https://smokericeash.github.io/Blog, Aidan Chen, github, smokericeash 2026-09-02T00:38:04-07:00 Aidan Chen https://smokericeash.github.io/ Jekyll © 2026 Aidan Chen /assets/img/favicons/favicon.ico /assets/img/favicons/favicon-96x96.png 2026-05-29T00:00:00-07:00 2026-05-30T15:50:48-07:00 https://smokericeash.github.io/posts/NETWORK+/ Aidan Chen

Passing CompTIA Network+ I recently passed the CompTIA Network+ certification exam, which was an important milestone in strengthening my networking and cybersecurity foundation. Network+ stood out to me because it covered many of the concepts that show up constantly in cybersecurity, including routing, switching, subnetting, wireless networking, ports, protocols, troubleshooting, and network s...

2026-04-19T00:00:00-07:00 2026-04-19T00:00:00-07:00 https://smokericeash.github.io/posts/MISSA-ITC-Competition/ Aidan Chen

ITC 2026 Red Teaming Competition Over the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to compete in ITC (Information Technology Competition) 2026 in the red teaming track. This experience stood out because it felt much closer to a real client engagement than a typical competition. Instead of working through isolated challenges, my team had to approach the environment like a professional penetration ...

2026-03-15T00:00:00-07:00 2026-03-15T00:00:00-07:00 https://smokericeash.github.io/posts/NCAE-CYBERGAMES/ Aidan Chen

NCAE Cyber Games 2026 In March 2026, I had the opportunity to compete in NCAE Cyber Games 2026 with the Cal Poly Pomona SWIFT team. This competition focused on defensive operations, service uptime, teamwork, and cybersecurity problem solving under time pressure. This experience stood out because it was not just about solving Capture the Flag (CTF) challenges. Teams also had to maintain servic...

2026-03-14T00:00:00-07:00 2026-03-21T00:32:08-07:00 https://smokericeash.github.io/posts/TS-CTF/ Aidan Chen

1st Place at Tech Symposium 2026 — A CTF Writeup & Recap This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Tech Symposium 2026, held by Cal Poly Pomona’s SWIFT club. The event provided a good balance of cybersecurity workshops, guest speakers, and hands-on competitions. The experience turned out to be one of the more rewarding events I have been able to attend in a while. The Workshops ...

2026-02-28T00:00:00-08:00 2026-03-01T23:22:15-08:00 https://smokericeash.github.io/posts/RVB-Competition/ Aidan Chen

Red vs Blue - SWIFT’s Cyber Defense Competition at Cal Poly Pomona This past weekend, SWIFT hosted a Red vs Blue competition at Cal Poly Pomona, which is very similar to CCDC, with blue teams defending live infrastructure against an active red team, all while maintaining critical services online. It was one of the more intense and educational experiences I have had in a competition environment....