AWS Systems Manager: Demonstrate Your Skills
Hi. I'm trying to complete the final lab in the AWS Systems Manager: Demonstrate your skills lab. I'm trying to create an IAM policy as requested, but it isn't being accepted. Here is the question: And here is my policy: { "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Sid": "VisualEditor0", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "s3:GetObject", "s3:GetObjectVersion" ], "Resource": [ "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::aws-ssm-eu-west-1/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::amazon-ssm-eu-west-1/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::amazon-ssm-packages-eu-west-1/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::aws-ssm-document-attachments-eu-west-1/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::patch-baseline-snapshot-eu-west-1/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::aws-quicksetup-patchpolicy-*/*", "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::metroliate-1c81a515/*" ] }, { "Sid": "VisualEditor1", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "s3:PutObject", "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::metrolio-ssm-logs-74c21f24/*" }, { "Sid": "VisualEditor2", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "s3:GetEncryptionConfiguration", "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::arn:aws:s3:::metrolio-ssm-logs-74c21f24" } ] } Any help on what I'm doing wrong would be much appreciated.Thoughts on AI-powered cyber tools...?
Hey everyone, I went to InfoSec in London recently, and it seemed like almost every stand had "AI" as a feature: AI-powered SIEMs, anomaly detection systems, etc. What's are people's opinions on all this marketing? Have you seen vast improvements in infosec systems with AI features, or do you think this is more the latest sales and fund-raising mechanism? Probably somewhere in between... I'd love to hear of any examples where you've had experience with new AI tools.Your first lab level 9
What was the first level 9 lab you conquered? :). It does not matter that you will seek advice from other giants, or that you will manage to complete it on your own: share your journey with us!; to get the token or become root on that server. I start: I think that my first conquest of Lab level 9 is related to debugging ByteCode in Java (and only a few days ago!): my background is Oracle, and from years ago, so imagine how lost I was :). After loading the project into the IDE (along with the required plugin) I started debugging bit by bit... until one particular string caught my attention; it stood out from the rest!. And it was the solution :). Good luck!Transforming Bug Triage into Training: Inside the Making of Immersive AppSec Range Exercises
“We all know the pain of bug reports clogging up a sprint—we thought, what if we could transform that drain on time and morale into a challenge developers are excited to tackle?” Rebecca: Oh, I love that—turning bug backlog dread into bite-sized victories is brilliant. I’m excited to hear more, but first, congratulations on launching Immersive AppSec Range Exercises! This is a BIG deal! No one else does anything like this for developers. Naomi: Thanks! What can I say? My love for cybersecurity goes back to university capture-the-flag events. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone with hands-on challenges is by far the fastest way to learn. My main goal was to bring that same energy to application security—there are loads of CTFs for pentesters, but not really for developers who need to sharpen their defensive and remediation skills. I also wanted this to be inherently team-friendly. Our individual AppSec labs are built for individual learning, but group dynamics demand different pacing and collaboration tools. Rebecca: Makes total sense. Offensive skills get the headlines, but developers need a solid, team-centric defensive playground too. So how did you translate that vision into the actual structure of our AppSec Range Exercises? Naomi: I anchored everything in the maintenance phase of the software lifecycle: Receive bug → Triage → Fix → Test → Merge. That mirrors real dev workflows, so participants don’t just patch vulnerabilities—they live the ticket management, version control, and testing cadence they’ll face on the job. [Inside scoop: When we build any security exercise, our team maps it to a real-world experience. In Immersive AppSec Range Exercises, a common SDLC workflow—teams learn best when they see exactly how it will play out in their daily sprints. ] Rebecca: I love that you’re training both mindset and muscle memory—jumping through the same process you’d use in production. Once you had that flow, what were the first steps to bring the framework to life? Naomi: Well, I knew that this project was going to need quite a few applications to house the functionality for the exercises, so I audited what we’d need from scratch versus what open source could handle. For ticketing, most OSS Kanban tools were overkill, so I built a lightweight app called Sprinter. Then for version control, we leaned on GitLab—it was quick to stand up and gave a familiar UI for branching and merges. Once those pieces clicked—vulnerabilities surfacing in Sprinter, code pushes in GitLab, and test runs in the Verification view—we had a minimally viable range exercise in action. Rebecca: A smart “build-what-you-must, borrow-where-you-can” approach. Seeing that prototype come together must’ve been so cool. Naomi: Absolutely. It was one thing to design on paper, but watching the pipeline live—tickets flow in Sprinter, GitLab merge requests, automatic test feedback—was a genuine “wow” moment. Rebecca: Speaking of “wow,” let’s talk scenarios. How did you land on “Blossom,” your vulnerable HR app in the Orchid Corp universe? Naomi: Well, we needed something with enough complexity to showcase the framework. HR apps hit three sweet spots: business logic richness, varied user roles, and sensitive data. Tying it into Orchid Corp—our fictional corporation for Immersive Cyber Drills—gave it narrative depth, especially for returning users of our Immersive One platform. Rebecca: And when you designed the actual vulnerabilities inside Blossom, what guided your choices? Naomi: I started with the OWASP API Top 10—that’s our gold standard for spotting the biggest threats. Then I looked at what slips through most scanners and frameworks—nuanced business-logic flaws and edge-case logic bugs—and made those the core of the challenge. To keep things well-rounded, I also added a few classics—things like IDOR, SSRF, and command injection—so every player gets a taste of both modern pitfalls and time-tested exploits. [Inside scoop: Mixing modern, real-world API flaws with a few known “gotchas” keeps Immersive AppSec learners guessing and builds confidence when they spot the unexpected.] Rebecca: I know you’re busy working on the next exercises we’ll release, but before we wrap, how did you test Blossom among developers and engineers? No doubt you wanted to make sure it delivered the right experience! Naomi: Yes, absolutely! We ran a pilot with our own Immersive engineers and a third party, creating a realistic dev team. Watching them collaborate—triaging, patching, merging—validated every piece of the design. Their feedback on pacing and hint levels let us polish the final release. It was one of my favourite days—seeing months of work click into place. After that, we shipped it to customers knowing it was battle-tested. Rebecca: This has been fantastic—thank you for sharing your full planning and development journey, Naomi! From initial vision to a live, collaborative exercise … I’m awed. You certainly put incredible thought and care into developing this revolutionary approach to AppSec training. Final Thought Security is a team sport, and training like Immersive AppSec Range Exercises is the fast track to confident, resilient DevSecOps teams. If you’re a developer or engineer looking to level up your remediation skills, have your team lead reach out to your Account Manager for a demo. In the meantime, watch a sneak peek of what your experience would be like in this demo below:
Do I need to create account with Hyperion.corp to access the labs?
Right now trying to attempt the lab for SQL injection and the moment I click on "Broswer", I see this. And there is no way it lets me authenticate. It doesnt even give me an option to create an account for Hyperion.Corp. How to proceed?Decoding Coding: Picking a Language
These days, more and more jobs can benefit from being able to write simple scripts and programs, especially in cybersecurity. For example, pulling data from an API, scraping web pages, or processing large data files to extract information – the list of uses is virtually endless! Tempting as it is to dive right in, there are several things worth thinking about before you begin. This article will discuss one of the most important choices – selecting a language. What to consider when choosing a language A basic understanding of programming languages can make your life easier, increasing your adaptability and finesse in different environments. But with tons of languages like Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, Rust, and more, which one should you choose? Here are the crucial factors to consider: What's available Can you install whatever language you like to run your code, or are there limitations? If you have an enterprise-managed computer, you might not be able to install new software or languages, and you may need to use the default options. For Windows, this is PowerShell. Bash Script is the equivalent for Mac and Linux devices, and Python is often available too. Your personal experience and interest This one might sound obvious, but it does matter. We learn better and faster when we're invested in the subject. Look at your previous experiences. Have you worked with any programming languages before? Did you enjoy them? For example, if you had a good experience working with Python, let that guide your decision! That said, don't shy away from learning something new if there's a good reason or you’re curious to do so. What's trending in your organization Does your organization or team predominantly use a specific language? Not only would learning that one help you communicate better with your colleagues, but it could also give you an edge while working with systems developed in that language. Plus, there’ll be plenty of people to talk to if you get stuck! The language's capabilities and nature Like people, different languages have different strengths. Some are fantastic for web development (like JavaScript), while others are better suited for system-level programming (like C). Python is often an excellent choice. It's considered easy to learn, incredibly flexible, and powerful due to the huge catalog of packages available. While it isn't as fast as many other languages, for most purposes, it's usually more than fast enough. Java is a very widely used object-oriented programming language and can be extremely fast. The learning curve is steeper than Python, but there are loads of learning resources available. JavaScript (not to be confused with Java!) isn’t as useful for quick standalone scripts or applications, but it's the dominant language for websites and browsers, so understanding it is practically a superpower for testing and manipulating websites and applications. C and C++ allow low-level access to memory and offer a lot of flexibility – incredibly helpful when evaluating systems with these languages at their core. Available tools and training Great tools can make tough jobs easier. Certain programming languages have robust toolsets that can help automate your tasks. For instance, Python has a wide array of libraries and frameworks that make handling big projects a cinch while saving you time and effort – why reinvent the wheel when you can just import it? Take a look at what training is available for the language you’re interested in. Older and more popular languages are likely to have more to choose from, but there’s loads out there and a lot of it is free! Also, consider what tools you might already have access to within your organization. Community and support If a programming language has a large active community, it means help is readily available when you get stuck. Languages like Python, JavaScript, and Java have strong communities and plenty of online resources available. Scope for growth If you're planning to learn a language, why not pick one that's in demand? Check job boards, look at industry trends, and see if learning a particular language can give your professional growth a boost! Summary Remember, no language is “the best". The best is the one that suits your needs and circumstances. You might even find mastering multiple programming languages useful over time. Just like speaking multiple languages, the more you know, the better you can communicate in different environments! Once you understand some of the basic programming concepts, like variables and loops, it’s easier to learn a second or third language. Learning a programming language may initially seem like climbing a steep mountain. But once you get the hang of it, you'll realize that the view from the top was well worth the hike! Want to take the next step? Here are some lab collections that may help you learn a bit more about PowerShell and Python: PowerShell Basics Offensive PowerShell Introduction to Python Scripting Share your thoughts If you’re new to coding, tell us what language you’re trying out! Why did you pick it, and would you make the same choice again? Are there any specific challenges you found or any relevant experiences you’d like to share?
