aaron597.com
Blog Posts
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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Blog Focus
I am changing the way that I am doing the blog. The focus should be on Computer Networking and an additional focus on Network Security. I don’t have enough content to share on Network Security for a weekly blog post.
For the blog, I am getting more of a Cisco focus but will share updates about HPE, Juniper, Arista, and Ubiquity. There is also a slant towards certification exams for Computer Networking that I will try to explain on aaron597.com.
Network Virtualization
I will be blogging about VMware and Cloud Networking as part of the blog. This will allow me to get some more content for each week. The Network Virtualization topic is somewhat linked with Cloud Networking as the Cloud is a big driver of virtualization.
Some other topics that I will be discussing include Network Defense and Network Penetration Testing. These two are more Network Security topics but in the new blog focus I will talk about them.
Training on Other Blog
I will be doing my training journey on aaronwdejong.net and will reference my articles and blog posts on Medium. There are some topics that I will discuss there like my mental health and my reading. My stats will be on this platform for the Network Security Influencer role that I am doing.
TryHackMe and HacktheBox
I am still working on the training for both TryHackMe and HacktheBox. The rank in the U.S. All-time for me is at 785 while having global rank of 6,150. I am at 34490 points with 272 rooms completed and 40 Badges.
For HacktheBox, I am working on the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst path and am at 68.57% completed. I have an interest in the penetration testing modules and have 11 modules left to complete.
Conclusion
I am thinking about what I want to do as far as career milestones. The milestones that I am wanting to do still are the CCIE, CISSP, CEH, CCISO, GSP, and PMI-ACP. The last three have been moved later in my career. For the CCIE and CISSP, I want to do the CCIE first.
The other thing that I have been thinking about is how to accomplish this task. I am thinking that I would need to get the CCNP Enterprise and CCNP Security at least. I am also thinking that I could use the ENAUTO exam to build out my skill set.
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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TryHackMe
I am currently ranked #810 U.S. All-time on TryHackMe and ranked #6366 in All-countries with a 32-day streak, 263 rooms completed and 40 badges. Working on Info and Easy rooms to get better at the SOC Level 2 Learning path that I am 15% through. The Security Automation Skill in the Junior Security Engineer skills matrix is what I have been working on.
HacktheBox
At 66.3% of the way through the Certified Junior Cybersecurity Associate Modules. Working mainly on the Introduction to Penetration Testing and PenTest in a Nutshell modules. On HacktheBox, I have a weekly streak of 5 weeks and am still working towards the Relentless Evolver badge for 26 weekly streaks in a row.
Udemy Progress
I have recently changed over to a personal plan from Udemy and am taking Nathan House’s Volume One Cybersecurity course. Also taking a Prompt Engineering Bootcamp course as well. Currently at 170 weeks for my weekly streak on Udemy. I like the ability to purchase courses as well as doing the personal plan courses, there is something like 26,000+ courses on the personal plan.
For Udemy, I am looking to get more into Ruby and Network Security so if you know of any resources or courses on Udemy please let me know. The courses that I have bought are on Udemy and I think that I want to go more into Business, Tai Chi, Sports Nutrition and other things like Mental Health and Foreign Languages in addition to the Network Security courses.
Home Lab
I am planning on setting up my Home Lab to get a Metasploitable VM along with my Kali Linux VM to do more effective penetration testing and security training. My Home Lab is a Dell OptiPlex 7060 and has a Win 11 Pro image on it. I am using VMware Workstation for a hosted hypervisor. Putting up a Vision Board to get some traction on my plans to become a CIO or CISO in the future.
Conclusion
You guys should check out my other blog at aaronwdejong.net where I talk more about my Home Lab and Vision Board. I am working with some Linux Essentials books to help study for a September 11th test that I have for the LPI Linux Essentials certification. This is more in line with the Network Administrator role that I am working on getting back into.
I am working with a better schedule and will want to take better care of my free time. The time is almost right for me to get back on my feet in the IT world. I have been working on the Network Security Influencer role and will want to get back into Computer Networking as more of a Network Administrator. Looking at more of a work from home role if you know of any.
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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HacktheBox Certified Junior Cybersecurity Associate
There is a new HacktheBox certification called the CJCA. This is the HTB Certified Junior Cybersecurity Associate which comes with a new Role Path called Junior Cybersecurity Analyst. For this role path, I am having 63.49% of 20 modules completed. The CJCA is both a red team and blue team certification that I am working on getting.
On the modules for the CJCA I am working on Introduction to Bash Scripting, Introduction to Penetration Testing, Pentest in a Nutshell and others. For the CDSA I am still working on the SOC Analyst Role Path where I am 30.91% completed. I am looking more towards doing the CJCA and the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst Role Path.
TryHackMe Progress
On TryHackMe, I am working through the SOC Level 2 Learning Path. I currently am at a rank of 6585 with being ranked 839 All-time in the United States. I recently finished the DevSecOps Learning Path on TryHackMe. This puts me at 253 rooms completed with 38 badges and a 17-day streak. Also, I am at 33092 points needing 35000 points to upgrade my Legend to a Guardian point level rank.
Network Security Influencer
I have taken up a Network Security Influencer role on social media. I am currently at 1.2k Facebook friends, 711 followers on LinkedIn, 30 followers on X, and 34 followers on Instagram. This puts me above 1,000 unique followers and makes me a Nano Influencer. Out of the four platforms Instagram is the newest for me and I am working on my Instagram following.
I am working on my branding on X and need to rethink my strategy. For Instagram, I am @aarondejong10 and for X @aaronwdejong. I would be open to new followers on these two platforms. The thing that I am doing as a Network Security Influencer that is more of a top fan strategy. There are 13 current organizations that I am a top fan of on social media.
Conclusion
The way that I am going about HacktheBox certifications is to work on the CJCA before the CDSA. This is something that I think makes HacktheBox a good platform for entry-level cybersecurity certifications. I am doing well on TryHackMe and think that I still have room for improvement with the SOC Level 2 Learning Path.
Doing more of the top fan strategy for the Network Security Influencer role has allowed me to become a better influencer. I am working more on the X and Instagram platforms where I am open to new followers. On Facebook and Instagram I am @dejongaaron, on LinkedIn I am linkedin.com/in/dejongaaron, and on X I am @aaronwdejong.
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
- Category: Blog Posts
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Network Security Influencer
For the Network Security Influencer role, I am working on learning about some influencer strategies. I want to get some experience and thought leadership skills out of being a Network Security Influencer. In addition, the way that I am approaching the influencer role is more of a top fan-based strategy.
I am looking forward to researching more Network Security Influencer strategies. I will be researching these to refine my approach and get better. The strategy that I have going forward is to help with the social media marketing of the organization or group. This is helpful in getting rising fan badges and top fan status.
Top Fan Status
Currently, I am doing Router Nest, Networks Baseline, IT Networks and nine or so altogether. The top fan status that I have also includes TryHackMe, HacktheBox, and Palo Alto Networks. By interacting with the sites or organizations on Facebook, Instagram, and X it helps provide the message to potential consumers. This is my basic strategy on the top fan status.
There is something that I have been doing for about 3.2 years as a weekly streak on Udemy which is 167 weeks in total. For Udemy, I have received a rising fan status and will be working on top fan status. This Udemy streak goes back to before they started the streak, and I am surprised with how long I have maintained it.
TryHackMe
I have become a Top Fan of TryHackMe by helping it out with the social media marketing and interacting with them. Currently, I am ranked #7179 on TryHackMe with being #932 in the Unites States All-Time. In addition, I have completed 247 rooms and am a Legend at Level 13 with 31780 points.
I will be working on my Junior Security Engineer Skill Matrix that is the second filter after Entry-Level, in which I have maxed out. On the Junior Security Engineer Skill Matrix, I am Strong in Identity Security and Incident Response while being weaker in Security Automation. I am back to working on the DevSecOps Learning Path where I am at around 70% completed.
Conclusion
Working with the Network Security Influencer role is allowing me to hone my craft and be more of an influencer over time. For the Udemy top fan status I will need to up the game on my interactions with Udemy. I am doing quite well on the TryHackMe site as a top fan and will be looking to extend my 8-day streak to 30 days at least.