Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 10, 2023

Highlights for the week

Another quiet week, with a few wins. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a mentor that can be the wind in your sails. Learned about threat hunting and how the process is closely related to the QA process. I guess my +12 years have not gone to waste.

What We Loved

1. Had another round of interviews with a potential job lead. Over-preparation was good, and the results were worth it.
2. Meeting with my mentor is always the greatest part of my Fridays.
3. Working on the QA Automation Strategy for iHeart Radio proved invaluable for a few other opportunities that presented themselves.

What We Learned

1. For Network+: On the networking side, spent a good bit on learning about protocols and ports.
2. For Security (Ed.): Read a quick write-up titled "Hunting Evil: Your Practical Guide To Threat Hunting" by SQRRL. A fascinating read. The process was identical to testing.
3. For Security (Tooling): Spent a day with Burp Suite, learing about exploiting "password reset" cookie.
4. For QA: Got a little more advanced on API testing. Fixed the failing test for registering a new customer.
5. For QA: Also learned something new regarding automation strategy, namely the testing quadrants that make up test types that add value.

What We Longed For

1. More time. There are days when there are simply not enough hours to get things done.
2. Need more time to write my book.

What We Loathed

1. Owing the state tax money sucked.
2. 5.5 months of unemployment has been "educational" but the money is slowly running out. I have projected 2.4 months left before tapping into my retirement.