Saeed Ahmed

Saeed:~$ cat profile_summary.md

About Me

First Class Cybersecurity graduate (University of South Wales), now researching crypto-fraud prevention at MRes level. I combine four years of IT support experience with hands-on security work in Microsoft 365, network segmentation and ISO/IEC 27001 alignment, and I present research on the human side of security at international conferences.

Professional Memberships

I am a member of the British Computer Society (BCS), adhering strictly to its professional code of conduct.

Saeed:~$ ./inspect_capabilities --verbose

Skills & Expertise

Core security capabilities, technical defensive tools, and compliance frameworks verified in operational environments.

[01] SecOps & Threat Defense

Incident Response
SIEM & Event Monitoring
Threat Detection
Vulnerability Scanning
Penetration Testing
Malware Analysis
Network Segmentation
Social Engineering

[02] Governance, Risk & Identity

Risk Assessment
ISO/IEC 27001
Cyber Essentials
Security Policies
Identity & Access (IAM)

[03] Cloud & Infrastructure

Microsoft 365 Security
Cloud Security (GCP)
Linux SysAdmin
Python Scripting
Snort IDS/IPS

[04] Analytical & Research

Analytical Reasoning
Incident Reporting
Academic Methodology
OSINT Investigation

$ sys_env: Zero Trust Architecture, Data Security, Authentication Frameworks, Breach Post-Mortems, Network Hardening, IoT Security.

Saeed:~$ tail -n 3 education_history.log

Education

Masters by Research in Cybersecurity

University of South Wales

IN_PROGRESS [2025 - Present]

Award Date: TBD

Year-long independent research project developing a comprehensive crypto-fraud prevention framework, involving self-directed empirical investigation, data synthesis and behavioural analysis.

BSc (Hons) Applied Cybersecurity

University of South Wales

COMPLETED [2022 - 2025]

Award Date: 17 June 2025

Final Grade: First Class Honours

A hands-on degree covering network security, cryptography, ethical hacking, digital forensics, incident management and risk mitigation.

cat modules_level6.txt

Final Year (2024/2025) – Level 6

Secure Operations And Incident Management (IY3U001) 76%
Security Operations & Penetration Testing (IY3D607) 75%
Cyber Dissertation Project (IY3D610) 68%
Cyber Professional In Practice (IY3H001) 58%

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Computing

Coleg Gwent

COMPLETED [2020 - 2022]

Final Grade: DMM (equivalent to 3 A-Levels)

cat btec_breakdown.txt

Distinction

Business Applications of Social Media
The Impact of Computing

Merit

Principles of Computer Science
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
IT Systems Security and Encryption
Digital Graphics and Animation
Website Development
Relational Database Development
Systems Analysis and Design

Pass

Planning and Management of Computing Projects
Computer Networking
Systems Methodology

Saeed:~$ credly-cli --verify --all

Credentials & Certifications

Digital badges and certifications demonstrating defensive capability, systems administration, and ethical hacking.

Google Cybersecurity and CompTIA Security+ dual badge

Google Cloud Cybersecurity Certificate badge

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate badge

credly://view_full_transcript

Saeed:~$ service --status-all experience

Professional Experience

IT Cybersecurity Officer

Mortgage Lane

ACTIVE_ENGAGEMENT [May 2026 - Present]

Designed and implemented least-privilege user access controls within Microsoft 365.
Audited network topology and deployed VLAN segmentation rules via Omada systems to isolate critical nodes.
Established centralized endpoint patch management schedules to sustain zero-day resilience.
Hardened corporate routers, managed switches, and Wi-Fi access infrastructure against lateral movement.
Mapped internal policies, incident procedures, and controls to Cyber Essentials and ISO/IEC 27001 standards.

Hourly Paid Lecturer

University of South Wales

ACTIVE_FACULTY [February 2026 - Present]

Deliver multi-modal lectures and lab practicals in cybersecurity and systems management.
Assess coursework and deliver actionable technical feedback to foster analytical growth.
Update lab environments and instructional materials against evolving industry threats.

Customer Assistant

B&Q

[July 2021 - May 2026]

Delivered high-volume customer service, conflict de-escalation, and accurate transactional duties.

IT Support Technician (Volunteer)

Clwb Ffoto & Ffoto Newport

[2022 - Present]

Provide direct technical desktop support, endpoint software deployment, and network uptime maintenance.

Cyber Clinic & Open-Day Volunteer

University of South Wales

[2022 - 2025]

Conducted OSINT exercises and defensive security workshops for visiting secondary school cohorts.
Advised public members on credential hygiene, password managers, and anti-phishing defense.

Saeed:~$ ./run_research_index.py

Research & Case Studies

Peer-reviewed output, technical breach post-mortems, and investigations into threat engineering.

Feast on the Desperate: An Analysis of Social Engineering Attacks

Release Date: 15/08/2025

The Challenge: This paper addresses the escalating threat of cryptocurrency fraud by examining the psychological levers and parasocial engineering vectors exploited by threat syndicates.

Methodology & Analysis: Synthesizes real victim testimonies with the SCAMS Checklist, the I-PACE model, and parasocial relationship psychology to design an integrated prevention blueprint.

Lecture Overview & Citations Conference Paper

Ray of Hope for the Desperate

RESEARCH_IN_PROGRESS

Builds directly on Feast on the Desperate, examining parasocial trust dynamics in scam victimisation and constructing end-user mitigations to break high-pressure fraudulent conversion funnels.

Metaverse & Exposure of Children to the Dark Corners of the Internet

RESEARCH_IN_PROGRESS

Investigates immersive social VR architectures (such as VRChat), identifying unmoderated communication channels, groomer mechanics, simulated violence vectors, and architectural policy mitigations.

Cyber Drill: Incident Investigation of a Compromised System

Published: 28/04/2025

Full incident response investigation for FCB Bank PLC: attack reconnaissance, persistence mechanisms, lateral pivot isolation, volatile memory capture, and legal/regulatory disclosure.

Read Incident Report

Code Red for Healthcare: Why the NHS is Losing the War on Ransomware

An architectural analysis arguing for modern secure-by-design operating foundations and Zero Trust segmentation (exemplified by ChromeOS) to minimize medical endpoint attack surfaces.

Read Whitepaper

Snort Challenge - Live Attack Analysis

Configured live custom rules and signatures using the Snort IDS/IPS engine to detect and terminate external brute-force vectors and an active internal reverse shell payload.

Read Lab Report

Substack Feed & Field Notes

Live articles on cybersecurity trends and cyberpsychology

Saeed:~$ cat ./feast_on_the_desperate_lecture_notes.md

Feast on the Desperate - Lecture

This presentation represents the core themes explored in my research paper "Feast on the Desperate: An Analysis of Social Engineering Attacks Exploiting Human Vulnerabilities". It highlights the psychological tactics used by attackers to manipulate individuals and the importance of awareness and targeted education in combating these threats.

[STATUS] Academic lecture presentation presented at the 8th International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Computing. Full proceedings and slide decks are accessible via the links below.

View Conference Presentation Return to Research

cat academic_references.bib

Acharya, B. et al. (2024) 'Conning the Crypto Conman: End-to-End Analysis of Cryptocurrency-Based Technical Support Scams'. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.09824.

Action Fraud (n.d.) Advance Fee Fraud | Action Fraud. Available at: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/advance-fee-fraud.

Akbari, M. et al. (2021) 'Fear of Missing out (FoMO) and Internet Use: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis', Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10, 879–900.

Allyn, B. (2023) 'He Lost $340,000 to a Crypto Scam. Such Cases Are on the Rise', NPR, 25 June.

Antonopoulos, A.M. (2017) Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking digital cryptocurrencies. 2nd edn. Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media.

Balaban, D.C. et al. (2022) 'Parasocial Relations and Social Media Influencers’ Persuasive Power', Acta Psychologica, 230, 103731.

Bartoletti, M. et al. (2021) 'Cryptocurrency Scams: Analysis and Perspectives', IEEE Access, 9, 148353–148373.

BBC Eye Investigation (2023) The Pig Butchering Romance Scam, 3 March.

Brand, M. et al. (2019) 'The Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) Model for Addictive Behaviors', Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

Chainalysis (2025) Crypto Crime Trends: Illicit Activity Down as Scamming and Stolen Funds Fall.

Cruz, B. (2024) The Pig Butchering Scam Explained | Security.Org.

Dove, M. (2020) The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques: Understanding What Makes Us Vulnerable. Routledge.

Nakamoto, S. (2008) Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Available at: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.

Salahdine, F. & Kaabouch, N. (2019) 'Social Engineering Attacks: A Survey', Future Internet, 11, 89.

Trozze, A. et al. (2022) 'Cryptocurrencies and Future Financial Crime', Crime Science, 11.

Saeed:~$ cat ./course_syllabus.txt

Educational Courses & Material

Understanding What's Needed For Cybersecurity

A structured foundational course providing practical understanding of fundamental cybersecurity principles, core threat models, defensive architectures, and real-world SecOps operations.

cat course_modules.md

Curriculum Highlights

Core Concepts: The CIA Triad, threat actor taxonomy, and attack vector classification.
Network Defense: Subnetting, firewall configuration, perimeter isolation, and DMZ design.
SecOps Fundamentals: SIEM monitoring, log inspection, and anomaly detection fundamentals.
Human Factors: Psychological social engineering mechanisms, pretexting, and credential awareness.

Saeed:~$ ls -la ~/creative_pursuits

Hobbies & Creative Pursuits

Photography

Visual documentation and photography portfolios hosted on Behance.

Reading Bookshelf

Selected readings spanning cybersecurity history, financial dynamics, and iconic manga.

Dragon Ball, Vol. 1

Akira Toriyama

Rating: 4.8

Dragon Ball Z, Vol. 17

Akira Toriyama

Rating: 4.8

The Trading Game

Ryan Jones

Rating: 4.2

We Are Anonymous

Parmy Olson

Rating: 4.1

Dandadan, Vol. 1

Yukinobu Tatsu

Rating: 4.5

goodreads://saeed-ahmed

Saeed:~$ ./initiate_comm_channel.py

Direct Dispatch & Contact

Have an inquiry regarding cybersecurity research, lecturing, or security advisory? Transmit a packet below.