Hello, I'm Abda!

Objective

Implement a functional SIEM monitoring system using Wazuh to detect attacks on a web server. The project also aims to simulate real attack scenarios and observe how the system generates alerts based on log analysis.

Process

Built a lab with Wazuh SIEM, Kali Linux, and an intentionally vulnerable Apache server. Configured log forwarding for Apache and system logs to the Wazuh Manager for analysis. Simulated attacks like brute force and webshell exploitation to trigger security alerts. Analyzed log patterns to validate Wazuh's detection accuracy against abnormal behaviors.

Key Findings

• Successfully identified all simulated attacks from brute-force attempts to remote command execution.
• Utilized MITRE ATT&CK mapping to provide technical context for every detected threat.
• Integrated Telegram notifications to enable real-time alerting.

Tools & Technologies

PHP · Wazuh · Apache2 · Hydra · Gobuster · Burp Suite · Oracle VirtualBox

Objective

Cryptographic benchmarking by evaluating how parameters affect the system's resistance, comparative analysis, and determining the ideal balance between high-level security and system latency to ensure optimal resilience.

Process

Conducted a comparative analysis between Argon2 and PBKDF2 in terms of parameter, resistance and logical flow. Configured parameters of both algorithms according to standards, then ran a dictionary attack on both algorithms to compare the hash rate and test the effectiveness of memory resource usage in slowing down GPU and ASIC-based attack acceleration.

Key Findings

• Argon2id has been proven to be much more secure (superiority of Memory-Hardness), making large-scale attacks costly.
• Experimental results show a significant speed difference, Argon2 records about 7 H/s vs PBKDF2 (37 H/s) on the same device.
• Argon2 is able to mitigate parallel attacks through parallelism parameters and memory matrix.
• Recommended as the primary choice for large-scale and modern password storage.

Tools & Technologies

Hashcat · Argon2id · PBKDF2 · Python

Objective

Implementing the PBKDF2 algorithm for password storage and authentication, analyzing the logic flow and mechanism during processing.

Process

Began by designing a secure authentication flow for user registration and login within a Flask-based web application. User inputs were processed using PBKDF2, with the resulting hashes stored securely in a JSON-based format to preserve critical metadata. System validated login attempts by recalculating the hash and comparing it against the stored credentials.

Key Findings

• PBKDF2 strengthens password with salt and multiple iterations, making brute-force and dictionary attacks more costly.
• Storing structured parameters allows for consistent verification.
• Widely standardized (RFC 8018) and params can be tuned for performance vs. security trade-off.

Tools & Technologies

Python · Flask · HTML / CSS · MySQL · PBKDF2

Objective

Creating an office network ecosystem that is efficient and high availability. Focus on centralizing administrative control through Active Directory, optimizing connectivity through DHCP-DNS integration, and providing failover.

Process

Started with the installation and configuration of the main server roles (ADDS), DNS, and the DHCP Server with scope configuration reinforced by a Failover system. GPO was applied to restrict specific access rights on the client side. FSRM was used to manage storage quotas and file type filtering, as well as the use of DFS to replicate folders among several servers.

Key Findings

• ADDS and GPO have proven to be very effective in standardizing security policies and facilitating administrative control.
• The implementation of DHCP Failover and DFS Replication ensures continuity by minimizing single points of failure.
• FSRM providing control over disk capacity usage and controlling critical file provisions for efficiency.

Tools & Technologies

Windows Server 2022 · Windows 10 Pro · Oracle VirtualBox · ADDS · DNS Server · DHCP Server · FSRM · DFS · GPO