PROGRESS TRACKER

THE JOURNEY FROM SOC ANALYST TO MALWARE ENGINEER

COMPLETED

REMAINING

STREAK

CURRENT PHASE

OVERALL MISSION PROGRESS

0% COMPLETE

CERTIFICATIONS

SECURITY+ CYSA+ NETWORK+ BTL1 PSAA CCNA CDSA PMRP CCD PJPT PNPT CPTS

CURRENT MONTH CYCLE

SPRINT weeks build momentum. REST week prevents burnout. This is ADHD energy management.

SPRINT ~13.5 hrs/wk | REST ~5-8 hrs/wk | ~45 hrs/month budget

MISSION ROADMAP

▶ PHASE 1R: RECOVERY Mar – Apr 2026

Close Phase 1 gaps. Finish PMAT. Start C foundations. Build momentum.

MARCH 2026

TCM PMAT — 75%+ complete

C Primer Plus — Chapters 1-4 done, 15+ programs

Dev environment set up (GCC/MinGW, VS Community)

Lab environment verified (REMnux + FlareVM)

APRIL 2026

TCM PMAT — COMPLETE (attempt PMRP cert)

Hedgehogs Beginner — 50%+ complete

C Primer Plus — Chapters 1-8 done, 30+ programs

First C projects: password checker, calculator, word counter

CDSA: reviewed syllabus, mapped modules to study plan

▶ PHASE 2: CDSA PUSH May – Jun 2026

CDSA preparation + C programming depth (pointers, memory, file I/O).

MAY 2026

CDSA — 3+ modules complete

C Primer Plus — Chapters 9-11 (pointers mastered)

Hedgehogs Beginner — COMPLETE

Projects: linked list, dynamic contact list, hex viewer

JUNE 2026

CDSA — 75%+ complete, practice exams started

C Primer Plus — Chapters 12-14 (file I/O)

Projects: file copy utility, log parser, basic grep clone

Zero memory leaks in C projects (verified w/ Valgrind)

▶ PHASE 3: CDSA EXAM Jul – Aug 2026

Pass CDSA exam + start reverse engineering track. CDSA EXPIRES AUGUST 2026.

JULY 2026

CDSA exam — ATTEMPTED

Win32 API — handles, file operations understood

Invoke RE — started, first 25%

AUGUST 2026

CDSA — PASSED

Invoke RE — 50%+ complete

Win32 projects: process enumerator, file scanner

▶ PHASE 4: MALDEV FOUNDATIONS Sep – Dec 2026

Deepen malware dev foundations + start Maldev Academy.

END OF 2026 TARGETS

Invoke RE — COMPLETE

Hedgehogs Intermediate — COMPLETE

Maldev Academy — started, 50%+ complete

C mastery: PE format, registry, networking (Months 1-7)

Portfolio: 50+ C programs, PE parser, network tools

▶ PHASE 5: ADVANCED MALDEV 2027

Assembly, shellcode, process injection, anti-debugging, crypto, rootkits.

2027 MILESTONES

Q1: Assembly language + shellcode (Months 8-9)

Q2: Process injection + anti-debugging (Months 10-11)

Q3: Crypto/obfuscation + keyloggers (Months 12-13) + PJPT prep

Q4: Rootkits + privilege escalation (Months 14-15) + PJPT attempt

▶ PHASE 6: MASTERY 2028

C2 development, AV/EDR evasion, framework building. The endgame.

2028 MILESTONES

Q1: Persistence advanced + C2 basics (Months 16-17) + PNPT prep

Q2: AV/EDR evasion + ransomware research (Months 18-19) + PNPT attempt

Q3: Loaders + lateral movement (Months 20-21) + CPTS prep

Q4: Advanced injection + anti-forensics + framework (Months 22-24)

ADVERSARY ARCADE — Progress is saved locally in your browser