31 Days Safer: A Digital Hygiene Challenge for Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Everyone knows not to click the link — but nobody explains why. 31 Days Safer is a month-long digital hygiene challenge that gives you one small security habit a day, plus the threat behind each one. Free tracker included. Small steps for a safer digital life, from DataSec Chronicles.
Sep 284 min read
Week 1 Recap: How Did Identity Week Go?
One week into 31 Days Safer. The Day 4 and Day 5 reactions, my honest take on executing the identity week myself, and the lesson I'm carrying into Week 2 — your home network.
50 minutes ago4 min read
Why SMS-Based 2FA Is Not Enough — And What to Use Instead
Any MFA beats none — but text-message codes are the weakest kind. Here’s how SIM-swapping and SS7 actually beat SMS 2FA, and the authenticator apps and passkeys to switch to instead.
24 hours ago7 min read
Week 1 Deep Dive: Locking Down Your Digital Identity
Week 1 of 31 Days Safer, one layer deeper. The daily tips gave you the moves; this post gives you the why — how credential stuffing, SIM-swapping, and social-media recon actually work, and why your accounts are a chain attackers pull at the weakest link. Non-technical, but technically accurate.
5 days ago6 min read
My Two October Builds: 31 Days Safer + an Open-Source Detection Skill
What I'm building this October: two anchor projects — the 31 Days Safer challenge and an open-source detection skill that maps alerts to MITRE ATT&CK — plus an "open workbench" where Hacktoberfest's weekly challenges are letting me explore what else I can build within the brand.
Oct 34 min read
The Detection Mindset: Why This Isn't Your Average Hygiene Challenge
There are a hundred cybersecurity challenges this October, and most are the same checklist. This one's different: it teaches the reason behind every habit, not just the rule — the "does this belong here?" detection lens a SOC analyst uses on every alert, aimed at your own digital life.
Oct 25 min read
My Hacktoberfest 2026 Plan: An Open-Source Detection Skill (Not a PR Count)
Hacktoberfest changed this year — no more counting pull requests, it's about building with open-source AI. So I'm writing an open-source skills.md that maps a security alert to the MITRE ATT&CK framework: the daily reasoning of a SOC analyst, packaged in public. Here's the plan, out loud so I finish it.
Sep 264 min read
