Security Controls Implementation • System Hardening • Asset Control • Logging & SIEM • Cloud Baselines • Encryption • Backup Validation • Incident Response

Progression: inventory → hardening → monitoring → access control → SIEM → cloud security → encryption → backup verification → IR

This repository demonstrates hands-on implementation of CIS-aligned defensive security controls across 30 structured labs.

It showcases practical capability in:

• Asset inventory & exposure validation (hardware/software reconciliation)
• Vulnerability scanning & remediation tracking (OpenVAS)
• Least-privilege enforcement & access governance
• Endpoint & network hardening (Linux + Windows)
• Firewall & boundary defense (UFW, iptables)
• Log monitoring & SIEM integration (ELK, Wazuh)
• Encryption at rest (BitLocker, LUKS) and in transit (TLS/HTTPS)
• Backup, restore & integrity validation (diff + hashing)
• Incident response lifecycle documentation & containment concepts
• Cloud instance hardening (OpenStack security groups)

This is execution-first security engineering: commands are run, outputs validated, controls tested, and evidence documented per lab.

The portfolio reflects practical defensive operations aligned with real-world SOC environments — not theoretical exercises.

This is a structured 30-lab security engineering program focused on implementing foundational and operational defensive controls across:

• Endpoint security
• Network hardening
• Identity & access governance
• Logging & SIEM workflows
• Encryption enforcement
• Backup validation
• Cloud security configuration
• Incident response process execution

All labs were executed in controlled Ubuntu and Windows lab environments using open-source tooling.

Each lab includes:

• Command execution steps
• Validation outputs
• Configuration artifacts (sanitized)
• Structured documentation
• Troubleshooting notes

The progression moves from baseline controls (inventory, hardening, firewalling) to operational security (SIEM integration, encryption verification, policy enforcement).

This portfolio is designed for:

• SOC Analyst (Tier 1 / Tier 2) roles
• Blue Team & Defensive Security learners
• System / Endpoint Hardening engineers
• Junior Detection Engineering candidates
• IT professionals transitioning into cybersecurity
• Recruiters evaluating hands-on defensive capability

It demonstrates the ability to implement, validate, and document real security controls — not just describe them.

Click any lab title to jump directly to its folder.

• Hardware/software asset reconciliation
• Nmap host discovery validation
• OpenVAS vulnerability triage
• Admin privilege auditing (sudo/wheel)
• CIS-style endpoint hardening mindset
• UFW & iptables rule enforcement
• Port/service minimization
• Backup automation (cron) + integrity validation (diff)
• Router hardening (SSH-only, disable HTTP)
• TLS certificate configuration + handshake validation
• File encryption validation (AES-256)
• Linux access control (chmod/chown/groups)
• Wireless security hardening

• Account auditing & session timeout enforcement
• PAM-based lockout configuration
• Security awareness content development
• SQL injection & XSS mitigation strategies
• Incident lifecycle execution (Detect → Contain → Recover)
• Patch deployment & validation workflows
• SSH hardening & service minimization
• ELK + Filebeat log shipping
• Wazuh endpoint monitoring validation (EICAR)
• OpenStack cloud security groups
• BitLocker + LUKS encryption
• HTTPS enforcement (301 redirect)
• Backup integrity validation (sha256sum)
• Password complexity & expiration enforcement

Across labs, validation is explicitly demonstrated with:

• Before/after checks (ports, services, policies, configs)
• Negative tests (unauthorized access fails, blocked ports time out)
• Integrity proof (diff output, SHA256 hashes)
• Security telemetry proof (auth logs, SIEM indexes, Wazuh alerts)
• TLS proof (curl -I, handshake/cipher confirmation)

This repository is organized as a 30-lab defensive controls portfolio:

CIS-Top-20-Controls/
├─ 🔹 Security Foundations (Labs 1–15)
├─ 🔹 Security Hardening, Operations & Encryption (Labs 16–30)
└─ README.md

Track Overview

• Labs 1–15: Security Foundations (inventory, hardening, logging, boundary defense, encryption, access control)
• Labs 16–30: Operations & Enforcement (identity controls, patching, SIEM, cloud security, encryption validation, backup assurance)

Each lab follows a consistent, GitHub-ready structure:

labXX-lab-name/
├── README.md              # Objectives, steps, validation checklist
├── commands.sh            # Executed commands (copy/paste runnable where applicable)
├── output.txt             # Sanitized outputs (proof of validation)
├── reports/               # Findings, policies, configs, verification notes
├── troubleshooting.md     # Common issues + fixes
└── interview_qna.md       # (optional) interview-ready questions & answers

This structure ensures reproducibility, evidence capture, and portfolio-grade documentation across all labs.

After completing all 30 labs, this portfolio demonstrates the ability to:

• Build and reconcile hardware & software asset inventories with discovery validation
• Perform vulnerability scanning and document remediation priorities (OpenVAS/GVM)
• Enforce least privilege (admin access governance + need-to-know access models)
• Harden Linux and Windows systems using baseline security standards
• Implement deny-by-default firewall and boundary defense controls (UFW/iptables)
• Enable logging, perform log triage, and integrate events into SIEM workflows (ELK/Wazuh)
• Configure and validate encryption controls (BitLocker, LUKS, TLS/HTTPS)
• Design and test backup, restore, and integrity verification workflows (diff + hashes)
• Apply patch management and password/account policy enforcement
• Execute documented incident response containment and recovery steps
• Secure cloud instances by designing restrictive security group rules (OpenStack)

This is practical implementation — not theoretical configuration summaries.

These labs are designed to mirror defensive security work performed in production environments:

• CIS-style baseline security control implementation and validation
• SOC visibility workflows: log collection → triage → alert thresholds
• Access governance: admin privilege control and need-to-know enforcement
• Boundary defense: firewalling, exposure reduction, and verification testing
• Encryption enforcement to meet data protection and compliance requirements
• Recovery assurance through backup verification and integrity checks
• Cloud hardening using least-exposure network security groups
• Incident readiness through documented response workflows and containment actions

All labs were executed in controlled lab environments using open-source tooling.

This portfolio reflects capability aligned with:

• SOC Analyst (Tier 1 / Tier 2)
• Blue Team & Defensive Security roles
• System / Endpoint Hardening Engineer
• Security Operations Engineer
• Junior Security Administrator

It demonstrates:

• Security-first, validation-driven mindset
• Strong documentation and evidence discipline
• Practical implementation of baseline controls across OS, network, and cloud layers
• Repeatable verification workflows (ports, logs, backups, encryption behavior)

All labs were executed in controlled environments and designed to simulate realistic defensive security operations workflows:

• Asset visibility & exposure management (inventory + scanning + reconciliation)
• Hardening & secure configuration enforcement (services, policies, SSH, Windows controls)
• Monitoring & detection readiness (audit logs, SIEM shipping, alert validation)
• Boundary defense verification (deny-by-default, allowed service checks, blocked port tests)
• Data protection enforcement (BitLocker/LUKS + TLS configuration + HTTPS redirects)
• Recovery assurance (backup restore validation with diff + hash verification)
• Cloud security baselining (restrictive security groups, removal of overly broad rules)
• Incident readiness execution (containment concepts + lifecycle documentation)

This repository represents operational defensive controls implementation — not theoretical notes.

This heatmap reflects hands-on defensive controls implementation across 30 labs in:

Asset Governance • System Hardening • Access Control • Logging & SIEM • Encryption • Cloud Security • Recovery Assurance • Incident Readiness

Exposure bars represent depth of practical implementation and validation.

• ██████████ = Implemented end-to-end with validation & documented evidence
• █████████░ = Strong working implementation with practical verification
• ████████░░ = Functional exposure with applied context

This heatmap reflects operational defensive capability, not isolated configuration steps — covering:

Inventory → Hardening → Monitoring → Access Control → SIEM → Cloud → Encryption → Recovery → Incident Readiness

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/abdul4rehman215/CIS-Top-20-Controls.git
cd CIS-Top-20-Controls

# Open any lab
cd labXX-name

# Review documentation
cat README.md

# Execute commands (if applicable)
bash commands.sh

# Review outputs / reports
cat output.txt

Each lab is self-contained and follows a structured defensive workflow:

1. Objective – What control is being implemented
2. Implementation – Commands & configuration steps
3. Validation – Proof via logs, port checks, policy enforcement, encryption behavior, or restore testing
4. Artifacts – Config snippets, reports, sanitized outputs
5. Troubleshooting Notes – Operational considerations

labXX-name/
│
├── README.md
├── commands.sh (or documented command blocks)
├── output.txt (sanitized validation outputs)
├── reports/
└── troubleshooting.md

This repository is designed to be:

• 📘 Educational (defensive security training)
• 🔍 Validation-focused (controls are tested, not just configured)
• 🛡️ Aligned with CIS-style baseline implementation
• 📎 Interview-ready (clear evidence of hands-on execution)

All 30 labs were executed in controlled lab environments designed to simulate real defensive security operations.

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (primary lab host)
• Windows 11 Pro (policy, encryption, and endpoint testing)
• OpenStack cloud instances (security group & exposure control testing)
• Open-source security tooling (OpenVAS, Lynis, ELK, Wazuh, ClamAV, UFW, iptables)
• Segmented test networks for firewall and boundary validation
• Local TLS/HTTPS deployments for encryption verification
• Backup and restore simulations using non-production datasets

Controls were not only configured — they were validated through:

• Port verification tests
• Log generation & SIEM indexing checks
• Encryption behavior validation (reboot + access tests)
• Backup restore + integrity comparisons (diff + sha256sum)

This portfolio reflects implementation + verification, not configuration alone.

This repository is designed to support:

• Defensive security training
• SOC operations skill development
• System & endpoint hardening practice
• Secure configuration validation workflows
• Encryption and recovery assurance testing
• Cloud baseline security implementation
• Incident response documentation exercises

All techniques are demonstrated strictly within authorized lab environments and are intended for defensive security improvement.

All research, simulations, and security control testing in this repository were conducted:

• In isolated, authorized lab environments
• Against self-configured or intentionally vulnerable systems
• Using synthetic or non-sensitive datasets
• For educational and professional defensive development purposes

No production systems were targeted. No unauthorized access was performed.

The techniques demonstrated are intended solely for responsible defensive security implementation and training.

This repository reflects real, execution-first defensive security work — not theoretical configuration notes.

It demonstrates the ability to implement and validate controls across the full defensive lifecycle:

Inventory → Hardening → Access Control → Monitoring → SIEM → Encryption → Recovery → Enforcement

Security engineering is not just configuration.
It is control implementation + validation + repeatability. 🛡️

If this portfolio adds value, consider starring ⭐ the repository.

Abdul Rehman

Defensive Security • SOC Operations • System Hardening • SIEM • Cloud Baselines • Encryption Controls