About Me

Hello, my name is Ian Simons, and I am currently a Security Analyst with a goal of transitioning into a Red Team or Penetration Testing role.

In my current position, I serve as the primary administrator for our XDR software across more than 900 endpoints, where I am responsible for endpoint monitoring, alert triage, incident response, and security operations. I investigate and remediate security alerts, develop custom detections, and build SOAR playbooks to improve response efficiency and consistency. My role also includes identifying and remediating security weaknesses, hardening systems, and supporting firewall and network operations. My Resume can be downloaded here

My technical background includes Linux and Windows administration, networking, scripting and programming, cloud technologies, and security operations. Through both my professional experience and personal projects, I have developed a strong interest in understanding how attackers identify and exploit weaknesses in systems and networks. While my career has largely focused on defensive security, I am increasingly drawn to offensive security and the challenge of thinking like an adversary to uncover vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

I currently hold the CompTIA Security+, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), and Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certifications. Beyond certifications, I believe hands-on experience is one of the most effective ways to develop technical skills. As a result, I spend much of my free time working through Hack The Box machines, researching attack techniques, developing scripts and tools, and documenting my methodology.

This website serves as a record of that journey. Here you will find write-ups, technical projects, and notes from the labs and challenges I have completed. My goal is not only to demonstrate my growth as a security professional, but also to create resources that others can learn from. Whether you are a fellow practitioner, recruiter, or hiring manager, I hope you find something useful in the work presented here.

Posts

Nibbles - Hack the Box

Difficulty: Easy OS: Linux Date Completed: 2026-09-02 Write-up Authored by: Ian Simons Challenge Created by: mrb3n8132 Core Competencies: Network Enumeration with Nmap Manual Web Enumeration Web Enumeration with Gobuster Vulnerability Research Initial Access with Metasploit Privilege Enumeration Privilege Escalation Overview This Box was completed as part of the Hack the Box Academy Job Role Path “Penetration Tester” in the “Getting Started” Module. The purpose of completing this box is to build familiarity with the Hack the Box platform. While the Academy module walks the user through this Box, I opted to complete it on my own using my existing, albeit limited, skillset. Additionally, this was another opportunity to sharpen my Metasploit fundamentals. Note: Flags documented in Appendix B ...

Jerry - Hack the Box

Difficulty: Easy OS: Windows Date Completed: 2026-08-30 Write-up Authored by: Ian Simons Challenge Created by: mrh4sh Core Competencies: Network Enumeration with Nmap Vulnerability Research Brute Forcing with Metasploit Exploitation with Metasploit Web Enumeration with gobuster Overview This box was recommended by the Hack the Box Academy Job Role Path “Penetration Tester” in the “Getting Started” Module. The purpose of completing this box is to build familiarity with Metasploit. As we will see, it did just that. Note: Flags documented in Appendix B ...

Granny - Hack the Box

Difficulty: Easy OS: Windows Date Completed: 2026-08-27 Write-up Authored by: Ian Simons Challenge Created by: ch4p Core Competencies: Network Enumeration with Nmap Vulnerability Research Initial Access with Metasploit Vulnerability Scanning with Metasploit Privilege Escalation with Metasploit Overview This Box was recommended by the Hack the Box Academy Job Role Path “Penetration Tester” in the “Getting Started” Module. The purpose of completing this box is to build familiarity with Metasploit. As we will see it did just that. Note: Flags documented in Appendix B ...

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About Me

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