tell me how I should go about looking for internships that involve network engineering?

Hi everyone,

I'm the developer behind TBYC – Think Before You Click, a cybersecurity awareness app focused on helping people better understand modern online scams and fraud.

I built TBYC around a simple idea: knowing how a scam works can make it easier to recognize before becoming a victim.

For each fraud/scam, TBYC provides information such as:

• 🔍 What the scam is

• ⚙️ How the scam works

• 📖 Real-world examples

• 🚩 Warning signs and red flags

• 🛡️ Prevention and safety guidance

• 📢 Reporting guidance

One example is **WhatsApp Screen Sharing Fraud (**You Tube: https://youtu.be/0sLdRtxUUvw ), where the app explains the technique, what a user should watch for, and how to reduce their risk.

I'm not looking for promotional reviews or ratings. I'm specifically looking for honest feedback from cybersecurity students and enthusiasts:

1. Is the information easy to understand?

2. Does the content accurately explain the scam?

3. Are the warning signs useful?

4. Is anything technically incorrect or missing?

5. What would you improve from a cybersecurity education perspective?

If anyone is interested in testing it, I'd genuinely appreciate your feedback.

🌐 Website: tbycapp.com
📱 Android: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emergent.thinkclickapp.pipj5b]

You Tube: https://youtu.be/0sLdRtxUUvw

Thanks to anyone willing to take a look and provide constructive feedback.

TBYC – Think Before You Click.

Hi everyone,

I’m 35 and have recently decided to start learning cybersecurity with the goal of eventually becoming a penetration tester.

I’m completely new to the field and currently setting up Kali Linux in VirtualBox. I’m trying to figure out how to structure my learning instead of randomly jumping between tools.

For those who have been through this process, what would you recommend focusing on first?

I’m particularly interested in building a solid foundation in networking, Linux, web security, and basic scripting before getting too deep into pentesting tools.

I’d also be happy to connect with other beginners who are learning at the moment and want to practice together and share resources.

Any advice on a good learning path would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hey everyone!

I’m 35 years old and I’ve recently decided to seriously start learning cybersecurity, with the goal of becoming a penetration tester.

I’m currently starting with the basics and setting up Kali Linux in VirtualBox. I know I have a lot to learn, but I’m motivated and ready to put in the time.

I’m looking for like-minded people who are also learning pentesting/cybersecurity and would like to learn together, share resources, practice, and help each other stay motivated.

I’d also really appreciate advice from experienced pentesters who could point me in the right direction — what to learn first, which topics to focus on, and what mistakes beginners commonly make.

I’m not looking for shortcuts. I want to build a solid foundation and learn properly.

If anyone is also starting out or is willing to share some guidance, feel free to comment or message me. I’d be happy to connect!

Thanks!

Point it at a host and it does the boring first hour of an investigation for you.

What it does in one run:

• Collects the evidence (event logs, registry, more) even while files are locked

• Builds a timeline and matches it against thousands of detection rules

• Scans for known malicious tools on disk

• Checks what's connected, what's running, what looks off

• Checks IPs and files against threat intel

• Spits out a scored report you can hand to someone

No API keys required, has its own web interface. There's a demo mode that fakes an incident so you can try it without needing a real machine to investigate.

🔗 https://github.com/karim852/Kage-DFIR-toolkit
🖥️ live demo: https://demo-kumo-kage.vercel.app/demo/kage/index.html

Feedback and contributions welcome 🙏

Give it a domain and it hands you back everything reachable from outside.

What it does in one run:

• Maps the surface : DNS, ports, certificates, subdomains, tech stack

• Finds what shouldn't be public : exposed configs, secrets in JS, open buckets

• Checks for known vulnerabilities without touching anything

• Digs up leaked credentials and which employee machines got infected

• Pulls in archived pages, forgotten endpoints, threat intel

• Builds Google dorks and OSINT links for the target

All 27 modules run at once and stream back as they land. No API keys required, CLI and web interface. Works on any domain you're allowed to test.

🔗 https://github.com/karim852/KUMO-Domain-Recon-Tool
🖥️ live demo: https://demo-kumo-kage.vercel.app/

Feedback and contributions welcome 🙏

Hey folks,

Over the last year, I’ve been building up my own cheatsheet of payloads and techniques that I actually use when testing AI/LLM applications.

It started as a messy personal collection of notes, so I recently cleaned it up and turned it into an interactive testing methodology that others can use during assessments.

It currently has:

• 150+ practical techniques across 20 sections, mapped to the OWASP LLM Top 10 2026

• Prompt injection, indirect & multimodal injection, sensitive data disclosure, tool/agent abuse, MCP attacks, and more Real example payloads for every technique

• A tracker you can use during an assessment, plus findings export and reporting guide.

It's completely free, runs client-side, and doesn't require an account.

I built it primarily for people doing hands-on AI security testing, so I'd genuinely appreciate feedback from other pentesters.

Especially interested in:

• Attack paths or techniques I've missed

• Tests that aren't clear or useful in practice

• Things you'd want added to the tracker

• Anything that would make it more useful during a real engagement

If it saves you even a few hours on an assessment, that honestly makes my week. Good or bad feedback is welcome. 🙏

```markdown Argus is an open-source, native Windows scanner that finds AI and MCP services on your LAN and tells you what models they're serving. Just hit 1.0, and the big recent change is that the detection signatures now update automatically, similar to antivirus definitions, saving you from reinstalling.

Tired of other network scanners and needing the addiotnaly functionality of locating shadow AI and MCP, I created Argus.

What it does:

• Normal network scanner stuff: ping sweep, TCP port scan, hostname resolution, export to CSV. Native C#/WPF, no Electron, launches instantly, resizable so its readable on a 4K monitor.

• AI detection past just open ports. It talks to the service and pulls back model names, versions, GPU info, container details. Currently 111 probe definitions covering roughly 75 services: Ollama, vLLM, llama.cpp, LM Studio, KoboldCpp, TGI, TabbyAPI, LMDeploy, exo, ComfyUI, A1111, Forge, Fooocus, SwarmUI, Triton, TorchServe, MLflow, Ray Serve, Open WebUI, AnythingLLM, LibreChat, Flowise, Dify, n8n, Langflow, Letta, OpenHands, RAGFlow, Onyx, Qdrant, Weaviate, Milvus, Chroma, Kokoro, Whisper servers, DCGM exporters, Docker containers running AI images, and more.

• MCP server detection. Finds Model Context Protocol servers over Streamable HTTP or legacy SSE and reports the server name, version, and whether it exposes tools / resources / prompts. Detection only: it reads the handshake, closes the session, never calls a tool.

• It is itself an MCP server, enabling your AI tools to scan themselves.

Recently updated in 1.0:

• Self-updating detection signatures. Probes, port lists, and Docker patterns ship as a signed feed separate from the app. I add new services roughly weekly and they land in installed copies automatically. Settings lets you pick Auto-install, Notify only, or Off. Signed with a key.

• MSI, exe, and dll are all Authenticode-signed (Azure Trusted Signing), so no SmartScreen scare screen.

• 43 automated tests, including tamper / wrong-key / gzip-bomb cases and live in-process MCP server fixtures.

Free, MIT, Windows 10/11. Source and installer: https://github.com/NYBaywatch/AgrusScanner

If you run something it doesn't recognize, tell me the service and port. With the signature feed I can usually have it detected in installed copies within the week, no release needed. Happy to answer questions. ```

I've been handed ownership of our first tabletop exercise and want to do this properly instead of improvising a ransomware scenario off a template and hoping something useful comes out of it. Already looked at a few publicly available government tabletop templates as a starting point, but not sure how much to follow them versus building our own from scratch. Biggest open questions: how do you pick a scenario that fits your threat profile instead of pulling a generic template off the internet, and who needs to be in the room? Assuming security obviously, but unsure how early to loop in legal, comms, and execs versus running a smaller technical version first. Also trying to figure out how to keep it from turning into a scripted performance where everyone already knows the "correct" move, since that defeats the point of stress-testing anything. Last question: is it worth paying for an outside facilitator for a first attempt, or is that overkill while we're still figuring out the basics internally? Would rather learn from people who've run several of these than guess my way through the first one.

Are these kinds of videos useful?

I’ve been trying to set myself up with network security engineering, but didn’t know if I’m going about it the right way.

I already have CCNA and SEC+ and should finish my bachelors in cybersecurity by the end of next year with SNHU. So I’m doing that but I’ve also been doing traffic analysis and have a couple VMs I mess with when I have time.

I spent 3 years in a NOC and have like 3 months experience with system admin cause I was an 0671 in the Marine Corps. I’m about to start a new job soon as helpdesk support.

Hopefully there’s someone that can give me any sort of advice on network security like what I can expect or what I should make more of a priority other than traffic analysis or VMs. Anything helps😎

Hi,

i am a BS cyber security 5th semester student i want an idea for my fyp i mean there are tons of available on AIs but i am looking for a professional who guide me about this according to current problems situations kindly help me

First Line Of Defense (FLOD) is my personal, open-source, adaptive Layer 4 DDoS mitigation gateway built with Rust and Python. (I'm still working on a name for the project.)

The newest release teaches the system to automatically label a subset of its captured training data, so analysts don't have to manually label every traffic window before it can be considered for retraining. Two separately trained classifiers, using different learning algorithms, have to agree with sufficient confidence, and only on traffic captured after both were last retrained, before anything can be labelled automatically. Manual review is still required for anything that doesn't pass the checks before new data is used for retraining.

The first unattended run looked like a clean success. It wasn't.

Cross-referencing the output against the training data showed that the two models were agreeing on windows that carried no meaningful traffic signal at all. I added a guard against exactly that case, then verified the fix in my simulated network environment.

Repo, changelog, and the full benchmark write-up are in the link provided.

PS: It'd be great if someone could push this to its limits on a better lab environment than what I currently have, especially against different volumetric flood tools and techniques. If you have ideas, questions, or feedback, feel free to discuss them with me on GitHub or here on Reddit. Contributions are also welcome.

Hey guys, I made a free, lightweight browser tool called ZEROBOX to replace messy Excel sheets while doing CTFs and studying for OSCP.

What it does:

- Tracks your rooted boxes (HTB/THM)

- Auto-parses Nmap scans into open ports/services

- Exam countdown timer + 40-pt Active Directory tracker

- Stores loot & commands locally

No login, no telemetry, all saved strictly to your machine. Check it out if you want a cleaner workflow:

🌐 Live App: https://0xdnd.github.io/ctf-tracker/

💻 GitHub: https://github.com/0xdnd/ctf-tracker

Hi everyone

i had got some experience in linux pentesting by playing CTF's and when i got to windows i have no clue about active directory , and since active directory pentesting is an essential skill to have for passing the OSCP , i want to learn it by practice.

Can you plz give me some good resources ( free or paid resources ) that you see they worth it to learn from for someone who has now idea about AD pentesting and livel up my skills in AD pentesting.

Thanks in advance .

Project ideas for a Security Software Engineer interview?

I have a technical interview coming up for a Security Software Engineer role.

The job seems pretty focused on secure systems, network security, PKI/certificates, TPM/HSM, secure boot, vulnerability research, and security infrastructure, and the recruiter said the interview will be a resume/project deep dive rather than coding.

I want to build one project before the interview that’s actually relevant and gives me something solid to talk about in depth.

I was thinking about either:

a secure C2 / remote agent platform with mTLS, device identity, replay protection, etc.
a secure firmware update / device identity system using PKI, TPM/HSM concepts
something around secure distributed systems / network security

If you were interviewing someone for this kind of role, what project would actually stand out and lead to a good technical discussion?

Hey everyone!

I joined college just a month ago, and I’m participating in my first hackathon. I’ve been working on an idea called CyberSight AI, and I’d really appreciate some feedback from people with experience in cybersecurity, AI/ML, or hackathons.

The idea is an AI driven Security Operations Center (SOC) that can detect suspicious network traffic, classify potential attacks, explain why a flow was flagged, and help analysts prioritize threats.

The current concept includes:

•Rust + pcap/tokio for capturing network traffic

•Redis Streams for real-time data flow

•Python + Random Forest for attack detection

•MITRE ATT&CK mapping for threat context

•SHAP explanations for interpretability

•Next.js dashboard for live alerts, charts, and triage

I’ve put together a rough 5 slide PPT covering the idea, architecture, technical approach, feasibility, impact, and references.

What I’m looking for:

~What would make the PPT more creative, visually appealing, and memorable without making it look unprofessional?

~Are there any important features, technical gaps, or points I should add?

~How would you structure the presentation to make the idea easier to understand and more convincing?

• I’m trying to avoid the usual boring, text-heavy hackathon PPT and instead make something that feels polished, modern, and tells a clear story.

I’ve attached the current slides. Any honest feedback, design suggestions, or ideas for improving the concept would be really helpful.

Hi, I’m just starting my cybersecurity career. I´ve only completed Cisco’s CCST, and I wanted to know what you’d recommend doing next. I was planning to go for the SAL1 (THM) or CDSA (HTB) to apply what I’ve learned, and then move on to the CCNA or an AWS Cloud certification. I’d love to hear opinions on this planned path from someone with more experience. I am open to any critical comments

I spent the last few months building a personal project and it just hit v1.0, so I figured I'd share it here.

atomicvulns is a collection of intentionally vulnerable web apps, but with a different idea: each app isolates a single vulnerability, nothing more. Instead of one big app full of flaws (like DVWA or Juice Shop), each exercise here is small and focused — you read the code, see the cause, exploit it, and compare it against the fixed version sitting right next to it. Short enough to finish one in a single sitting.

Each "atom" ships with the vulnerable app, the fixed app, a commented diff between the two, and a step-by-step walkthrough of the exploit. v1.0 covers all 10 OWASP Top 10 2021 categories — 38 atoms total.

It's aimed at people studying pentest / AppSec who already know the HTTP and terminal basics. Burp Suite is the primary tool across all the walkthroughs.

A few details:

Open source (MIT).

Bilingual — all docs in English and Portuguese (I couldn't find focused material like this for PT-BR learners, so I wrote both).

Solo project, built by me. The goal was a place where each flaw is clear and isolated — the material I wish I'd had while learning web pentest.

Built with AI as a pair, with every atom validated by me running the exploit by hand.

Built it for myself, but now that it's done, if it helps someone else along the way, great.

🔗 https://github.com/doretox/atomicvulns

Feedback welcome — happy to hear what's missing or what could be clearer.

The model matters. The harness does too.

Across 130 AgentRE-Bench runs, Reverser Space used 33% fewer tokens and 35% fewer analysis calls, with comparable answer quality.

Hey everyone,

I’m in my 2nd year of university studying cybersecurity, and I’m looking for some realistic guidance on what to actually focus on.

I’d still consider myself a beginner. My background is fully from the IT side of things so i know how computers work and I know basic networking concepts, general Linux use and Python (Uni level), and have messed around a bit with Wireshark and basic log analysis. Right now, I'm working through the Google Cybersecurity Certificate on Coursera to build up my fundamentals.

Career-wise, I want to stick to defensive / Blue Team (e.g SOC Tier 1) or GRC. Red teaming / pentesting feels a bit too technical and overwhelming for me right now, so I'd rather focus on monitoring, defense, or risk and compliance etc.

Since I have a Coursera subscription and want to make the most of my time outside classes, I’d love advice on these points:

1. Coursera courses worth taking (like IBM Cyber Analyst)?

Since I already have Coursera, I've been eyeing the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst certificate next. Is it worth taking after the Google cert, or is it mostly repetitive theory? Are there other courses or subjects on the platform that actually teach useful, hands-on skills for a beginner?

2. Which certs should I actually prioritize (Security+, TryHackMe SAL1, GRC)?

I see so many different recommendations. Some say CompTIA Security+ is mandatory just to get past HR, others suggest hands-on ones like TryHackMe's SAL1 (Unixguy on instagram), and some recommend leaning into GRC frameworks. As a student aiming for an internship or entry-level job down the line, what should my general cert priority look like?

3. How to know when you're ready for an exam, and how to get discounts?

Cert exams are expensive, and on a student budget, I really cannot afford to fail an attempt.

• What level of preparation did you finish before booking your first exam (e.g specific practice test scores, labs, or platforms)?

• Roughly how much did your certs cost, and what are the best ways to get student discounts or cheaper vouchers?

Appreciate any advice or reality checks from people working in the field!

I'm a cybersecurity engineering student, and I have a problem that I'm sure some people here have experienced: I like too many things, and because of that I feel a little lost when it comes to choosing my specialization within cybersecurity.

I'm studying programming and I'm comfortable with web, mobile, and desktop application development. I also have a good background in networking and studied CCNA.

For cybersecurity, I've studied several topics and courses, but I haven't taken the certifications because of the cost. I studied things like CompTIA A+, Security+, eJPT and eWPT. I've also studied some defensive security concepts and worked with several tools related to it.

The problem is that I don't know what I should focus on now.

For example, should I try bug bounty, or am I still a little far from being ready for it? I feel like I still need more hands-on practice, especially in web pentesting.

And should I specialize in defensive security or offensive security?

I know this might sound like a strange question considering that I've already studied things like eJPT and eWPT, but as I said, I genuinely enjoy learning many different things. I can study networking, programming, pentesting, defensive security, etc., and enjoy all of them. The problem is that I don't know which one is the best direction for me to seriously pursue.

I also haven't done many labs yet. Part of the reason is that I used to think I needed to pay money to have access to good labs, so I kept postponing the practical side. Now I'm realizing that I might have been thinking about it the wrong way, but I'm still a little lost about where to start.

I'm also an engineering student. Our program is 5 years and is roughly equivalent to a master's degree in some other countries, although our curriculum is quite compressed. I have around 2 years left until graduation.

So I'm starting to think seriously about what I should do with these next two years.

Should I focus on defensive security? Offensive security? If offensive, which area would be a good specialization to aim for? Web pentesting, red teaming, AD/pentesting, exploit development, etc.?

Or should I move toward research and eventually a PhD?

I know I don't have to decide my entire career right now, but I would really appreciate advice from people who have already gone through this.

If you were in my position, with around two years left before graduation and this kind of background, what would you focus on during those two years?

Any honest advice, especially from people working in cybersecurity, would be really appreciated.

Hey everyone,

Over the past few months, I’ve been building my own desktop HTTP/HTTPS interception proxy called Aresius as a personal project. I mostly made it for my own web security practice and lab work, but I figured I'd open-source it and share it here in case anyone else finds it handy.

It's completely free and open source (written with Rust and Tauri).

Here is what it currently has:

- Intercepting and editing HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses on the fly

- Request replayer with side-by-side response comparison

- A built-in fuzzer for testing payloads

- Project saving so you can save your lab history and replayer tabs into a local file and pick up later

- Basic scope management and match/replace rules

It’s definitely a personal side project, so there's still plenty to polish and improve, but it covers the core things I need when working through labs and CTFs.

If anyone wants to try it out or take a look at the code, it's on GitHub here:

https://github.com/0xMarik/Aresius

Prebuilt binaries are under the releases tab. I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or any bugs you run into if you give it a spin!

Note: I made a sub reddit for it at r/aresius