Lab Challenges

1. Networking PCAP — Traffic Analysis

Problem Statement: Analyze DNS and HTTP traffic in a PCAP file to understand network communication patterns.

Approach:

• Open http.cap in Wireshark; use filters dns and http.
• Reconstruct HTTP requests and responses, trace DNS queries to IP resolution.

Tools: Wireshark, tshark

Screenshots:

• assets/images/DNS.jpg
• assets/images/HTTP.jpg
• assets/images/DNS1.jpg

Key Lessons:
Learned to trace network layers, interpret packet headers, and reconstruct HTTP flows for practical traffic analysis.

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2. OWASP Juice Shop — Web Vulnerability Assessment

Problem Statement: Identify common web vulnerabilities in Juice Shop aligned to OWASP Top 10.

Approach:

• Selected 3 vulnerabilities: SQL Injection, XSS, Broken Authentication.
• Tested manually and via Burp Suite; validated results in a controlled lab environment.

Tools: Browser, Burp Suite

Screenshots:

• assets/images/SQL.jpg
• assets/images/xss.jpg
• assets/images/auth.jpg

Key Lessons:
Gained practical insight into web security risks, learned mitigation strategies, and documented reproducible testing steps.

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3. TryHackMe — Offensive Security Labs

Problem Statement: Complete structured offensive security exercises including enumeration, exploitation, and privilege escalation.

Approach:

• Enumerated services using Nmap and Gobuster.
• Exploited vulnerable services in isolated lab environments.
• Escalated privileges and documented findings.

Tools: Nmap, Gobuster, linPEAS, netcat, terminal

Key Lessons:
Learned systematic penetration testing workflows, evidence documentation, and practical mitigation recommendations.