Cybersecurity & Open Source

I have a keen interest in information security and privacy developing out of my experience with Free and Open Source Software.  I particularly enjoy the ‘hands on’ side of information security, using software tools to secure networks and endpoints – and attacking them in CTF competitions – my team within the top 150 of the 2025 Huntress CTF.

The process of mapping threats to the MITRE ATT&CK framework along with formal study on cyberwarfare and cyberterrorism has sparked an interest in broader security policy and GRC.

I hold a Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity from Charles Sturt University.

Free & Open Source Software (FOSS/FLOSS)

I’ve been a keen Free and Open Source Software user since installing Mandrake on a 386.  With FOSS I get to choose what I run on my system, and have access to a powerful range of software tools, unencumbered by DRM. I have contributed community work with openSUSE, a highlight of which was being invited by the project to participate in a marketing hackfest at SCaLE Linux Expo in Los Angeles.

Examples of my work with openSUSE:

 

A few examples of my open source work can be found on the web:

My work:
Easily Building Software for Multiple Distributions and Platforms – Open Build Service

Collaboratively written:
openSUSE Conference 2010 – Collaborate Across Borders
Collaboration Across Borders at the openSUSE Conference
openSUSE 11.4 still going strong – Helen South & Jos Poortvliet

 

Fun project:

For a class in educational technology, I learned the branched storytelling tool, TWINE.
and created the very amateurish beginnings of a Choose Your Own Adventure:
Trouble in Timgad