Foundation

Who am I?

Hi, I'm Luka.

I graduated in July 2025 with a BSc in Computer Science and recently completed a one-month penetration testing internship. That experience confirmed what I'd suspected throughout university: I want to work in offensive security.

What excites me most is having an objective I don't immediately know how to reach, then stubbornly working through it until I do. The curiosity-driven problem-solving, the endless horizon of things to learn - that's exactly where I want to be.

Path to Red Team Operator

My interest in offensive security started unexpectedly - whilst building a SIEM project, I stumbled across a YouTube guide that used Atomic Red Team to simulate telemetry. That rabbit hole led me to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, APT campaigns, and the realisation that emulating adversary behaviour for defensive purposes was exactly what I wanted to do.

What sealed it was my internship. I was given tasks like "here's a vulnerable web application - demonstrate how credentials are transmitted and captured." The investigative process - poking around, breaking the system, problem-solving my way to intercepted credentials in Wireshark - confirmed what I already suspected: I'm driven by figuring out how things work and getting around their preventions.

Beyond the technical challenge, I'm motivated by the bigger picture. Cyber has become the battleground for destabilising democratic nations, and our entire world runs on technology that most people don't understand but have to rely on. If I have the interest and ability to work in this space, I also have a responsibility to help protect those who can't protect themselves.

Red teaming appeals to me because it's the intersection of technical problem-solving and real-world impact. I don't have a favourite phase of the kill chain - I'm interested in the entire adversary lifecycle, from initial access to post-exploitation. The patience required to work through helpdesk and SOC roles before reaching red team operations doesn't bother me. I'd rather take the stable, proven route whilst staying alert for opportunities to accelerate when they appear.

For the full story, see my About page.

Why does this Website Exist?

Three reasons:

1. Documentation - A public record of my technical work and skills development
2. Learning in public - Writing forces clarity; if I can explain it, I understand it
3. Knowledge sharing - Helping others on similar paths with practical, with content explained by someone at their level

I previously wrote on Medium but realised the importance of owning my content. Hosting on Ghost.org gives me that control.

What to Expect

• Technical write-ups of lab builds and infrastructure projects
• HackTheBox machine walkthroughs
• Reflections on job searching, skill development, and career progression
• Anything tech-related that I'm actively working on or learning

Current Focus

I'm currently studying for my CompTIA A+ (Core 1), then progressing through Core 2, Network+, and Security+ to complete the trifecta. The goal is to secure my first IT role - likely helpdesk - and then a cybersecurity role - likely junior SOC - and begin the structured path toward penetration testing and red team operations.

The foundational knowledge I'm gaining has been eye-opening. Turns out there's a lot I didn't know I didn't know.

Thanks for stopping by. Let's build something worth documenting.