Preston Lucas
My Cybersecurity Training
Aaliyah in Action
Quick Facts
Aaliyah in Action empowers youth by providing resources, mentorship, and opportunities to overcome challenges and lead positive change.
Their programs focus on leadership, education, community service, and personal growth.
The organization is dedicated to promoting social equity and building resilience.
By creating supportive environments and meaningful connections, Aaliyah in Action ensures young people are equipped with the tools, confidence, and encouragement needed to thrive and become future leaders in their communities.
Aaliyah in Action
About the Organization
Aaliyah in Action is dedicated to fostering social, educational, and personal growth for young people, especially those facing adversity.
Through mentorship, educational programs, and community service initiatives, the organization equips youth with the skills and confidence necessary to make meaningful contributions to society. Aaliyah in Action also encourages young people to become advocates for social justice, equity, and empowerment within their communities.
By nurturing leadership and resilience, the organization helps youth overcome challenges and become positive change-makers who actively shape a more just and inclusive future.
Aaliyah in Action
Community Involvement
Aaliyah in Action’s dedicated team of mentors, educators, and volunteers works closely with youth to guide them through leadership and development programs. They also engage subject matter experts and guest speakers to enhance learning.
The organization partners with local businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions, and government agencies to expand its reach. Collaborations with schools, corporations, and community groups provide scholarships, internships, and career readiness opportunities.
Key partners such as INOVA, Virginia Hospital Center, and George Washington University Hospital help strengthen youth empowerment, education, and community development across the region.
Aaliyah in Action
Sources of Funding
Aaliyah in Action is funded through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and community fundraising efforts that support its mission of serving families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss.
The organization also partners with businesses, healthcare organizations, and charitable foundations that provide financial contributions, volunteer support, and in-kind donations to expand its programs and community outreach.
Funding is used to provide bereavement support kits, strengthen hospital partnerships, expand educational and advocacy initiatives, and ensure families receive compassionate care and resources during times of grief.
My Security Presentation
During the Cybersecurity & Defense Internship, I worked with Beth Cerrone and Jamie Kreider to learn the basics of cybersecurity and explore its practical applications.
Throughout the week, I worked with a nonprofit to develop cybersecurity solutions to protect against various cyber threats. I worked with my team to analyze the threats to the organization and then developed a comprehensive solution.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee, earning a microgrant to support the implementation of our proposal.
My Security Proposal Presentation
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Aaliyah in Action to understand how its digital systems support families, donors, and partner organizations. Aaliyah in Action is a nonprofit that provides bereavement care packages and other support to families experiencing prenatal, neonatal, and infant loss, distributing its resources through more than 80 hospitals and military bases. Our analysis identified several customer-facing cybersecurity concerns, particularly the absence of multi-factor authentication, formal client-data protections, and safeguards against fraudulent or automated submissions.
The most pressing issue is protecting the personal information of families and donors while ensuring that Aaliyah in Action’s online forms and services remain trustworthy. As the organization grows, fraudulent care-package requests, malicious website activity, and unauthorized account access could compromise both sensitive information and the organization’s ability to serve families effectively.
To address these vulnerabilities, we proposed implementing multi-factor authentication, YubiKeys, Google Authenticator, Cloudflare, Report URI, Termly, and reCAPTCHA. These measures would strengthen account security, identify suspicious website activity, reduce spam and fraudulent submissions, and give users greater transparency and control over their information. Together, these recommendations would allow Aaliyah in Action to expand its digital services while maintaining the security and trust essential to its mission.
Internship Highlights
I was given the unique opportunity to take exclusive tours of multiple government and security sites to speak directly with security professionals. During these tours, I was able to witness firsthand how cybersecurity operates at the national and international level.
I was able to visit the United States’ Security Innovation Lab. Throughout this visit, I was able to learn firsthand from government officials regarding how the government funds and establishes cyber-intelligence and cyber-counterintelligence technology.
We also toured the Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) Technical Operations Center. During this visit, we learned how the government uses technology to track major crimes including wire-fraud, human trafficking, child exploitation, and more.
In order to apply the skills I learned throughout the internship, I worked directly with an organization based in the Washington, D.C. area, Knope, to discuss their company's cybersecurity needs.
After three meetings where I walked through the organization model, protected information, and staff training of the nonprofit, I worked with my team to create a staff training protocol and threat analysis for my partner.
At the end of the internship, I advocated on behalf of, and received funding for, my organization partner to implement the cybersecurity training protocols so they can best protect their client information and continue to develop with a reduced fear of cyberattacks and cybersecurity threats.
To learn more about the world of cybersecurity, I was given the unique opportunity to speak directly with cybersecurity experts from multiple organizations and backgrounds.
I worked directly with one of the leading consultants in Cyber Threat Management, and a lead Cyber Consultant from Ernst & Young, Phuong Nguyen, to learn about common threat assessment and cybersecurity counterintelligence. I also heard from the Director of Government Compliance for KPMG, Lisa Mathews, and a former Department of Justice Prosecutor, Brian Levine.
Throughout the internship, I also heard presentations from and spoke with representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Agency. To learn the physical side of cybersecurity, we also had the unique opportunity to meet with globally recognized penetration testers and network threat assessors.
In order to put the skills we learned to the test, I had the unique opportunity to work with cybersecurity software typically used in graduate-level instructional courses. This provided me with a hands-on environment to develop and apply a wide range of cybersecurity skills.
I began with network cybersecurity, completing labs focused on network security and Linux to gain a deeper understanding of how networks communicate and where vulnerabilities may arise. This experience highlighted the ways in which cybersecurity threats can disrupt or compromise these communications, reinforcing the importance of proactive defense measures.
Building on these Linux skills, I participated in capture-the-flag coding competitions and explored virtual rooms designed to simulate real-world cybersecurity challenges. These activities tested both my technical abilities and problem-solving skills, allowing me to apply classroom concepts in practical, scenario-based settings.