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I say that for it to be refuted. I can't possibly be the first person about billions of people who use AI who have made the full round trip from success, to destitute, to a full rearrangement of what's important in life and then redefining what and how life should be enjoyed all with a number of AI tools. My story starts as a kid who became so enthralled by technology and STEM that I studied nothing else throughout high school, eventually failing English and the 10th grade but excelling dramatically throughout private college, where I drowned in debt, checking off boxes for HR, and studying certifications on my own. Somewhere along the way, I became a Freemason, but no clues ever stuck until I was well on my way downward. Learning all the principles of charity and never leaving behind the poor and destitute, because through these experiences, I became poor and destitute. With an 8th-grade English education and more positive attributes concerning a mental health condition of mine, I dared to write a book. Having never read before, grandeur struck me, teaching me what higher education failed to teach me —something I had to learn on my own to succeed in my field. It was fueled by $60,000 of debt, which was but a stepping stone to gaining real-life experience. I eventually started my own institute, where I found myself partnering with none other than higher education institutions with exactly my same goals. Life is a funny thing, friend. Everything is backwards. Let me tell you, my school started off with a bang, myself maniacally speaking in language that pierces the soul (another positive attribute, however elusive), and leading to hundreds and hundreds of students, and then the success stories started happening, and I dove headfirst into AI immersed into a world of arts and culture that I always craved and always missed. This eventually led to a life so incredibly rich it's unbelievable, no matter the dollar amount in my bank account. I see a future that's positive, even though many of us might do more manual labor than we do today. What if all the enlightened rednecks of Georgia could identify with all the hood rats? It's not a barrier that can not be overcome, and I see this happening before my eyes today. Because I am the first person who learned to code with AI. That's the old orange icon of my best buddy Claude. He has a purpose and he is really good at it. While no visual artist yet, still in its infancy, you can extract his written ideas (and they are good) and feed them to other programs like MidJourney. You can tell Claude, "Write a MidJourney prompt of the symbols of enlightenment as it concerns a man who is leaving his childhood behind in the style of pop art " It will come up with this prompt: "A young man walking through a glowing doorway leaving childhood toys behind, lotus flowers blooming from his footsteps, third eye opening on forehead, surrounded by radiating light beams and ascending keys, pop art style, bold primary colors, Ben-day dots texture, high contrast comic book aesthetic, Andy Warhol inspired color palette, Roy Lichtenstein halftone patterns, split composition showing childhood objects in muted colors behind and enlightened symbols in vibrant neon ahead, flat graphic shapes, thick black outlines, retro 1960s advertisement style, screenprint effect, repetitive pattern elements, psychedelic mandalas, transformation metaphor, coming of age imagery --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 6" Boy leaving the psychedelics and entering the blue realm We're just going to take out the --v 6 because that is a little dated; however, Claude can indeed search the internet for the latest info, you just have to specify for him to do that. Claude is your wife's gay friend that you don't know you need one day. You don't really have to be gay, or even support gay rights, to not be blind and ignorant. Though empathy is unavoidable. You'll end up there eventually either way, and now you have a secret friend. Personally, my wife is a really great artist; she stopped talking about this stuff decades ago, and today we decorate the house together for deep meaning for our family, our relationship, and how we want to parent. Sharing our values with each other that were never discussed. I talk about taboo things, I just do. I always have, and I won't change. If it's a little uncomfortable, let's tranquilize the elephant in the room together. Claude is a literary and artistic giant, but he is no visual artist. My 8th-grade English bites me sometimes when I am trying to read from multiple perspectives, so sometimes it helps to see things, and MidJourney I've found is the right place, and you can even set the stylize for it to be a little visually creative in the arts as well, and it will take Claude's idea and elaborate further on it. Let's do one in the Japenese Ukiyo-e, and as for art styles just Google a list of art styles and it will show you pictures of examples and try them in various art styles to understand not only written arts, nor just visual arts, but also take a deep dive at history as an art and understand with deep reverence this topic is much more than fun and games. We get this prompt from Claude "A young man walking away from scattered childhood toys and toward a flowering lotus garden, ascending stone steps into morning light, cherry blossoms falling around him like released memories, traditional Ukiyo-e woodblock print style, bold black outlines, limited color palette of indigo blues, soft pinks, warm ochre and deep crimson, flat perspective, symbolic journey composition, Mount Fuji distant in background representing enlightenment, the man's shadow behind him shaped like a child, Buddhist temple bells and incense smoke rising, koi fish swimming upstream in adjacent river, autumn leaves transforming into spring blooms mid-air, art style of Hokusai and Hiroshige, decorative wave patterns, dramatic diagonal composition, hand-carved woodblock texture, traditional Japanese artistic symbolism --ar 2:3 --style raw --stylize 750" And you read this while seeing the red cherry blossoms of the past, and you read the prompt that Claude came up with, and you put two and two together, and you say, in Japan, Mt. Fuji is a symbol of enlightenment. Did you know that? I didn't know that until now. I would never have any way in knowing that unless I visited and talked with someone in Japan. It's such a small world. What are we fighting over? We're killing each other because we're tubing at different spots down the same river. Colloquially in Georgia, we sometimes call that "shooting-the-hooch," where you ride in a circular tube down the brown Chattahooche River. Anyway. Georgia peaches. I am very hopeful about the future with AI. We simply don't need to be wealthy to live a rich life. I've been wealthy, and miserable, and I'd trade it all for this. Not to say I wouldn't like to make some more money, though. I am very capable of making as much money as I want. Just that the price was worth the reward. I don't think people will be dissatisfied with the experience.

To keep things manageable, I am reducing the inventory of the Sequre Style Store to just items that have sold before in the past, and mostly items that I can keep in stock to prevent extended shipping delays, often from other countries. I added quite a few random items to see what folks were interested in, and I think I have a good idea now. I want to keep the store less cluttered. Also, don’t like the idea of me drop shipping. The margins are too thin, and while it is profitable and popular, making it worthwhile, my time is taken away from all the other things I do for this business; it’s not something I can scale on my own. Having a smaller inventory and keeping what I can in stock locally helps mitigate shipping delays (though no one has actually complained yet), but it also reduces the complexity and time required to manage and fulfill orders. The ideal price range for items is $20-$100, but we can make special exceptions for hot items. I just haven’t had anything sell for more than $100, I don’t think. Most people see these items and buy them on impulse, and since I’ve tested almost all the items I’ve sold in my store, I know they’ll actually be entertained when they arrive on their doorstep. So they don’t actually return it and are happy with their purchase. I am probably as stereotypical a child hacker turned security professional as there could possibly be, so I do feel like my taste in products is fairly accurate, and it’s been somewhat proven. As you go through potential products to add to the store, I can help refine the hacker culture for you, and before you know it, you’ll be auto-picking with high accuracy, and you just might need a raise by then. I introduce items on a probationary period to test the market and popularity, then remove them from the store if there wasn’t much to write home about. I know hacker and cyber culture very well, but it has changed a lot as we’ve become more diverse over the years (which I love, I love women, not to sound like a pervert, I just have a good relationship professionally with women, and I’ve been married to only one wife for over 10 years). I think women have investigative skills that make them uniquely well-suited for some cybersecurity roles, such as SOC analysts. If there ever was a cyber war, there’ll be posters hanging up of a woman with their arms pumped, saying, “Yes, we can!” I don’t really know what a female tech nerd is into, so if I am adding what appear to be typical male computer nerd things, that is only because I am a typical male nerd. The store manager will work for a percentage of the store’s profits, and there will be a week or two when I will help you become familiar with how to manage our store, while remaining always available to answer any questions. It will really mess up business if I hire the wrong people, mistakes I have already made and put behind me. Scrutiny to protect my brand reputation by hiring someone careful and detail-oriented, and if I had it my way, well-rounded in other areas outside of IT, and can get along with and relate to diverse groups of people. Most of my members are not white-males, or close to it, though we do have some really fantastic ones of those, too. Essentially, I’m looking for the qualities people actually hire for entry-level cybersecurity, because you’re not expected to be a technical expert. You would need to know a bit about hacker culture, as we are a hacker-themed store, but we also extend the shop to include what I know are common hobbies in this community and activities enjoyed by hackers beyond hacking, if they seem popular. By far, our red team items, including our signature items, sell the most. Your job would be to research and introduce new products to achieve the highest possible margin, while I can focus on store marketing and increasing traffic volume. I’ll get them there, and you convert them. At the end of every month, we’ll run reports and split profits according to what we agree upon, given your experience and enthusiasm, which will adjust over time based on performance. I am NOT a greedy person. If you make me money, you’re getting a lot of it. You would run your operation out of your home, and I will send you all the supplies you need for shipping, like bubble mailers, label machines, and credit for shipping accounts. You wouldn’t need to come out of pocket for anything. If you’re local to Georgia, it’s better for me because shipping charges can get expensive. The way an unbelievable $9 item from China turns into a $30 item I sell in my store is because when you’re buying from AliExpress or the likes, you’ll pay several dollars in shipping unless you want to buy one where the shipping is free and the shipping costs are built into it. Then it takes two to three weeks to get it, if it doesn’t get lost and good luck tracking it. And then you get it, and you repackage the item because the way it comes from china would make anyone sick and is not presentable to your customer, then you make whatever modifications to the item that you need to make to turn it into your product, then you need to use a few dollars in custom branding packages, and bubble mailers, and then you have to pay the $5–7 shipping to the customer who bought from you, and the end result is a professional looking items that took a little less than a month to get there. With all the extra expenses, your customer can look it up on the internet and see they just got ‘ripped off’ because they paid 3x more for it (I have only actually seen this happen once). Those cheap Chinese tricks on drop shipping stores really add up. Not to mention you can’t return a $20 item to China. So the peace of mind they get with us is, as long as it’s reasonable, I’ll just refund the money, apologize, order a new one (this time directly from China so they can see how this crap comes and that I was attempting to be professonal, not to mention the R&D money I spent already buying it and testing it so I know it’s not a cheap chinese product) and I let them keep the item. I just did this with a $99 game emulator the other day, he bought the RG32S and was disappointed it couldn’t play the game he wanted, so I bought him he more expensive one and let him keep both. You really can’t afford to upset customers when you’re really early in the game. He was thrilled. Chinese products have a wide range of quality. Some of my most favorite electronics are chinese but a ton of them are wastes of money, so the R&D for testing I do is an actual investment to be aware of. If someone wants to go to those types of sites themselves and buy five different ones because they keep breaking, be my guest :) As I mentioned as a proof of concept, I built this store over the last few months, and it has been pretty much popular among my customers, so now I need to turn it over to someone who can make it their baby and run full speed with it. Duties include: Researching new products on various websites Creating the product in the store (descriptions, images) — this has to be done very carefully or else the product won’t sell Using AI for ideas and to get your descriptions and info 80% to the goal, and spendb the other 20% reading through it and editing it for accuracy and adding sales spins to it Creating marketing emails for products in the Security Style Store (there are builders and some AI tools to generate a lot of what you need but it’s still very much the 80/20 rule) Calculating the total costs of acquiring the item, packaging, and estimates of postage to determine to minimum sales price and adding padding for our split profits. We do not post products to our social media accounts, or at least I don’t try to. Keeping an inventory of all of your postage supplies and putting in a request when you need more Must watch Hackers the Movie Must be willing to receive copious amounts of Cyber NOW swap Must be able to commit to at least a year of service. I know things might come up, but I want you to get started on the right foot. I’m a great guy, very honest and transparent, so I’ll always let you know how the business is going. Ask any of my instructors. After the year is up, I’d be happy to write you a fantastic recommendation to continue to pursue your career. If you leave, then it just didn’t work out and I still wish you the very best ( but no letter! :P). I think by a year the store will have grown so much it might in all of our best interests to stick close by. As I mentioned, I started the POC of the store and it had really great early success. Follow the company vision the best you can. I am a fast-moving, fast-chattering, and extremely agile startup owner. I really don’t have time to waste on things that do not work so I switch up strategies often. I also can not afford to waste time on ideas that don’t show any promise. Those kinds of ideas become Hail Marys, and investors pour millions of dollars into them, and they lose everything. I have a lot of ideas and I test them and I often fail hard and fail fast — however, the shop is one that shows promise! It would even be best if you were in drivable distance to North Georgia. Requirements: You have to be interested in hacker culture and know things about it, or willing to listen and learn. Just have a general interest; think it’s intriguing. Have an interest or even the ability to be technical enough to run an online store with training — I need a quick learner and someone who can just explore and pick things up on their own. Basically, just someone who is technically adept. You do not need professional cybersecurity experience You will on a daily basis search the internet (dropshipping, aliexpress, temu, amazon, etsy.. etc). And look for products to add to the store. You will use a combination of AI and personal editing to write compelling product descriptions and information. You will calculate all of the costs of procuring the item including relevant shipping, and the time it takes for the order to finally arrive at it’s final destination, to determine what is a fair price for you to ship this product, adjusting on the fly as needed. I suggest just start somewhere lower where someone will buy it and increase it little by little. You will own the growth of the shop. I will be available to answer any questions and provide some guidance and pointers to get started. If you ever need help with the store because you’re overwhelmed, I will be happy to lend a helping hand, and if we grow even further, I’d be happy to let you hire your minion. Your commissions will come from the profits, not the gross sales. If you make me more money, I will make sure you make more money. I’m a very benevolent and generous person until I feel I’m being taken advantage of, and then I will cut you off like a knife. When you’ve lived an entire life as a great guy, it becomes part of the territory to recognize manipulation, and it’s always very bad. Only take this job if you’re honest. If you’re dishonest, I will part ways. I have a community of members because they trust me. I tell them truths that aren’t in my best interest, and in return, I gain respect; however, sometimes I lose customers. You don’t need to be overly pleasant either. I’d prefer you to speak your harsh truth and let it sink in for a few hours, giving me something to think about. I’m a grown, married man. Again, lying and manipulation won’t be tolerated by me or my customers. Most of my customers are lifetime members who trust me to do what’s best for them to improve on their investments. Last time. Don’t do it. If you’re dishonest, this isn’t the right place. I am not entirely sure why I waste time on LinkedIn any longer. They’ve bastardized the algorithm to reduce its usefulness to the economy that they so brilliantly created, and I capitalized on a lot, and just abandoned it at the blink of an eye because they want you to start boosting your posts to get reach, and they’re promoting short-form video, which every video that I have ever seen never has many interactions. Impressions don’t mean a dang thing because you know how many bots there are on LinkedIn and social media. But I do have over 50,000 contacts on my email list, which grows via a number of ways, and that is how we make our money until we can get some investments into SEO and AI SEO, which, when we do secure, isn’t an overnight thing. It will take up to six months to see significant increases in organic traffic. We took a hit for a while, figuring out what to do and how to reach an audience for free. I have 100% bootstrapped this business into a sustainable living. When the algorithm changed, it crippled my business, but we persevered, and I have resolved never to have my revenue at the mercy of another company, especially one I have no personal interaction with and cannot reach. You see, I’ve already made a ton of mistakes getting started, but the important thing is that we’re still standing and we keep improving. It doesn’t matter to me what I look like today because the public forgets FAST. It’s gone in the poop of an eye. I simply don’t like the idea of having to post things to drive traffic to my website because it takes time to develop content, and I could be doing other things. So many people are creating fantastic content, and it’s reaching absolutely nothing anymore. I feel so terrible because I know how time-consuming it is to create content and get nothing from it. Most of them were doing it for attention, and they’re not even getting that any longer. Creators weren’t making any money to begin with; now they’re wasting even more time trying even harder and reaching fewer people. Listen, it’s not your fault. It’s not your content. I love all of your content. They are suppressing it because you didn’t pay for advertising. I want people to organically come to me, and I don’t want to run ads either because I’ve tried, and social media ads are a total waste of money, at least for cybersecurity training. I just want to remind you that our end goal here is to become the world’s first cybersecurity media company. Master plans include aquiring exclusive content from creators, that isn’t posted anywhere else, paying them higher that they can get from YouTube, and show these lineups through our various cybersecurity media TV channels, which companies pay for the ads because people watch it and people want to watch our media because it’s free quality training, I mean quality by some of the best creators, and these cybersecurity product companies have tons of money for ads. It will be regularly scheduled content like getting TV guides in the mail when you were a kid and making an effort to show up on time (and finish) the show. It’s an intentional behavior, something you’re doing, not spending 30 minutes scrolling through Netflix until you find a show you want to watch, then turning it on and falling asleep because it took so long to find something. We’re going in a circle, back to cable TV, where people commit to their media. I strongly feel on-demand programming is NOT the right approach for training. I know this because out of my 40k students across many platforms, these places sell you courses for just a dollar or two, people don’t take them seriously, and the entire training industry has been a predatory way to get you to sign up with your momentary ambition and not even care if you watch it. They are literally selling you low-quality garbage, knowing you’ll never watch it, and you’ll never ask for your refund for $3. It makes every single one of us who cares upset. Something like 70% of students browse through subjects in catalogs, see the value of learning the subject, get excited about all the benefits they’ll have to their career, sign up, and then, the next day, the moment passes, and they’re no longer interested. That is how most people are. A small percentage of people on my own platform has taken every course I’ve offered and asking for more because they’re UNIQUE! It’s not boring. It’s different! I wanted it that way! That is the state of on-demand training. I have tried very hard to combat this (because I do care ok) by offering instructor grading to promote them to finish all of the assignments and get feedback, I offer certificates, I even ship them plaques to their home when they become a decathlete by completing 10+ courses (which we have several now!). These plaques cost me 30% of their dues or more, so it’s not something just a little that I do. It can really hurt the pocket. I needed to drive engagement. My goal is that people finish my courses so they become proud of it, and brand ambassadors. It’s a long-term strategy in a successful wager against what everyone else is doing. Buy courses for $1 that you’ll never take. You see, they’ll go about their business because their catalogs are so massive and filled with absolute garbage that no respectable expert would ever put their name in it, and there is nothing worse than paying for cheap training that teaches you wrong stuff. You see, that is malicious, that’s not even careless. You’re going to get fired because some dimwit told you to rm -rf. And it’s very difficult to maintain courses, which is why the most respected training companies only have a select number of courses and not millions like Udemy. Because courses take a ton of time to maintain, and every course on Udemy has been dropped there and rarely, if at all, gets updated for years, but it doesn’t really matter to them because you’ll never watch it anyway, and you’re probably not going to get your $1 back. I am only one person trying to run a 20-person company, but I do it because I love it. While this business was very gravy-train rich when we started and saw our first big success, I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money with the sole intent of building a brand — and I did! A lot of people know who Cyber NOW is. They might not know what to think of me yet, I’m new to the CEO job, and it’s a very difficult job that requires a very broad understanding of not only business, but also in life to be effective because it’s all about relationships and I don’t meet a lot of people I relate to most of the time, and there were just a lot of areas where I just needed some work in. It’s like every other job you start out in, you’re just going to suck at it for a while. Any new CEO who’s well polished is a pretender with no substance. They are just pretending to be competent. While I will crash headfirst into a wall and reflect on a better strategy, hopefully, I will never make the mistake again. The vast majority of the time, that is how it goes. However, there are many mistakes to be made, and older, wiser CEOs are a little more on solid ground. It’s a hard job. I had a dozen employees working for me this time last year. I didn’t have the money to pay them, so I stopped asking them to do things, but they were all willing to work for free to get somewhere. Many of these aspiring SOC analysts just want something they can put on their resume as having experience; many never actually did anything, and it was a waste of everyone’s time, and if they did do something, they never took it seriously. Hiring free work doesn’t work; let me just tuck that into the obvious bin in my brain. I had three people who actually put in some work for an extended period; all three were military. The market is flooded with internships that both pay you and require you to pay them, which are completely worthless and a waste of time. If you don’t see the store driving down the street, or unless it has over 500+ employees, only take that job opportunity if you don’t have anything else to do but I promise you if you get in there and it looks like a joke to you, then you will treat it like a joke, you’ll have nothing to talk about in an interview about it, and you’re just sitting there wasting your time with worthless filler on your resume that makes you look bad in an interview. The only solution to this problem is what my mentor at SANS did: make training so pricey that there is a lingering thought at the back of your mind of how much hot water you’re going to be in if you don’t get something out of this and finish it. And they built an empire by making, admittedly, the highest-quality training available (because they have the budget to do so) because of psychology. So SANS isn’t just expensive for the sake of being expensive; SANS is expensive because they want you to finish. And enjoy the training too. I love SANS. If you can swing SANS, do it — they’re doing a lot for the community these days, too, which was partially at Stephen Northcutt’s behest and continues his legacy. He told me 15 years ago he hated how expensive SANS was, but it had to be done that way, and I never really understood the big picture until today. He is a complete genius, and he is one of the very few people that has stuck by me through very turbulent times over the years. He saved my marriage. The best mentors are interested in the holistic you, not just the professional you. If you’re interested in taking on the Sequre Style Store (a full-time job), we can discuss profit-sharing and details. Email me at tyler@cybernoweducation.com I give out so much information because maybe I want competition. I want someone to make me angry so I can get back to demolishing things.

Art Nouveau: The Secret Language of Organic Form Art Nouveau is more than decorative beauty—it was a deliberate revolt against the industrial age, embedding esoteric philosophy into every curve and tendril. Between roughly 1890 and 1910, this international movement became a visual manifesto: a call to reunite humanity with nature, the unconscious, and the spiritual dimensions that modernity threatened to erase. Origins: The Arts and Crafts Foundation Art Nouveau's philosophical roots trace to the British Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s, led by figures like William Morris. Rejecting soulless factory production, Morris championed handcrafted beauty and medieval guild traditions. But where Arts and Crafts looked backward to Gothic revival, Art Nouveau looked inward—to dreams, biology, and the occult. The movement exploded across Europe almost simultaneously in the 1890s, each nation giving it a different name: Jugendstil  in Germany and Scandinavia, Secession  in Austria, Modernisme  in Catalonia, Stile Liberty  in Italy. Yet all shared a common visual DNA—and a hidden curriculum. The Philosophy: Nature as Oracle Art Nouveau artists were often influenced by Symbolism, Theosophy, and evolutionary theory. They saw nature not as mere decoration but as a sacred text. The movement's visual vocabulary carried encoded meanings. These weren't arbitrary choices. Many Art Nouveau practitioners—like Czech artist Alphonse Mucha—were deeply involved in mysticism and secret societies. Mucha himself was a Freemason who believed art could elevate consciousness. Jugendstil: Germany's "Youth Style" The German variant took its name from the magazine Jugend  (Youth), founded in Munich in 1896. Jugendstil artists like Hermann Obrist and August Endell created works that seemed almost alive—embroidered wall hangings resembling organisms under a microscope, building facades that undulated like sea creatures. The "youth" in Jugendstil wasn't just demographic—it signified rebirth, a return to pre-industrial vitality, and the Nietzschean idea of becoming what you are. It was art as evolutionary leap. Across Europe: Regional Dialects of a Universal Language Brussels: Victor Horta Victor Horta's Hôtel Tassel  (1893) is often called the first true Art Nouveau building. His innovation: treating iron—the material of industry—as if it were a living vine. His staircases, light fixtures, and floor mosaics formed total environments where every element spoke the same organic language. Paris: Hector Guimard Guimard's Métro entrances  (1900) turned utilitarian infrastructure into biomorphic gateways. Their cast-iron stems and seed-pod lamps weren't just whimsical—they suggested the Paris underground as a descent into the earth's fertility, a modern underworld myth. Vienna: The Secession The Vienna Secession, led by Gustav Klimt and architect Josef Maria Olbrock, balanced organic ornament with geometric structure. Klimt's paintings—shimmering with gold leaf and symbolic patterns—merged Byzantine spirituality with contemporary psychology. His famous "The Kiss"  (1907-08) isn't merely romantic; it depicts the union of masculine and feminine principles, a visual alchemy. Nancy: Émile Gallé Glass artist Émile Gallé inscribed his vases with poetry and layered them with translucent color, creating objects that seemed to glow from within. His work embodied the Symbolist belief that visible forms are veils concealing deeper truths. Gaudí: Architecture as Incarnation Antoni Gaudí transformed Art Nouveau into something approaching religious architecture—or perhaps never stopped seeing it that way. His Sagrada Família  (begun 1882, still unfinished) isn't decorated with nature—it is  nature, transfigured into stone. Gaudí's innovations carried hidden meanings. Gaudí studied nature obsessively, keeping skeletons and plants in his workshop. He once said, "The straight line belongs to men, the curved one to God." His architecture was sacramental—an attempt to make the spiritual physically present. Tiffany: American Luminosity Louis Comfort Tiffany brought Art Nouveau to America through a distinctly different door: light itself . Son of the Tiffany & Co. founder, he revolutionized stained glass by developing opalescent glass —material that didn't just transmit light but transformed it. His famous lamps  weren't merely decorative objects but domestic altars. Tiffany understood that in the electric age, artificial light could become sacramental. His windows for churches and private homes created jeweled environments where daily life bordered on the transcendent. The Occult Undercurrent Art Nouveau coincided with a massive revival of interest in Hermeticism, Spiritualism, and Eastern religions. Many Art Nouveau artists saw themselves as initiates, translating invisible forces into visible form. The movement's rejection of right angles and straight lines was cosmological: Euclidean geometry was the language of dead matter; curves were the language of living spirit. Decline and Legacy By 1910, Art Nouveau's ornamental complexity seemed suddenly outdated. World War I shattered Belle Époque optimism. The new century wanted stripped-down Modernism: Bauhaus, De Stijl, Le Corbusier's "machines for living." Yet Art Nouveau never truly died. Its influence resurfaces cyclically: 1960s psychedelic art  revived flowing forms and mystical symbolism Contemporary biomimetic architecture  echoes Gaudí's organic structures Graphic design and branding  still draw on Mucha's flowing compositions Sustainability movements  mirror Art Nouveau's critique of soulless production The Hidden Message Art Nouveau's deepest secret was this: art is not decoration applied to life—art is life made conscious of itself.  Every whiplash curve was a refusal to accept the mechanical as inevitable. Every iridescent dragonfly wing in Tiffany glass was a reminder that matter can become luminous. When you encounter Art Nouveau—in a Gaudí building, a Tiffany lamp, a Mucha poster—you're not looking at style. You're looking at a spell, cast in iron and glass and stone. A spell that insists: the world is alive, matter is sacred, and beauty is the visible form of truth. The next time you see that sinuous line, that stylized flower, that glowing lamp, remember: you're witnessing a secret ceremony. One that never ended.

Adjusting the the Challenges of Entering Cybersecurity The job market for SOC analysts today is tough, and while there are many opportunities, competition is fierce. Success in breaking into cybersecurity requires a multi-faceted approach that goes far beyond simply submitting online applications. The most critical element of your job search strategy must be attending in-person meetings and events as much as possible. Online networking simply isn't very effective compared to face-to-face interactions, where you can make genuine connections and leave lasting impressions. This is Adjusting the the Challenges of Entering Cybersecurity. Major Conferences and Meetups Building your network through conferences and meetups is absolutely essential.  DEF CON , held annually in Las Vegas, is considered the crown jewel of hacking conferences and is practically a pilgrimage for anyone in infosec. Recruiters love this conference, and countless people have received job offers on the spot. Beyond DEF CON, you should attend  BSides  conferences held locally in many cities, which offer relatively cheap tickets and are free if you volunteer. Organizations like  2600 , which have deep roots in hacker culture, host regular meetups along with conferences and publish a magazine.  OWASP  is a nonprofit with over 250 chapters worldwide that focuses on web application security, and hackerspaces and makerspaces in your local area provide excellent opportunities for tinkering, presenting, and building your presentation skills. Professional Organization Chapter Meetings Professional organization chapter meetings provide exceptional networking opportunities and should be a priority in your job search strategy.  ISC2 , the organization behind certifications like CISSP and CCSP, has local chapters that meet regularly and offer presentations, networking events, and professional development opportunities. These meetings attract seasoned security professionals, hiring managers, and fellow job seekers, making them invaluable for building relationships with people who can directly influence your career. Similarly,  ISACA  chapters focus on IT governance, risk management, and cybersecurity, hosting monthly meetings that bring together audit, security, and IT professionals. The  Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) , which offers the CCSK certification, also maintains local chapters and working groups where cloud security professionals gather to discuss best practices, emerging threats, and industry trends. Attending these chapter meetings regularly puts you in rooms with decision-makers and creates opportunities for mentorship, job referrals, and industry insights you won't find anywhere else. Maximizing In-Person Networking The key to maximizing these in-person opportunities is to get out there consistently - bring a physical notepad and pen to every event to write down emails and contact information from the people you meet. This simple act makes you memorable and shows you're serious about the connections you're making, setting you apart in an age where everyone else is just exchanging LinkedIn QR codes or business cards that get lost. Taking the time to write down someone's information while they're standing in front of you demonstrates genuine interest and respect. It's not weird or uncomfortable; everyone is there for the same reason, and most people will actually feel flattered that you cared enough to document the conversation. Follow up with everyone the day after meeting them and share your resume with your new connections. If you volunteer at these events, you'll meet even more people at a deeper level. Consider joining the organizing committees for these chapter meetings or conferences, as this gives you even greater visibility and demonstrates leadership qualities to potential employers. Competitions and Skill Building Participating in competitions can significantly boost your visibility and skills. Capture-the-flag competitions have been around since 1996 at DEF CON and have evolved into various formats.  Hack the Box  is a challenging platform that requires basic pen-testing knowledge and offers comprehensive training opportunities. For SOC analyst-specific training, Cyber NOW offers blue team challenges with a membership as low as $19.99/month for their SOC Analyst track. Conference-specific competitions like BOTS (Boss of the SOC) at  Splunk  conferences are popular and challenging. If you're in college, the  Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC)  is one of the biggest student-oriented competitions you should have on your radar. Building Your Personal Brand Building your personal brand is another crucial strategy that sets you apart from the competition. Start writing on  Medium  - aim for at least two articles every week on SOC and cybersecurity topics that interest you. Teaching through writing helps you retain information better, and one of your readers might become your future manager. Always include a banner at the end of articles connecting to your LinkedIn profile. Consider creating online courses on platforms like  Udemy , which can establish you as someone who knows something about cybersecurity while potentially generating passive income. Creating courses takes effort, but it gets your name out there and demonstrates expertise. Where to Search for Jobs When searching for jobs,  LinkedIn  is one of the most successful platforms available. Consider purchasing LinkedIn Premium during your job search to view statistics for jobs you apply to, send InMail messages to hiring managers or recruiters, and see who's looking at your profile.  Google  also provides good job aggregation with configurable alerts specifically for cybersecurity positions. Don't overlook traditional platforms like  Indeed.com  and  Monster.com , or sites like  Credly.com  if you have certifications. Always check company career pages directly as well. Job Titles to Target The job titles you should search for include Security Analyst, SOC Analyst, Security Operations Center Analyst, Information Security Analyst, and Cyber Security Analyst. Remember that SOC analyst positions have the lowest barrier to entry in cybersecurity, and there's a revolving door in most SOCs, meaning positions open frequently. Resume Strategy Your resume needs to be strategic and focused. Keep it under three pages and include your name and contact information, skills that align with the job listing, IT-related experience, relevant certifications only, your LinkedIn profile link, and projects you've completed. Consider using a professional resume writing service to help highlight your experience effectively. If you're a recent college graduate, utilize your school's career services since they're familiar with what you learned in your program. The key is highlighting your experience in ways that demonstrate you're not just another commodity graduate with zero interest in cybersecurity beyond the paycheck. Interview Preparation Interview preparation is critical because the technical questions will test your knowledge. You should be prepared for: Common Technical Questions: Explaining RFC 1918 addresses Defining Class A, B, or C networks The seven phases of the cyber kill chain The purpose of the  MITRE ATT&CK Framework Differences between TCP and UDP Common ports like 80, 443, 22, 23, 25, and 53 What data exfiltration is Your home lab experience if you have one Knowledge of  AWS  or  Azure Scenario-Based Questions: Be prepared for questions that test your problem-solving abilities and critical thinking These often involve hypothetical security incidents where you must explain your approach Interview Best Practices: Research the company beforehand Be honest if you don't know something - admitting it shows integrity Make eye contact and maintain good posture Show genuine enthusiasm for the role and company Ask thoughtful questions about the team and SOC environment Avoid signs of restlessness or boredom The worst thing you can do is give a wrong answer with complete confidence The Right Mindset for Success The most important mindset to adopt is captured in Wayne Gretzky's quote: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Apply for positions even if you don't meet all the requirements. Network constantly because connections are absolutely crucial in this industry. Prove your interest with concrete examples and projects rather than just words. Remember that experience trumps everything - certifications and degrees are important, but hands-on experience is what employers value most. Join clubs and organizations even if you can't attend every meeting, apply for scholarships and internships even for small amounts, and most importantly, get out there and meet people in person. Attend those ISC2 chapter meetings, show up to ISACA events, participate in Cloud Security Alliance working groups, and make yourself a familiar face in your local cybersecurity community. Final Thoughts The reality is that while online networking has its place, nothing compares to the genuine connections and opportunities that come from showing up, shaking hands, and having real conversations with people in the cybersecurity community. If you're mobile and can relocate anywhere, your odds of finding a good fit quickly improve significantly, though remote SOC analyst positions do exist, they may be more limited in availability.

When the Cybersecurity Dream Hits a Wall Getting rejected hurts. Getting rejected 15 times at your own company? That's a different kind of pain. You did everything right - the bootcamp, the Security+, the college enrollment. And yet here you are, watching younger candidates with less on paper walk through doors that keep slamming in your face. This is When the Cybersecurity Dream Hits a Wall . Here's the thing nobody wants to say out loud: the cybersecurity job market isn't what the bootcamps promised. They sold you a shortage, a desperate industry begging for qualified people. Not entry-level SOC positions where everyone's fighting for the same handful of chairs. The numbers tell an uncomfortable story. About 29% of entry-level SOC jobs don't technically require certifications or degrees. But "don't require" and "don't prefer" are worlds apart. When someone shows up with both, they're taking that spot. Meanwhile, 53% explicitly want a bachelor's degree, making that an associate's degree a stepping stone at best, not a destination. Location matters more than people admit. Seventy percent of these jobs want you in the office every single day. Only 21% are fully remote. That geography constraint alone could be killing your applications before anyone even looks at your credentials. But let's talk about the elephant in the room - that thing you're sensing but maybe afraid to name directly. Yes, there's bias in hiring. Not always about age specifically, but about something adjacent: hunger. Hiring managers want someone who'll say yes to everything, who'll work the overnight shift, who'll treat every alert like it's DEFCON 1. That kind of intensity is easier to find - or at least easier to assume you'll find - in someone fresh out of school. Someone who hasn't yet learned which battles matter and which don't. The wisdom that comes with experience can read as cynicism to people looking for raw enthusiasm. The uncomfortable truth is that breaking into cybersecurity often requires proving yourself in ways that have nothing to do with certifications. People show up with GitHub repos full of projects. They blog about CTF challenges. They're regulars at local security meetups, shaking hands and collecting business cards. It's not about one magic certification. There isn't a secret password that opens every door. But there might be a different door - one that values what you bring instead of measuring you against some idealized version of a hungry 23-year-old. Maybe the associate's degree isn't the move right now. Maybe it's building something visible that proves you can actually do the work. A home lab. A blog dissecting malware samples. Contributing to open source security tools. Something that shows you're not just collecting credentials but actually living in this space. The system feels broken because, in some ways, it is. But knowing that doesn't pay bills or fix the sting of rejection. What might help is realizing you're not competing on the same field as those younger candidates. You're playing a different game, one where you need to demonstrate value in ways that bypass the traditional gatekeepers. Your frustration is valid. The path forward just might not be the one you expected.

HACKING: THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Cubist dark academia scene, fragmented geometric shapes, hacker at desk with vintage books and glowing computer screen, angular facets, multiple perspectives simultaneously, muted color palette of deep browns, blacks, forest greens, and amber light, Pablo Picasso style, analytical cubism, overlapping planes, gothic library elements deconstructed into geometric forms, binary code and Latin text fragmenting across surfaces, candlelight rendered as sharp angular rays, leather-bound books as rectangular prisms, mysterious scholarly atmosphere, This is HACKING: THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING A Cubist Deconstruction [PLANE 1: THE FRONT FACE] HACKING IS A mindset viewed from above. A philosophy seen from below. The simultaneous fragmentation of what is  and what could be . Break it down: H  - Hypothesis (the question mark floating in geometric space) A  - Analysis (the triangle dissecting the square) C  - Curiosity (the circle that refuses to be contained) K  - Knowledge (the polygon with infinite sides) I  - Iteration (the spiral returning to itself, changed) N  - Navigation (the line that becomes a maze) G  - Growth (the small cube exploding into cathedral) [PLANE 2: THE SIDE VIEW, OVERLAPPING] Consider the lock from six angles at once: From the front : Obstacle From the back : Solution From inside : Mechanism From outside : Challenge From above : Pattern From within : Opportunity The cubist sees all perspectives collapse into understanding . [FRAGMENT A: DECONSTRUCTED] SYS/TEM     |     +-- [broken into]     |     +-- sys     +-- tem     +-- s     +-- y     +-- s     +-- t     +-- e     +-- m     |     +-- [reconstructed as]     |     +-- SYSTEM Every system is a Picasso painting waiting to be seen differently . Analytical Cubism. The hacker doesn't look at  the guitar. The hacker sees the guitar as: Sound waves (invisible) Wood grain (history) String tension (physics) Empty space (potential) Musical notation (language) All at once. All in the same moment. [PLANE 3: THE HIDDEN GEOMETRY] Reality is consensus. Hacking is a perspective shift . THEOREM 1: If you rotate a problem 45 degrees, it becomes a different problem. THEOREM 2: If you view a wall from the other side, it becomes a door. THEOREM 3: If you deconstruct time into before , during , and after  simultaneously, you see the entire process as a single geometric form. The code doesn't run linearly. It exists as a cube of logic  where: The front face is INPUT The back face is OUTPUT The interior is TRANSFORMATION The edges are DECISION POINTS The vertices are STATES The space outside is CONTEXT View them all simultaneously  and you understand the program without running it. [FRAGMENT B: THE RECURSIVE PORTRAIT] Imagine a Picasso painting a self-portrait of a hacker: Left eye:  Sees the problem Right eye:  Sees the solution Both eyes together:  See neither and both Mouth:  Asking questions Ears:  Listening to systems Nose:  Sniffing out vulnerabilities But arranged so all features exist in impossible spatial relationships. The hacker's mind is non-Euclidean. [PLANE 4: THE PHILOSOPHY FRAGMENTED] Everything is a system. Every system can be understood. Understanding is disassembly. Disassembly is art. Art is reassembly. Reassembly is evolution. Evolution is hacking. Hacking is everything. The Theory of Everything = The Theory of Anything Biology? Systems of cells. Economics? Systems of value. Languages? Systems of symbols. Societies? Systems of humans. Computers? Systems of logic. Art? Systems of meaning. Break the frame. Examine the canvas. Question the paint. Reconstruct the image. [GEOMETRIC INTERLUDE]      /\    / \   /____\    | | | | ← This is not a triangle sitting on a rectangle    |____| This is a house              This is a shelter              This is binary (inside/outside)              This is architecture              This is all of these              This is NONE of these              This is YOUR INTERPRETATION The hacker knows: The map is not the territory, but the map can be redrawn. [PLANE 5: THE METHODOLOGY SHATTERED] Traditional View: Problem → Analysis → Solution Cubist Hacking View:          PROBLEM       / | \      / | \    SOLUTION — ANALYSIS      \ | /       \ | /         QUESTION            |       NEW PROBLEM Everything feeds back . Everything is simultaneous . The end contains the beginning. The solution reveals new problems. The question is  the answer. [FRAGMENT C: THE EMOTIONAL GEOMETRY] Frustration = The angle that doesn't fit Curiosity = The sphere rolling through the maze Discovery = The moment all planes align Mastery = Seeing the 4th dimension in 3D space Teaching = Rotating the object so others can see what you see Emotion is not separate from logic. It is another plane of the same object . [PLANE 6: THE PRACTICAL MYSTICISM] How to hack like a cubist: Step 1:  Look at the thing Step 2:  Look through the thing Step 3:  Look as the thing Step 4:  Look from inside the thing looking out Step 5:  Forget what the thing is called Step 6:  See all steps at once Step 7:  There are no steps The WiFi router is not a router. It is: Electromagnetic radiation in space A protocol handshake A gateway between worlds A small plastic box A security surface A convenience A vulnerability Which is true? ALL. NONE. DEPENDS on the angle. [PLANE 7: THE META-STRUCTURE] This blog post is hacking you. You expected: Linear narrative Clear explanations Logical progression You received: Fragmented perspectives Simultaneous truths Cognitive dissonance Your brain is now reassembling the fragments  into YOUR version of the theory. That is the hack. The information was never in the words. It was in the space between  the fragments. In your effort to connect  the disconnected. Picasso didn't paint what he saw. He painted how seeing works . Hackers don't fix what's broken. They reveal how breaking works . [FINAL FRAGMENT: THE UNIFIED FIELD]       EVERYTHING     / \    / \ HACKING ←———→ UNDERSTANDING    \ /     \ /      EVERYTHING The theory of everything is simple: All boundaries are artificial. All systems are connected. All perspectives are partial. All knowledge is reconstruction. The hacker sees reality as Picasso saw guitars and women and bulls: Not as THINGS  but as RELATIONSHIPS . Not as IS  but as COULD BE . Not from ONE ANGLE  but from ALL ANGLES  collapsed into impossible simultaneity. The question isn't what they're looking for. The question is what's looking back. Between the fragmented falling pages and flickering code, somewhere in the geometry of thought, a truth assembles itself from impossible angles. They say knowledge is linear. They say time moves forward. They say systems cannot be seen from all sides at once. They were wrong. In this library, every book, every falling page reads itself backwards. Every shadow contains light. Every answer breeds seven new questions. The candles burn with binary flames. The screens glow with ancient languages. The walls remember what hasn't happened yet. Some puzzles aren't meant to be solved. Some puzzles solve you. Welcome to the space between encryption and illumination. What do you see when you look from the fourth dimension? This manifesto views itself from seven angles simultaneously. If you see eight, you've already understood. If you see none, you're about to. If you see infinity, welcome to the theory. Written in fragments, assembled in mind, existing in all states at once [Rotate 90° and read again for different meaning] #CubistMystery #DarkAcademia #FragmentedReality #AnalyticalCubism #HackerAesthetic #GeometricThought #PicassoVibes #MultiplePerspectives #CodeAndCandles #DigitalAlchemy #AcademicNoir #CubistCinema #PhilosophyInMotion #SystemsThinking #EsotericKnowledge #LibraryOfSecrets #ModernistMystery #ConceptualArt #ThoughtExperiment #PerspectiveShift

Overview Required:  Encoding/Decoding (Binary, Base64, ROT13), HTML inspection, Pattern recognition Step-by-Step Solution Step 1: Read the Introduction When you first open the page, read the intro text carefully: It mentions viewing from " multiple viewpoints " This is a hint that you need to explore beyond just the visual interface The theme of cubism = multiple perspectives Key Takeaway:  You'll need to look at the page in different ways (visual + source code) Step 2: Reveal All Three Perspective Cards Click on each of the three colored perspective cards: 🎨 First Perspective (Ochre/Orange): Reveals: 01000011 01010100 01000110 This is Binary encoding 🔷 Second Perspective (Blue): Reveals: ezByVmEx This is Base64 encoding 🟤 Third Perspective (Brown): Reveals: ZhYg1CyR_SynTug This is ROT13 encoding Step 3: Decode Fragment 1 (Binary) Given:  01000011 01010100 01000110 Method 1 - Online Tool: Go to https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/binary-to-ascii.html Paste the binary: 01000011 01010100 01000110 Result: CTF Method 2 - Manual Decoding: 01000011 = 67 in decimal = 'C' in ASCII 01010100 = 84 in decimal = 'T' in ASCII 01000110 = 70 in decimal = 'F' in ASCII Result: CTF Method 3 - Python: python binary = "01000011 01010100 01000110" result = '' .join( chr ( int (b, 2 )) for  b in  binary.split()) print (result)   # CTF Answer for Fragment 1:  CTF Step 4: Decode Fragment 2 (Base64) Given:  ezByVmEx Method 1 - Online Tool: Go to https://www.base64decode.org/ Paste: ezByVmEx Result: {0wl Method 2 - Command Line: bash echo "ezByVmEx" |  base64 -d # Output: {0wl Method 3 - Python: python import  base64 encoded = "ezByVmEx" decoded =  base64.b64decode(encoded).decode( 'utf-8' ) print (decoded)   # {0wl Answer for Fragment 2:  {0wl Step 5: Decode Fragment 3 (ROT13) Given:  ZhYg1CyR_SynTug What is ROT13? ROT13 is a Caesar cipher that shifts letters by 13 positions Numbers and special characters stay the same A↔N, B↔O, C↔P, etc. Method 1 - Online Tool: Go to https://rot13.com/ Paste: ZhYg1CyR_SynTug Result: MuLt1PlE_FlyGht Method 2 - Python: python import  codecs encoded = "ZhYg1CyR_SynTug" decoded =  codecs.decode(encoded, 'rot_13' ) print (decoded)   # MuLt1PlE_FlyGht Method 3 - Manual (partial example): Z → M (13 letters back) h → u (13 letters back) Y → L (13 letters back) Numbers stay: 1 → 1 Continue for all letters... Answer for Fragment 3:  MuLt1PlE_FlyGht Step 6: Find the Missing Number The decoder asks for "years of practice." You need to find how many years Picasso practiced cubism. Method 1 - View Page Source: Right-click anywhere on the page → "View Page Source" Look at the  section Find the HTML comment: Answer: 3 Method 2 - Inspect Element: Press F12 or right-click → Inspect Look through the HTML comments Find the clue about "THREE years" Method 3 - Read Footer: The footer mentions "Gallery established 1909" The intro mentions the years 1909-1912 1912 - 1909 = 3 years (Note: historically he practiced longer, but the CTF says 3) Answer for the Number:  3 Step 7: Assemble the Flag Now you have all four pieces: Fragment 1: CTF Fragment 2: {0wl Fragment 3: MuLt1PlE_FlyGht Number: 3 Enter into the form: Fragment 1 field: CTF Fragment 2 field: {0wl Fragment 3 field: MuLt1PlE_FlyGht Years field: 3 Click "🦉 Assemble the Flag" Final Flag:  CTF{0wl_MuLt1PlE_FlyGht_3} Red Herrings (Distractions) The challenge includes some false leads to increase difficulty: Hex Fragments in CSS Comments: /* CLUE 2 (Hidden in ochre): Fragment-A: 5a47 */ /* CLUE 3 (Hidden in blue): Fragment-B: 564a */ These combine to: 5a47564a3342 Converting to ASCII gives: ZGVJ3B (not useful for the actual flag) This is intentionally misleading! Console Message: Open browser console (F12 → Console tab) You'll see messages about "hex fragments" This leads to the red herring above Footer Data Attribute: This is actually the ROT13 answer (Fragment 3) but encoded differently Caesar shift by 3 doesn't give you anything new Tools You Need Essential: Web Browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) Access to View Source (Right-click → View Page Source) For Decoding (choose any): Online converters (easiest): Binary to Text: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/binary-to-ascii.html Base64 Decoder: https://www.base64decode.org/ ROT13: https://rot13.com/ Python (if you prefer scripting) Command-line tools (base64, etc.) Common Mistakes ❌ Forgetting to click all three cards  - You must reveal all perspectives ❌ Not viewing page source  - The number clue is hidden in HTML comments ❌ Wrong order of fragments  - Must be CTF, then {0wl, then MuLt1PlE_FlyGht ❌ Including extra spaces  - Make sure no spaces in your decoded answers ❌ Falling for red herrings  - The hex fragments don't matter for the final flag ❌ Wrong separator  - The format uses underscore: {0wl_MuLt1PlE_FlyGht_3} Time Estimate Beginner CTF player:  15-25 minutes Intermediate CTF player:  8-12 minutes Advanced CTF player:  3-5 minutes What You Learn This CTF teaches: ✅ Multiple encoding schemes (Binary, Base64, ROT13) ✅ HTML source inspection techniques ✅ Following thematic hints ✅ Ignoring red herrings ✅ Multi-step flag assembly ✅ CTF flag format conventions Success Message When you enter the correct flag, you'll see: 🎉 SUCCESS! Flag: CTF{0wl_MuLt1PlE_FlyGht_3} You've mastered the cubist perspective! The owl soars free. Congratulations! 🦉

Welcome, aspiring alchemists! If you've been working through our ✨ The Ancient Art vs. The Pretenders ✨  Capture The Flag challenge, you've encountered four foundational cybersecurity concepts disguised as medieval alchemy. Just as true alchemists understood that transformation required depth over spectacle, mastering cybersecurity requires understanding the fundamentals beneath the surface. This walkthrough will guide you through each challenge, explaining not just the answers, but the "why" behind them—because true mastery comes from understanding, not just solving. 🔮 Challenge 1: The Puffer's Proclamation - Caesar Cipher The Challenge You're presented with this encrypted text: JXEKI_XLI_TYJJIV_WLMJXIH The Solution Answer:  FLAG_THE_PUFFER_SHIFTED How It Works The Caesar cipher is one of the oldest and simplest encryption techniques, named after Julius Caesar who allegedly used it to protect military messages. It works by shifting each letter in the alphabet by a fixed number of positions. In this challenge, each letter has been shifted forward by 4 positions : A becomes E B becomes F C becomes G ...and so on To decrypt, we reverse the process by shifting backward by 4 positions : J → F X → T E → A K → G I → E Let's decode the first word: J (shift back 4) = F X (shift back 4) = T E (shift back 4) = A K (shift back 4) = G I (shift back 4) = E Result: FLAG Continue this pattern for the entire string, and you get: FLAG_THE_PUFFER_SHIFTED Real-World Application While Caesar ciphers are far too simple for modern security, understanding them teaches you: The foundation of substitution ciphers Why rotation-based encryption needs larger key spaces How frequency analysis can break simple ciphers Modern encryption like AES uses far more complex mathematical operations, but the principle of transformation remains the same. 🧪 Challenge 2: The Philosopher's Notes - Base64 Encoding The Challenge Decode this Base64-encoded string: RkxBR19UUlVFX0FMQ0hFTVlfSVNfSU5ORVJfV09SSw== The Solution Answer:  FLAG_TRUE_ALCHEMY_IS_INNER_WORK How It Works Base64 isn't encryption—it's an encoding scheme that converts binary data into ASCII text. It's widely used in web development, email attachments, and data transmission because it ensures binary data can be safely transmitted through systems that only handle text. Base64 uses 64 characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, and /. The == at the end is padding to ensure the encoded data is a multiple of 4 characters. To decode Base64: Method 1: Browser Console Open your browser's developer console (F12) and type: javascript atob ( "RkxBR19UUlVFX0FMQ0hFTVlfSVNfSU5ORVJfV09SSw==" ) Result: FLAG_TRUE_ALCHEMY_IS_INNER_WORK Method 2: Online Decoder Use any Base64 decoder website—just paste the encoded string and click decode. Method 3: Command Line On Linux/Mac: bash echo "RkxBR19UUlVFX0FMQ0hFTVlfSVNfSU5ORVJfV09SSw==" |  base64 -d Real-World Application Base64 encoding is everywhere in cybersecurity: JWT tokens  (JSON Web Tokens) use Base64 encoding Email attachments  are transmitted as Base64 Data URLs  in HTML/CSS use Base64 for embedded images API authentication  often involves Base64-encoded credentials Remember: Base64 is encoding, not encryption . It provides zero security—anyone can decode it. It's meant for data representation, not protection. ⚗️ Challenge 3: The Hidden Formula - Source Code Investigation The Challenge Find the flag hidden within the page itself. The Solution Answer:  FLAG_SILENT_WORK_BEATS_LOUD_PRETENSE How It Works This challenge teaches one of the most fundamental skills in web security: reading source code . The flag is hidden in an HTML comment within the page source. To find it: Method 1: View Page Source Windows/Linux:  Press Ctrl + U Mac:  Press Cmd + Option + U Or right-click anywhere on the page → "View Page Source" Look for this section in the HTML: html Method 2: Inspect Element Windows/Linux:  Press F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I Mac:  Press Cmd + Option + I Navigate through the HTML elements to find the comment Real-World Application In real penetration testing and bug bounty hunting, examining source code reveals: API keys and secrets  accidentally left in JavaScript Hidden form fields  with interesting parameters Commented-out code  containing sensitive information Client-side validation  that can be bypassed Debug endpoints  developers forgot to remove Always check: HTML source code JavaScript files CSS files Network requests in the browser's Developer Tools Many security vulnerabilities are discovered simply by reading what developers thought was "hidden." 🔬 Challenge 4: The Sacred Geometry - JavaScript Analysis The Challenge Analyze this JavaScript function and determine what it returns: javascript function createFlag () {      const  base = "FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_" ;      const  ending = btoa ( "OUTLAST" ). slice ( 0 , - 2 );      return  base +  ending; } The Solution Answer:  FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_OUTLAST or FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_T1VUTEFTVA How It Works This challenge combines code reading with understanding JavaScript's built-in encoding functions. Let's break down the function step by step: Base string:  "FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_" The btoa() function:  This is JavaScript's built-in function for Base64 encoding btoa("OUTLAST") encodes "OUTLAST" to Base64 Result: "T1VUTEFTVA==" The .slice(0,-2) method:  This removes the last 2 characters (the padding ==) "T1VUTEFTVA==".slice(0,-2) = "T1VUTEFTVA" Final concatenation:  "FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_" + "T1VUTEFTVA" = "FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_T1VUTEFTVA" To solve this yourself: Method 1: Browser Console javascript function createFlag () {      const  base = "FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_" ;      const  ending = btoa ( "OUTLAST" ). slice ( 0 , - 2 );      return  base +  ending; } createFlag (); // Run the function Method 2: Manual Decoding Recognize that if the ending is Base64 encoded, decode it: javascript atob ( "T1VUTEFTVA==" ) // Returns "OUTLAST" So the human-readable answer is: FLAG_THE_QUIET_ONES_OUTLAST Real-World Application Code analysis is critical in cybersecurity for: Reverse engineering  obfuscated JavaScript in malware Finding logic flaws  in authentication systems Identifying vulnerabilities  in client-side validation Understanding API implementations  before exploiting them Many web applications try to "hide" logic in JavaScript, thinking users won't read it. Security professionals know that client-side code is never secret —anything running in the browser can be read, modified, and bypassed. 🎉 Victory: Claiming Your Reward Once all four flags are captured, you've proven you're a true alchemist —someone who pursues depth and understanding over flashy displays. The modal appears with your reward link

A Honey Badger Intensely Investigating Junior Analysts are Better Threat Hunters (Here's Why) Hello my badgers. This article was written with my ideas and the fastness of Claude. Which, I would suggest. In our experience, it's better at everything, but can't do image generation. I also use MidJourney for image generation and then Canva for edits.  It was carefully edited for accuracy. This is Junior Analysts are Better Threat Hunters. Experience, we are told, makes better analysts. The senior SOC analyst with five years under their belt must surely outperform the junior with six months. This assumption underlies hiring decisions, salary structures, and team hierarchies across the cybersecurity industry. The assumption is wrong. The Fresh Eye Advantage Junior analysts hunt threats with unbiased eyes. They examine each alert without the weight of past assumptions. The senior analyst, having seen thousands of false positives, dismisses anomalies with practiced efficiency. The junior stops. Investigates. Often finds what the senior missed. Consider the recent Solorigate campaign. Junior analysts at several organizations flagged unusual DNS queries that seniors had learned to ignore. "Just another corporate tool," the veterans said. The juniors persisted. They were right. Motivation vs. Complacency The junior analyst wants to prove themselves. Every investigation matters. Every anomaly deserves scrutiny. The senior analyst has seen it all before—or believes they have. They chase only the obvious threats, the ones that match known patterns. Threat actors exploit this complacency. They design attacks that look routine to experienced eyes. The junior analyst, lacking this "experience," spots the deception. Technical Curiosity Junior analysts dig deeper into tools and techniques because they must. Lacking institutional knowledge, they research every IOC, every suspicious process, every unusual network connection. This thoroughness reveals subtleties that experience glosses over. Senior analysts rely on shortcuts. They recognize attack patterns quickly but miss variations. The junior analyst, methodically working through each piece of evidence, catches what the pattern-matcher misses. Unlearned Bad Habits The industry teaches analysts to tune out noise. Senior analysts excel at this—perhaps too well. They have learned which alerts to ignore, which events are "always" benign, which anomalies "never" matter. Attackers know these blind spots. They operate in the spaces that experience has taught analysts to overlook. The junior analyst, not yet trained to ignore these areas, finds them. The Data Speaks Organizations tracking detection metrics report a surprising pattern: junior analysts flag more true positives per alert investigated. They also flag more false positives, but the ratio favors thorough investigation over efficient dismissal. A recent study of SOC performance found that teams with higher junior analyst ratios detected advanced persistent threats 40% faster than senior-heavy teams. The juniors' questions forced seniors to look more carefully. The combination proved powerful. Cognitive Load and Fresh Thinking Senior analysts carry cognitive burdens that juniors lack. They know which vendors are unreliable, which tools generate false positives, which executives complain about security alerts. This knowledge shapes their investigations, often narrowing them prematurely. Junior analysts approach each case with what Zen Buddhism calls "beginner's mind"—open, eager, free of preconceptions. This mental state enhances pattern recognition and creative problem-solving. The Paradox of Expertise Expertise creates blind spots. The senior analyst knows too much about what attacks "should" look like. The junior analyst sees what the attack actually looks like. This difference matters when facing novel threats. Consider zero-day exploits. By definition, these attacks have no established patterns. Senior analysts search for familiar signatures. Junior analysts, lacking this framework, examine the behavior itself. They often spot the anomaly first. What This Means This is not an argument against experience. Senior analysts bring invaluable knowledge about tool capabilities, organizational context, and attack evolution. They mentor juniors, design detection rules, and handle complex incident response. But in the pure act of threat hunting—finding needles in haystacks of data—fresh eyes often see more clearly than experienced ones. Organizations should recognize this reality. Give junior analysts meaningful investigation time. Listen to their questions. Encourage their thoroughness. The threat they catch may be the one that experience would miss. The Bottom Line Hire seniors for their knowledge. Train them continuously to avoid complacency. But remember: the newest analyst on your team may be your best threat hunter. They see what others have learned not to notice. That is worth everything. Explore our Courses

Open Sourced Honey Badger Is it Worth Learning Open Source Cybersecurity Tools? Hello my badgers. This article was written with my ideas and the fastness of Claude. Which, I would suggest. In our experience, it's better at everything, but can't do image generation. I also use MidJourney for image generation and then Canva for edits.  It was carefully edited for accuracy. This is Is it Worth Learning Open Source Cybersecurity Tools? Some of the most powerful and respected tools are completely free and open to everyone. It's like having access to a world-class workshop where all the best equipment is just sitting there waiting for you to use it. I love seeing new people discover Nmap for the first time. There's this moment when they realize they're using the exact same tool that security professionals at NASA and major tech companies rely on every day. It's incredibly empowering! You're not getting some watered-down "student version" - you're getting the real deal that's been refined by a community of experts over decades. Google's security teams use Nmap for network discovery during their infrastructure assessments. Major consulting firms like Deloitte and PwC have it as a standard tool in their penetration testing methodologies. Even government agencies like the Department of Defense include Nmap in their authorized security testing toolkits. The Metasploit story is particularly cool. Here's this incredibly sophisticated penetration testing framework that was created by security researchers who wanted to make the field more accessible. Instead of keeping their knowledge locked away, they said "let's share this with everyone and make the whole internet more secure." That collaborative spirit is what makes this community so special. IBM's X-Force Red team uses Metasploit for authorized penetration testing of client environments. Microsoft's own security teams have used it to validate their defenses. Pretty much every major cybersecurity consulting firm - from Rapid7 to Trustwave to SecureWorks - has Metasploit as a cornerstone of their testing capabilities. And then there's pfSense - this firewall platform is protecting thousands of enterprise networks right now. Netflix actually uses pfSense for network segmentation in some of their infrastructure. Smaller companies love it because it gives them enterprise-grade firewall capabilities without the Cisco price tag, but even larger organizations deploy it in branch offices where they need reliable, cost-effective network security. Universities like MIT and Stanford use pfSense to protect campus networks, and many managed service providers rely on it to protect their clients' infrastructures. Same thing with OWASP ZAP - development teams at major tech companies are integrating this web application scanner into their CI/CD pipelines. Mozilla uses ZAP to continuously test Firefox and their web services for security vulnerabilities. Government agencies like the UK's Government Digital Service have standardized on ZAP for web application security testing. Companies like Shopify integrate it into their development workflows to catch security issues before they hit production. What I find most encouraging is how these tools level the playing field. Whether you're a student in your dorm room or a security analyst at a Fortune 500 company, you have access to the same high-quality tools. The only difference is your knowledge and creativity in using them. And here's something that might surprise you - about 29% of entry-level cybersecurity jobs don't require a degree or formal certification. There's a fairly even split between positions requiring traditional college education and those that prioritize hands-on skills and alternative learning paths. This means the cybersecurity field offers genuine opportunities for both college graduates and those who've developed their skills through certifications, bootcamps, or pure hands-on experience. Here's a pro tip that's changed the game for so many people I know: instead of trying to set up everything on your local machine, grab those free credits from AWS or Azure. Both platforms give new users hundreds of dollars in credits - AWS gives you $300 for 12 months, and Azure offers $200 for 30 days. That's more than enough to spin up a proper security lab with multiple VMs, networks, and even some of the managed services. You can build something really sophisticated - maybe a pfSense firewall protecting a network with a vulnerable web app like WebGoat, then use OWASP ZAP to test the application security while Suricata monitors the traffic and Metasploit simulates attacks. Ask AI to give you instructions. Document the whole setup, take screenshots of your configurations, capture some interesting results, and write it all up in a Medium post. Then tear everything down when you're done so you don't get charged a penny. What you end up with is a permanent record of your learning journey that potential employers can actually see. It's way more impressive than just saying "I know these tools" on a resume. Plus, these blog posts often become resources that help other people in the community, which feels pretty good. When a hiring manager sees that you've actually built and documented a multi-layered security lab using the similiar tools their teams use in production, that carries serious weight - especially in an industry where nearly 30% of entry-level positions care more about what you can do than where you learned to do it. The best part? The communities around these tools are incredibly welcoming and helpful. People genuinely want to share knowledge and help others succeed. There's something really refreshing about that in today's world. The real magic happens in person. Since 79% of entry-level cybersecurity jobs are still onsite, you absolutely cannot afford to miss the in-person networking opportunities. But let me be clear - this isn't about social engineering your way into a job. The value of these meetups goes way beyond networking. You're getting free presentations from industry experts, learning about the latest trends and threats, and gaining insights into how different organizations approach security challenges. These conversations and presentations give you incredible insights into what's actually happening in the corporate world. When you get to an interview and can casually mention "I was at an OWASP meeting last month where someone from a Fortune 500 company was talking about their struggles with container security," you immediately sound like someone who understands the real business challenges, not just the technical theory. So if you're just starting out or looking to expand your skills, dive in! These tools aren't just free - they're gateways to joining a community of people who are passionate about making the digital world safer for everyone. And with cloud credits, you can build enterprise-scale labs without spending a dime while creating content that showcases your skills to the world. Whether you're coming from a computer science degree or teaching yourself through online resources, the tools and opportunities await.

A Honey Badger Being Interviewed Fundamental Techniques in Cybersecurity Networking Hello my badgers. This article was written with my ideas and the fastness of Claude. Which, I would suggest. In our experience, it's better at everything, but can't do image generation. I also use MidJourney for image generation and then Canva for edits. Before diving into where to go and what communities to join, it's crucial to understand how to actually connect with people in a way that builds genuine, lasting relationships. These principles aren't about manipulation - they're about genuinely caring for others and creating mutual benefit. This is Fundamental Techniques in Cybersecurity Networking. Building Positive Connections: Don't criticize, condemn, or complain, as this puts people on the defensive Give honest and sincere appreciation rather than empty flattery Arouse in others an eager want by showing how something benefits them Become genuinely interested in other people rather than trying to get them interested in you Smile genuinely, as it creates warmth and approachability Remember that a person's name is the sweetest sound to them in any language Effective Communication: Be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves Talk in terms of the other person's interests rather than your own Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely Avoid arguments, as you can't win them - even if you prove someone wrong, you make them feel inferior Show respect for others' opinions and never tell someone they're wrong directly Maintaining Relationships: If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically Begin conversations in a friendly way rather than being confrontational Let others feel that ideas are theirs rather than forcing your perspective Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view Be sympathetic to others' ideas and desires Let others save face when they make mistakes Praise every improvement, even small ones, and be generous with encouragement The core philosophy throughout is to focus on understanding and genuinely caring about others rather than manipulating them, building relationships based on mutual respect and benefit. AND benefit (give back!) Get yourself to meetups at least twice a month. Look for DEF CON groups in your area - these are some of the most welcoming communities you'll find, and the presentations are often mind-blowing. 2600 meetings happen in most major cities and they're perfect for beginners who want to understand the hacker mindset. OWASP chapter meetings are gold mines for web security folks - you'll learn about vulnerabilities before they hit the mainstream. And speaking of OWASP, you'll likely be quizzed about the OWASP Top 10 in maybe about half of SOC analyst interviews, so do take the time to set up OWASP WebGoat or some other exploitable lab machine. It's kind of wild when you think about it - with few minor changes, we've had most of the same top 10 vulnerabilities for 20 years. SQL injection, cross-site scripting, broken authentication - these issues keep showing up because developers keep making the same fundamental mistakes. BSides conferences are fantastic - they're like mini DEF CONs with a local flavor and incredibly practical talks. ISC2 and Cloud Security Alliance chapters tend to be more corporate-focused but give you great insights into enterprise perspectives and compliance requirements. Don't overlook hackerspaces and makerspaces either - the hands-on culture there aligns perfectly with cybersecurity, and you'll often find the most creative problem-solvers. The key is to be genuinely curious and authentic. Go because you want to learn, not because you want something from people. There's likely a community near you, and it's imperative that you show up and get along with people. 73% of true entry level positions are on-site, so you MUST go. Bring a notepad - an actual physical notepad - and don't be shy about asking for contact information. The notepad itself makes you memorable because it shows you're serious about learning and following up. When you pull out that pen and paper to write down someone's email address, it creates a moment that sticks in their memory way more than just exchanging business cards or LinkedIn contacts. Follow up about a week later with genuine small talk about something you discussed. Ask how their project is going, or share an interesting article related to your conversation. Give something interesting. The networking happens naturally when you're genuinely interested in what others are doing and sharing. The communities around these parts are incredibly welcoming and helpful. People genuinely want to share knowledge and help others succeed. There's something really refreshing about that in today's world. How to Get Involved in Cybersecurity Communities DEF CON Groups What they are:  Local chapters of the famous DEF CON hacker conference community How to find them:   https://defcon.org/html/links/dc-groups.html What to expect:  Monthly meetups with presentations, hands-on workshops, and social events 2600 Meetings What they are:  Monthly meetups for hackers and security enthusiasts, inspired by the 2600 magazine How to find them:   https://www.2600.com/meetings/ What to expect:  Informal gatherings in public spaces, discussions about technology and security OWASP Local Chapters What they are:  Local chapters focused on web application security How to find them:   https://owasp.org/chapters/ What to expect:  Regular presentations on web security, networking with application security professionals BSides Conferences What they are:  Community-driven information security conferences How to find them:   http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage What to expect:  One or two-day conferences with talks, workshops, and networking (ISC)² Local Chapters What they are:  Professional chapters for certified information security professionals How to find them:   https://www.isc2.org/Chapters What to expect:  More formal meetings focused on professional development and certification Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Chapters What they are:  Focused on cloud computing security best practices How to find them:   https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/chapters/ What to expect:  Enterprise-focused discussions on cloud security challenges Local Hackerspaces What they are:  Community-operated physical spaces where people can learn and work on projects How to find them:   https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/List_of_Hacker_Spaces What to expect:  Hands-on learning, maker culture, often with cybersecurity-focused groups Makerspaces What they are:  Similar to hackerspaces but often more mainstream and family-friendly How to find them:  Search "makerspace near me" or check https://www.makerspaces.com/ What to expect:  Access to tools, workshops, and a community interested in building and learning Getting Started Tips: Most groups welcome beginners - don't be intimidated Check Meetup.com for local cybersecurity groups not listed above Follow groups on social media to get a feel for their culture before attending Many groups have online communities (Discord, Slack) you can join first Bring business cards if you have them, but the notepad approach works even better .

2024 Magic Quadrant for SIEM (The lastest as of Sept '25) What SIEM Should I Study Throughout my career, most of my focus has been on SIEM. I was an analyst, and then I became a SIEM Engineer for many years. I have spent time with Splunk, Sentinel, IBM QRadar, I evaluated Exabeam as a Proof of Concept, Fortinet's FortiSIEM, LogRhythm, and Elastic Stack. So I am no stranger to SIEMs. This is What SIEM Should I Study? The evolution of SIEMs has been quite trial-and-error in my anecdotal experience. It was a simple log collector that had the ability and language to search that data, and SIEM was born when they added the ability for alarms to go off with the logs matching a given criterion. Then there was a split, platforms for LogRhythm kept that search and retrieval simple and didn't really have a 'query language', so to speak. It was a point-and-click type of thing, and I am not really sure why that didn't take off; instead, it was dominated by SIEMs that had technically complex syntax languages like Splunk's SPL or Microsoft's Sentinel's KQL. I don't know that it was any better than, say, LogRhythm's point and click, and the learning curve is much harder. Nevertheless, they prevailed. Then there became a need to better document analysts' findings, so they began baking case management into their platforms, which is largely defunct today because it's done in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) tools. We will come back to that.. So then the early days of AI came, which I swore wouldn't ever lead to anything and boy was I wrong. It led to the generative AI that we use today. Early on, when a SIEM product said it used Machine Learning, which is kind of like baselining your sets of logs and determining what is normal and then setting off alarms for any anomalies and creating a feedback loop where it asks you if it was right or not. It was absolute sh*t. And then deep learning began, and this was the early days of determining if something was malicious or not. The only thing it actually did was suppress alerts for companies who didn't care much about security, or couldn't afford to care (which is also a thing). I was one of the first security experts to train a cybersecurity model. I worked for a company called OpenText and I learned a lot from my CISO and for most of the time in that role it was great, but like almost all jobs, eventually something isn't going to work out. So today there are these tools called SOAR tools, and their aim is to automate tasks. I worked with Splunk Phantom, and xSOAR, and instead of analysts working entirely out of SIEMs, they began working out of SOAR tools, and only visiting the SIEM when they need to. It's much like a human approving or denying decisions that were automatically made by the SOAR tool. Does it reduce human labor? Absolutely. But the early days of SOAR tools was a lot like trading cybersecurity analysts for software developers and these tools required massive amounts of maintenance when things break, so at the end of the day it didn't really fulfill the promises it made to reduce human labor costs. There is only one way it could save money and that is if it silenced alarms, which companies could have done in the first place. I went to a LogRhythm conference in Vail, Colorado, one time, and spent a good portion of the time sick from altitude sickness, but it was extremely beautiful. They changed the conference to a lower altitude in the years after. I did like LogRhythm a lot. I went to a Splunk conference once in Orlando, Fl., and it was informative. These conferences are a lot about indoctrination. Companies want you to love this tool they spend millions of dollars a year on, so that you become an expert and essentially just begin training yourselves. I worked with Fortinet's FortiSIEM, while not the best, Fortinet has some of the very best people in the world, and there is a lot to be said about being stuck with good people. So, some comments on the quadrant. I started using Sentinel from the very beginning, and although I never took the time to become a KQL expert, my queries, while inefficient, always got the job done. In fact, I architected our lab here at Cyber NOW in Azure. I have been preaching that Sentinel will dominate this space since I studied the Microsoft architecture diagrams several years ago while working as a Cyber Advisor for our clients at an MSSP. Not because it is superior to Splunk, just because its integration with EVERYTHING makes things simple. Simplicity is a significant factor when it comes to uptime and labor efficiency. For instance, with the Microsoft ecosystem, when a company issues a new laptop, all they need to do is enter a product key, and it automatically joins it to that company's infrastructure. It really is that easy; it's baked into every computer, and there's a lot of money saved in that simplicity. However, the bill for Microsoft Security can be pricey, but it's offset, as I mentioned. Both Splunk and Microsoft have free training. So do both to maximize your competitiveness. Gartner Magic Quadrant is the leading research that ranks products and services. Companies have to pay millions of dollars to be evaluated each year, and it's common that they then get demoted. Explore our Courses