Jonathan Brazell

Jun 18, 2026

About Me

I’m Jonathan Brazell, also known online as Marzz.

I’m an IT and security professional focused on practical security engineering, offensive security, Active Directory, networking, and defensive operations. My background sits at the intersection of hands-on infrastructure work and security: troubleshooting real enterprise systems, building labs, breaking intentionally vulnerable environments, and turning those lessons into repeatable methodology.

This site is where I document what I’m learning, what I’ve built, and the lessons I wish I had written down sooner.

What I Focus On

My main areas of interest are:

  • Active Directory security
  • Internal penetration testing methodology
  • Network security
  • Privilege escalation
  • Pivoting and post-exploitation
  • Defensive engineering
  • Detection and logging
  • PKI and certificate-based authentication
  • Fortinet/FortiGate environments
  • Windows and Linux administration
  • Security lab building
  • Technical documentation and reporting

I care about both sides of security: understanding how attacks work and understanding how to defend against them in real environments.

Offensive knowledge makes defensive work stronger. Defensive experience makes offensive testing more realistic.

Certifications

I currently hold:

  • HTB Certified Penetration Testing Specialist
  • Practical Network Penetration Tester
  • CompTIA Security+

I’m also continuing to build toward deeper security, networking, cloud, and infrastructure knowledge through additional certifications, labs, and real-world projects.

Certifications are useful milestones, but the real value comes from the process: struggling through labs, building methodology, writing reports, troubleshooting tools, and learning how systems actually fail.

Experience

My professional background is rooted in public-sector IT and enterprise support, with hands-on exposure to systems, networking, endpoint security, identity, logging, and infrastructure operations.

Some of the areas I’ve worked with include:

  • Windows endpoint and server administration
  • Active Directory and Group Policy
  • FortiGate firewall administration
  • VPN and remote access troubleshooting
  • Fortinet security tooling
  • Logging and retention planning
  • Microsoft Defender and security detections
  • PKI and certificate-based authentication concepts
  • Network troubleshooting
  • Internal documentation
  • Scripting and automation
  • End-user support in real enterprise environments

That mix of operational IT and security work heavily shapes how I approach penetration testing. I’m not just interested in getting a shell. I’m interested in understanding why the issue exists, how it affects an organization, and what a realistic fix would look like.

Why I Write

I started documenting my work because I learn best by doing.

Labs, CTFs, certifications, and real-world troubleshooting all create moments where something finally clicks. Writing those moments down helps me turn one-time wins into repeatable knowledge.

This blog includes:

  • Retired Hack The Box walkthroughs
  • Certification preparation lessons
  • Active Directory attack paths
  • Penetration testing methodology
  • Defensive takeaways
  • Security engineering notes
  • Lab builds and troubleshooting
  • Career lessons from moving deeper into cybersecurity

My goal is to write posts that are useful, honest, and practical.

Not just “run this command.”

But:

Why did this matter?
What did it prove?
What changed after this step?
How would I detect or prevent it?
What would I do differently next time?

That is the kind of security writing I find valuable, so that is the kind I try to produce.

Lab and Learning Philosophy

I believe the best way to learn security is to build, break, document, and repeat.

Reading and watching videos help, but hands-on practice is where the lessons stick.

My approach is simple:

Build the environment.
Understand the technology.
Break the misconfiguration.
Document the path.
Map the defensive lesson.
Repeat.

That mindset applies whether I’m working through a certification path, building a home lab, testing Active Directory attacks, or troubleshooting a production issue.

The goal is not just to memorize tools.

The goal is to develop judgment.

Current Interests

Right now, I’m especially interested in:

  • Active Directory compromise paths
  • Internal network penetration testing
  • BloodHound and identity attack paths
  • Detection engineering
  • Fortinet security architecture
  • PKI and smart card authentication
  • Cloud and hybrid identity security
  • Practical security reporting
  • Building a stronger public portfolio

I’m also continuing to improve my notes, writeups, and lab documentation so that my work is easier to revisit, share, and build on.

Selected Topics I Write About

You’ll probably see posts here covering things like:

  • Retired Hack The Box machines
  • CPTS and PNPT lessons learned
  • Active Directory enumeration
  • AS-REP roasting and Kerberoasting
  • DCSync paths
  • SMB and LDAP enumeration
  • Windows privilege escalation
  • Linux privilege escalation
  • Pivoting through internal networks
  • Web application testing
  • Defensive recommendations from offensive findings
  • Security career development
  • Enterprise IT lessons that translate into security

All offensive security content on this site is intended for authorized lab environments, retired machines, and educational use only.

Socials

You can find me here:

Contact

The best way to reach me professionally is through LinkedIn.

For anything related to security writing, labs, projects, or collaboration, feel free to connect.

Quick Summary

Name: Jonathan Brazell
Handle: marzz
Focus: Security engineering, penetration testing, Active Directory, networking
Certifications: CPTS, PNPT, Security+
Interests: Offensive security, defensive engineering, labs, reporting, methodology
Writing style: Practical, honest, technical, and focused on lessons learned