My name is Joshua Smegal. I'm a cybersecurity specialist in training, with a passion for both the offensive and defensive sides of cyber operations. This page serves as a showcase of my hands-on experience, self-directed projects, and the skills I’ve developed through real-world work and home lab experimentation.
- Telecom Technician (Bell Canada): Over 4 years of professional experience installing and repairing fiber optic and DSL internet for both residential and business clients. This role taught me the fundamentals of physical infrastructure, networking at the ground level, and customer-focused problem solving.
- Current Role (Government of Canada): Providing front-line IT support as a Help Desk Technician, with a specialization in radio communication systems. I've become a go-to resource for deploying, troubleshooting, and maintaining both tactical and commercial radio setups within the federal environment.
- Home Lab:
- Built a custom NAS using a Raspberry Pi, which now hosts Plex media server and acts as a private cloud for personal use.
- Deployed a Raspberry Pi running AdGuard Home to block intrusive ads and tracking across my entire network, improving both security and performance.
- Cybersecurity Experience:
- Successfully gained a reverse shell on a target machine over a local network during a controlled penetration test simulation.
- Constructed this website as a landing point for my resume, projects, and portfolio.
- Delivered cybersecurity awareness and OPSEC (Operational Security) lectures to military personnel deploying to high-risk environments, ensuring they were informed about digital hygiene and threat mitigation.
- Conducting ongoing training through TryHackMe — actively ranked on the Gold Tier Leaderboard, focusing on a blend of blue team and red team labs.
- Malware Projects include:
- Bitcoin Clipboard Hijacker – real-time replacement of crypto addresses
- Automated Ducky Reverse Shell Generator – HID attack payload scripting
- Keylogger with Inconspicuous Storage – logs keystrokes stealthily
- 2.4GHz Jammer (legal use only) – tested in isolated environment
- As part of my cybersecurity research and red team tooling development, I’ve engineered a variety of controlled, proof-of-concept malware to better understand attack vectors and defense evasion. All work was performed in isolated lab environments using my own hardware, with full adherence to local transmission laws and ethical standards.
- Lock Picking:Physical Security & Lock Picking (Ethical Practice) Proficiency in ethical lock bypass techniques relevant to physical penetration testing and red team operations. Experienced in manipulating a variety of common consumer and commercial-grade locks (e.g., Master Lock, Secure brand) using methods including single pin picking (SPP), raking, bump keying, Lishi tool decoding, and shimming. Familiar with non-destructive entry principles and situational application in simulated security assessments. Committed to responsible disclosure and legal practice within red team engagements and security research contexts.
- WiFi Pentesting: Experience using a range of RF and wireless audit tools including the WiFi Pineapple, Flipper Zero, BleShark, Nano, M5Stack, and Cardputer to explore wireless security and exploit common vulnerabilities in test environments.
- Continued Learning: Actively studying penetration testing tactics, reverse engineering, and RF hacking with an aim to transition into a full-time cybersecurity role. I’ve also been building a home cyber range using Raspberry Pi devices to simulate different attack/defense scenarios.
- TryHackMe Profile