Task-1 — Foundations of Cybersecurity & Lab Environment Setup Author: Dhonthula Sairam Internship: ApexPlanet — Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking Internship Task: Task-1 (Days 1–12) — Build fundamentals, set up lab, tool familiarization, capture & document evidence.
Executive Summary
This task establishes a controlled cybersecurity lab for hands-on learning. The lab uses VirtualBox with Kali Linux as the attacker machine and Metasploitable2 / DVWA as vulnerable targets. Hands-on topics include Linux basics, networking (OSI/TCP-IP), cryptography (OpenSSL), packet capture (Wireshark), scanning (Nmap), web proxying (Burp Suite), and network debugging (Netcat). All work is performed only on lab VMs under my control.
Objectives
Build strong fundamentals: CIA triad, common threats, attack vectors.
Configure a private, isolated hacking lab (VirtualBox Host-Only).
Install and verify Kali Linux, Metasploitable2 (and optionally DVWA).
Familiarize with tools: Wireshark, Nmap, Metasploit, Burp Suite, Netcat.
Demonstrate packet capture and scanning; document findings and mitigations.
Produce deliverables: screenshots, cheatsheet.md, scan outputs, 5-min demo video.
Safe & Ethical Notice
All scans, captures, and exploitation were performed only on lab machines I own/control (Kali & Metasploitable2). Do not run these techniques on networks or systems without explicit permission.
