Forum Discussion
Introductions
Welcome to our new Community, we are so happy that you have joined us and we'd love to get to know you all. Please introduce yourself in this thread by telling us a little bit about yourself and your experience with Immersive Labs and Cyber Security.
I'm Kieran, the Director of Community here at Immersive Labs and I'm responsible for fostering this community, and leading our Cyber Million program which aims to help 1 Million people into cybersecurity jobs over the next decade.
Prior to this I worked with the UK NCSC to design and deliver the inaugural program of CyberFirst events, a pioneering initiative aimed at inspiring and encouraging 14 - 18 year olds to consider careers in cybersecurity. I'm a member of the UK Cyber Security Council's Qualifications Careers Working Group and carried out extensive research into the UK's Cyber Security Skills Gap as part of my MSc in Cyber Security.
I live in South West England, where you can often find me running on the trails, or running after my 7 year old son.
I look forward to meeting you all
Kieran
133 Replies
- TeganJones98
Bronze I
Hello everyone, it is lovely to be here.
I am very new to Cyber, being a part of Digital Governance. However, I am excited to learn more through Immersive so I can work in partnership with our Cyber team (& have a little more understanding myself for my own personal & professional development). 🤩
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
Hey TeganJones98, that's great to hear! As you're completing labs, you can definitely benefit and learn from the collective knowledge of the community if you post in our Help Forum.
We also host regular challenges in the community, so keep an eye out both for yourself & the cyber team at your organisation!
- Dooley
Bronze II
Hi everyone, excited to be here.
I have worked in CS for about 5 years now, having completed a (late in life) apprenticeship through work. I work for a leading UK Financial Services provider and am looking forward to continuing to grow CS awareness across the UK.
I am a novice member of my organisation's CTF team and particularly love cryptography or Wireshark boxes.
Looking forward to getting to know everyone a little better.
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
Hi Dooley it's always cool to learn people's pathway into a cybersecurity career - thanks for sharing!
- KieranRowley
Community Manager
Welcome to our community Dooley! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you are based in or around London, if so it would be great to see you at our next in-person London meetup (once planned) https://www.meetup.com/immersive-community-london-uk
- Dooley
Bronze II
pretty big limb ;-) I am West Yorkshire-based. Are there any meetups up this way?
- NHSCyberMan
Bronze II
Great to be part of this community! I am Nasser, Cyber Security Manager for 2 NHS Trusts in NW London. I have been using Immersive for a number of years but am now looking to expand usage across my organisations so everyone can benefit from on demand cyber learning. It is a fantastic platform! Look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas!
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
NHSCyberMan great to see you here. I'm excited for the community to read your blog article on drilling, which will be dropping in the community next week 🔥
- KieranRowley
Community Manager
Welcome Nasser! So good to have you onboard!
- f_Of_x
Bronze I
Hi everyone! I'm a veteran now looking to turn my 'passion into a profession' and work towards some Cybersecurity qualifications. This looks like a great place to get a solid foundation! Ultimately wanting to end up in a risk consultancy role.
Long life tinkerer, programming from computer magazines at about 7 or 8 with my family Amstrad 464. Back then I think actually got some cheats to work in games by writing code from a magazine (hours) and having to pause the cassette player at the right point (i think). Then the Amiga 500, heady days of workbench 1.3 and deluxe paint iii. From there towards Linux and the mysterious world of man and Bash. What a somehow archaic but at the same time still futuristic invention (imo). Spent time learning whilst studying molecular biology in my Uni days.
Anyway.. joined Army, did a lot of green and bio-metric stuff abroad for 6 months, and continued to be into computers as a hobbie. Written a few personal projects in C (including Tetris and a Sudoku solver using backtracking algortihm) and like the close to metal stuff.
I'm living in France right now and for the NATO buffs amongst us on a former SHAPE barracks. History of Cyber in general fascinates me also. Hello everyone!
- KieranRowley
Community Manager
I spent many MANY hours in Deluxe Paint III. The Amiga 500 seems to be a common origin story for many of us here, Monkey Island in particular!
- f_Of_x
Bronze I
Monkey Island! Can concur!
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
Great to meet you and learn of your interests f_Of_x. "Life long tinkerer" is a great community bio 😆
- ericung
Bronze II
Hello. Nice meeting you! I'm starting cybersecurity and learning everything right now. Let's connect professionally on LinkedIn if you are interested!
- ericung
Bronze II
Hello. I am Eric and I am a software development consultant specializing in data engineering pursuing knowledge of cybersecurity through multiple outlets including the pursuit of a master's which is how I heard of this platform. I enjoy tinkering with hack projects and trying to get a good handle at industry trends.
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
Great to meet you ericung I hope you find both Immersive and this community helpful alongside your studies
- Fa11acy
Bronze II
Hello everyone! :) I'm Jude, a Cyber Security student currently studying for a degree apprenticeship in the defence sector. I'm just about to enter my fourth year, and Immersive has been incredibly helpful throughout. I'm hugely passionate about Cyber, and I'm always looking for opportunities in the industry :D
I got into Cyber Security when I was 14, and joined a national cyber security competition for 14-18 year olds called Cyber Discovery, run by CyberFirst, SANS Institute and the UK Government. Managed to reach the final stage three years in a row, where I took part in the face-to-face final, and later studying for and passing two GIAC qualifications when I was 17-18 years old (the GCFE and GCIH). Earlier this year I took part in the Cyber Team UK competition, reaching the final.
My areas of interests in Cyber Security are Threat Intelligence, Reverse Engineering, Malware Analysis and Digital Forensics. Actually, my dissertation was on developing a tool to detect embedded malware in images :D
In my spare time... oh man, I have FAR too many hobbies. I do a self-defence system called Krav Maga, I love to draw, and I'm also a Warhammer 40K lore fan, so I read a lot of that (get me started on Warhammer at your peril).
Once again, it's so lovely to meet all of you 😄
- ek2000
Bronze II
Welcome Jude! I love your defense in depth approach Krav is such an awesome discipline. I practiced when I lived in MD but sadly don't have a gym nearby now. Sounds like you've got some serious skills physically and technically! Keep going!
- TillyCorless
Community Manager
Hey Fa11acy, great to meet you and hear your interests! I'm sure this community would benefit about learning more on your dissertation. Excited to have you on board in the community 🤝
- Fa11acy
Bronze II
Thank you and great to meet you too!! The connections here are really valuable and I'm looking forward to engaging with everyone. 🙌
- JessicaThompson
Immerser
Welcome, Jude! Something about your introduction tells me you're going to fit in quite well here in Community 😏 We're excited to have you here to both learn a new thing or two, and be part of the Human Connection here! 🎉
- Fa11acy
Bronze II
Haha thank you!! I appreciate that :D
- SamDickison
Community Manager
Hey everyone :-)
I've just joined the Community team as an Intern to help KieranRowley and TillyCorless. I came from a really sociable industry (brewing) and I've come to realise that cyber is just as sociable and friendly. It's been great meeting people from different companies and backgrounds, all obsessed with their particular area of cyber.Hopefully I'll bump into some of you at future events!
- ek2000
Bronze II
Hello all. I realized I have never introduced myself. I am a US military veteran and prior industry contractor that has served many roles in cybersecurity. Mostly from a red team focus or some form of analyst, network, data, etc. After many years in that industry, I decided it was time for a change and took a principal engineering job with an auto manufacturer. One of my first tasks was to bolster cyber awareness and training. This is how I was first introduced to IL and we've been partners ever since.
I currently lead the company's leaderboards (I have to vet every lab I put on the training plan). But also use IL for more advanced labs to keep my own skills sharp.
When I'm not training, I'm knee deep in managing and researching vulnerabilities and operations.
I look forward to interacting with you all!- KieranRowley
Community Manager
Welcome and thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself! While we do a lot of work with current and former service people (especially through our Cyber Million program) we are always keen to hear how we can support you better. Please feel free to contact me if you have any ideas.
Thank you for your service 🙂
- ek2000
Bronze II
Thanks Kieran. Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow!
- Tempest
Bronze I
Hi! I'm Mateusz but I prefer Matt, I'm a first year studying cyber security and Digital Forensics at the University of the West of England. I'm relatively new to cyber security, so when my society introduced me to this platform it helped me develop my knowledge and understanding to a more technical depth than what I started with. I love taking part in CTF as I've noticed it helps me develop my knowledge in a much faster rate, as well as solidify what i already know. I can't wait to see how Immersive will continue to develop.
- KieranRowley
Community Manager
Welcome Matt! It's great to connect with more members of the cybersecurity community here in the South West! Can I ask, what could Immersive be doing to better support the UWE Cyber Society?
- kungfuhud
Bronze I
Hi everyone, great to meet you all.
I'm a Cyber Security Consulting leader at Kyndryl located in South Wales not far from Bristol and Newport (UK).
I've worked with some of the guys at IL over the years, and an active crew member at BSides Bristol and other Security and Community Events.
I'm an all around geek, cyber security enthusiast (yes that's a Kali T-Shirt I'm wearing) and recently rebuilt my music studio now my kids are a bit older...
I look forward to collaborating and networking with you all! 🤩
- KieranRowley
Community Manager
Welcome kungfuhud! What are you making with that equipment and who are your musical influences?
- kungfuhud
Bronze I
Thanks for having me KieranRowley!
My influencers are a massive range of music to be honest, I'm from Bristol so anything Drum and Bass or Dub related hits my notes.
I was even with Roni Size the other day... 😎
Roni and me at my friends D&B party in Bristol...I also play guitar, keyboard and drums (though not very well I might add 🫠), so short answer is really weird music 😂...
I also like music such as Baaba Maal, Django Reindhardt, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Simon and Garfunkel, System of a Down, Venetian Snares, Excision & Datsik, and everything in between!