“Growth happens when curiosity meets discipline.”
I’m Preston Fitzgerald, a cybersecurity subject-matter expert building lab environments for training, research, and network monitoring. Sometimes I go by the alias gatesec online.
Day job: I support students who are tackling tricky cybersecurity training. I help reframe complicated technical concepts to meet folks at their current level. I test and troubleshoot lab environments and I identify ways to improve training exercises.
Side quests: I am configuring a prosumer network to include a live-fire SOC-in-a-box with enterprise sensibilities and blogging the journey right here while I wrap up my master’s degree in Information Security Engineering.
Toolbox: Python, GitLab CI/CD, Terraform, Proxmox, WireGuard, Security Onion, Hugo, AWS, machine learning, and enough automation to get it done without burning myself out.
Why this blog? I’m here to document the wins and struggles while I build. I try to package the lessons learned to help other defenders level-up faster. This website is an extension of the lab itself. I develop, build, and stage this all locally and push it to the cloud automatically as I make changes.
Project philosophy
- Do it right. We owe it to our future selves to take the corners wide and put in the work. We are worth it and there is value in the effort.
- There is always more to learn. Resist falling back on the familiar if it’s not the right tool for the job. Keep an open mind.
- Let computers do the things that computers are good at and focus on doing the things people are good at.
- Security is a foundational requirement of every IT project. Seek ways to incorporate controls and visibility everywhere that meaningfully helps manage risk.
- Err on the side of over-explaining. Nobody gains from gatekeeping and terms often have many loaded meanings, especially in tech. Endeavor to explain topics simply.
When I’m not chasing packets, you might find me smoking bbq, brewing mead, dreaming up plans for a homestead in the woods, endlessly scrolling through my Steam library, or trying to satisfy my cat Maureen’s insatiable interest in fetch.
Let’s connect
Discord