Try a cloud security lab — free
Acme moved to the cloud last month. You've been asked to check nothing's been left open. Find the public bucket and lock it down. Short, simulated labs you can play right now in a scripted terminal: attack, defend and investigate. Lab 1 needs no account. Real StationX hands-on labs run real machines in your browser; these give you the feel of one, for free.
← Back to the Cloud Security Engineer — career path roadmap
For learning only. The targets are fictional. In the real world, only ever test systems you own or are explicitly authorised to test.
- ▶Lab 1 — Recon to shellRecon, enumeration, information disclosure and credential reuse · ~5 min
- 🔒Lab 2 — Breaking a loginWeb enumeration and SQL injection · ~4 minLab 2 is locked for now — finishing Lab 1 unlocks it. Lab 2 onward needs a free account.
- 🔒Lab 3 — Shut the doorLog analysis, brute-force detection and containment · ~4 minLab 3 is locked for now — finishing Labs 1 and 2 unlocks it. Lab 2 onward needs a free account.
- 🔒Lab 4 — The leaver's laptopHidden files, file signatures, hashing and building a timeline · ~4 minLab 4 is locked for now — finishing Labs 1 to 3 unlocks it. Lab 2 onward needs a free account.
- 🔒Lab 5 — Left openCloud identity, finding a public storage bucket and blocking public access · ~4 min
- 🔒Lab 6 — Cracked in a secondIdentifying a hash, offline password cracking and a strong password policy (length, MFA, slow salted hashing) · ~5 minLab 6 is locked for now — finishing Labs 1 to 5 unlocks it. Lab 2 onward needs a free account.
- 🔒Lab 7 — Make it talkPrompt injection, system prompt leakage and layered AI defences (isolation, output filtering, least privilege) · ~5 minLab 7 is locked for now — finishing Labs 1 to 6 unlocks it. Lab 2 onward needs a free account.
- ★Lab 8 — The real thingreal machines, in your browserMembership →
Your progress is saved in this browser only.
Lab 1 done! Create a free account to unlock Lab 2 — it saves your spot and opens the next challenge.
Lab 1 complete — nice work.
You just did what a penetration tester does on day one: you practised recon, enumeration, information disclosure and credential reuse. This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Scanning with Nmap
- Preliminary Scanning
- Host Identification Scanning with Linux
- Open Source Password Cracking
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 2 complete — nice work.
You just did what a web app tester does on day one: you practised web enumeration and SQL injection. This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- WebApp Attack PCAP Analysis
- Core Impact Web Application Penetration Testing
- Hardening C#.NET Web Apps - Broken Authentication
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 3 complete — nice work.
You just did what a SOC analyst does on shift: you practised log analysis, brute-force detection and containment. This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Log Analysis
- Searching for Indicators of Compromise
- Log Correlation & Analysis to Identify Potential IOC
- LNX101 - Setting Up a Firewall With UFW and Firewalld
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 4 complete — nice work.
You just did what a digital forensics investigator does on a real case: you practised hidden files, file signatures, hashing and building a timeline. This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Hash Verification
- Creating a Forensic Image
- Data Recovery with Autopsy
- Manually Creating a Baseline with MD5Deep
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 5 complete — nice work.
You just did what a cloud security engineer does on a real audit: you practised cloud identity, finding a public storage bucket and blocking public access. This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Configure File Encryption and Access Logging [Guided]
- Create Buckets, Versioning, and Permissions with Amazon S3 [Guided]
- Can You Provide Secure Access to AWS Data and Resources [Advanced]
- Implement AWS Credentials and Policies by Using IAM [Guided]
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 6 complete — nice work.
You just did what a security analyst does when a password leak lands: you practised identifying a hash, offline password cracking and a strong password policy (length, MFA, slow salted hashing). This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Perform Password Cracking [Guided]
- Open Source Password Cracking
- Evaluate the Risk of Password Cracking to Your IT Environment [Guided]
- Configure Multi-factor Authentication in Microsoft Entra ID [Guided]
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.
Lab 7 complete — nice work.
You just did what an AI security engineer does before a chatbot goes live: you practised prompt injection, system prompt leakage and layered AI defences (isolation, output filtering, least privilege). This was a simulation; the commands were scripted.
Real hands-on labs that teach this — these run real machines in your browser:
- Working with AI Prompts in Azure OpenAI Studio [Guided]
- Creating a Chatbot from a Custom AI Prompt [Guided]
- Configure AI Prompts by Using Company Data [Guided]
Lab 8: the real thing. StationX Membership opens hundreds of hands-on labs on real machines, with roadmaps that take you from here to certified.