Hi, I'm Makayla Ferrell. This is my life decoded.

I am a software engineer, graduate school student, and ethical hacker. This website hosts my hacking write-ups, information about me, and ways to get in touch. Click around to learn more!

About me My Stats

Introduction

Last year, I graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics. I am currently attending the Georgia Institute of Technology for my M.S. in Computer Science, while working full time as a software engineer. In my free time, I work towards cybersecurity certifications and volunteer to increase representation.

6

Proficient
Programming languages

5

Industry Certifications

4

Years of Experience

3

Degrees

Skills

C++
Java
HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Python
C
Powershell
Linux
Git
Docker

Other skills

ReactJs,   MySQL,   PostgreSQL,   NodeJS,   Andriod Studio,  and,  NGINX

Certifications

CompTIA Security+

August 2019

CompTIA Pentest+

July 2020

eLearnSecurity eJPT

July 2021

GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester

November 2021

OSCP

eventually :)

Experience and Education

2020 - Present

Software Engineer - Army CECOM Software Engineering Center

Developed, implemented, and maintained software patches to mitigate security flaws in accordance with DevSecOps standards.

2021 - Present

M.S. in Computer Science - Georgia Institute of Technology .

Specializations in Artificial Intellegence and Cybersecurity

2018 - 2019

IT Security Intern - State Department Federal Credit Union

Oversaw SIEM, authored weekly security reports, developed inventory management system.

2017 - 2021

B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics - University of Mary Washington

Member of Phi Eta Sigma, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Pi Mu Epsilon, Mathematics Association of America, Association of Computing Machinery, DiverCS, and Multicultural Leadership Council.

Volunteer Experience

2021 - Present

Director of Programming and Cybersecurity Development - Black Girls Hack

Spearheaded, organized, and taught programming and cybersecurity certification courses/workshops.

2020 - Present

Board Member - Cloud Security Alliance LA Chapter

Developed the chapter’s student advancement program to provide cloud security opportunities to undergraduate students.

2020 -Present

Lead Instructor - Brown Girls Code

Instructed computer science and robotics curriculum to middle school and high school aged children.

My Blog Blog

Here are some of my hacking writeups. Click to read them!

Coming Soon

A new writeup will be posted soon!

Tryhackme Brooklyn Nine Nine

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme brooklyn nine nine room. This is a beginner room that includes anonymous ftp login, steganography, and linux privilege escalation.

Tryhackme Attacktive Directory

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme attacktive directory. This room covers exploiting an active directory domain controller.

Tryhackme Looking Glass

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme looking glass room. This room is a sequel to Wonderland and covers cryptography, linux enumeration, lateral and vertical privilege escalation.

Tryhackme NerdHerd Room

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme NerdHerd room. This room is a ctf style challenge that covers ftp anonymous login, smb enumeration, vigenere ciphers, and a linux kernel privilege escalation.

Tryhackme Git Happens Room

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme git happens room. This room covers enumerating a public git repository.

Tryhackme Kenobi Room

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme kenobi room. This room covers samba enumeration, ftp exploitation, and linux privilege escalation.

Tryhackme Wonderland Room

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme wonderland room. This room covers python library hijacking, linux enumeration, and privilege escalation.

Tryhackme Inclusion Room

This is a walkthrough of the tryhackme inclusion room. This room is for practice with Local File Inclusion(LFI) attacks. It includes a basic LFI and a linux privilege escalation.

Tryhackme Easy Peasy Room

This is a walkthrough for the Easy Peasy room in Tryhackme. This room is for practice locating a hidden directory to get initial access to a vulnerable machine, and escalating privileges using a crontab.

Contact Me