Nick Francisco — Cybersecurity Portfolio

// who I am

Aspiring Cybersecurity Professional

CS student at Bowling Green State University specializing in cybersecurity, with hands-on experience in penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and secure system design. I thrive at the intersection of offense and defense — understanding how attacks work to build better protections. Whether I'm competing in CTFs, spinning up a home lab, or automating desktop support workflows, I'm always building, breaking, and learning.

// experience & education

My Journey

B.S. Computer Science — Cybersecurity Specialization 3.96 GPA

Bowling Green State University · Expected May 2027

Software Security · Cybersecurity in Action · Cybersecurity Awareness · Data Structures · Algorithms · Network Architecture · Programming Languages · Operating Systems · Software Engineering · Discrete Math · Linear Algebra · Calculus II · Statistics · Computer Organization · Mobile Application Development

Apprentice Penetration Tester

Apr 2025 – Oct 2025

The Secure Signals Project

Executed cyber-attacks in a controlled lab environment to evaluate system vulnerabilities and document remediation strategies
Used Kali Linux tools (Nmap, Burp Suite, Impacket) to simulate adversarial techniques in staged penetration tests
Exploited OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities in OWASP Juice Shop to gain practical web security experience
Drafted technical findings and recommended mitigations to improve organization security posture

Desktop Support Technician

Feb 2025 – Present

BGSU ITS

Provision and deploy new and reimaged university endpoints for faculty and staff in compliance with institutional IT standards
Perform data transfers, user profile migrations, and enterprise application configuration
Execute system updates, security configurations, and hardware diagnostics to maintain device integrity

Vice President, CTF Cybersecurity Club

Fall 2024 – Present

BGSU Capture the Flag

Secured 1st place in the Hack Dearborn 3 CTF competition, solving complex cryptography, forensics, and exploitation challenges
Developed and deployed CTF challenges in reverse engineering, steganography, and web exploitation
Co-organized a university-wide hackathon featuring a custom-built CTF scavenger hunt
Collaborate with peers to ethically simulate and analyze real-world cyberattacks
Plan weekly meetings that cover a wide range of cybersecurity related topics

// things I've built

Featured Projects

🏆

1st Place — Hack Dearborn 3 CTF

Solved complex cryptography, forensics, and exploitation challenges in a timed competition against university teams across the region. Categories: reverse engineering, steganography, web exploitation.

🥈

2nd Place — ATC Winter Vibes 2 CTF

Solved complex OSINT, forensics, and cryptography challenges in a timed competition against teams worldwide.

🍓

Self-Hosted Raspberry Pi Home Lab

Deployed and secured containerized media services (Jellyfin, Navidrome, Pi-Hole) using Docker on Raspberry Pi. Configured secure remote access via Tailscale VPN with zero-trust networking principles applied throughout.

Docker Tailscale VPN Zero-Trust Linux Raspberry Pi

🎫

Desktop Support Ticket Automation Tool

Built a cross-platform Python GUI application to automate formatted ticket documentation. Reduced manual documentation time by ~40% by generating structured updates that auto-copy to clipboard for immediate use.

Python GUI Automation Cross-Platform

🎵

Steganography Audio Data Extraction Tool

Developed a Python script to extract hidden binary messages from MP3 files using bitwise operations — applied for CTF steganography challenges and hands-on security research into covert data channels.

Python Steganography Bitwise Ops CTF

// my toolkit

Technical Skills

// languages, tools & technologies

Python

C++

C

Kali Linux

Burp Suite

Impacket

Nmap

OWASP Top 10

Docker

Tailscale

Git

Linux

// let's connect

Get in Touch

Ready to talk security?

I'm actively looking for full-time opportunities in cybersecurity, penetration testing, or security engineering. Let's connect.

nicfran@bgsu.edu 614-357-7912 LinkedIn Bowling Green, Ohio