Cybersecurity engineer

Hi, I'm Daniel Ishimwe.

I'm a cybersecurity engineer and a Master's student at ULB in Brussels. Before that I spent several years running servers, storage and databases. In my spare time I play CTFs.

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Portrait of Daniel Ishimwe

Profile

About me

I started as a software developer in Kigali, then moved into systems work: IBM servers and storage in Malawi, tax-system databases at the Rwanda Revenue Authority, and research infrastructure at KU Leuven, including an online voting system. Since June 2026 I work in IT support at the European Council, employed by Serco Europe.

Now I'm doing a Master of Cybersecurity at ULB, with a focus on offensive and system security. I practise with a home lab and CTFs.

Skills

Expertise

Security

  • System hardening
  • Secure configuration
  • Vulnerability assessment
  • Log analysis
  • Access control
  • Incident investigation
  • Cryptography basics

Systems

  • IBM Power
  • Storwize
  • FlashSystem
  • Linux
  • Windows
  • Monitoring
  • High availability

Cloud and virtualization

  • VMware
  • VirtualBox
  • Firebase
  • IBM Hybrid Multicloud

DevOps and tooling

  • Git
  • Docker
  • Vagrant
  • Ansible
  • DNS
  • Linux server management

Programming

  • C
  • C++
  • Python
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • Flask
  • React
  • Next.js

Databases

  • MySQL
  • MariaDB
  • PostgreSQL
  • MongoDB
  • Performance tuning

Work

Experience

Serco Europe at the European Council

IT Support

Brussels, Belgium

June 2026 - Present
  • Develop secure systems that automate routine work.
  • Move and configure IT equipment for end users.
  • Manage and handle internal support tickets.
  • Securely wipe and destroy data on disks and devices.

KU Leuven - COSIC

IT Specialist

Leuven, Belgium

Nov 2023 - Nov 2025
  • Implemented system hardening and secure configurations across Linux and Windows environments.
  • Managed secure infrastructure supporting research services and online voting systems.
  • Enforced database access control policies and improved performance reliability.
  • Contributed to operational security validation and system integrity checks.
  • Investigated and resolved infrastructure and security-related incidents under time constraints.

Rwanda Revenue Authority

EBM IT Officer

Kigali, Rwanda

Sept 2020 - Jan 2023
  • Installed and configured the Electronic Billing Machine software used for tax collection.
  • Managed and maintained databases, ensuring data accuracy and compliance.
  • Conducted local audits and validated data integrity.
  • Ensured systems reported data seamlessly into centralized databases.
  • Provided customer support and resolved software and system issues.

Mitra Systems

System Engineer

Blantyre, Malawi

Nov 2019 - June 2020
  • Installed, configured, and maintained IBM Power Systems and Storwize or FlashSystem storage solutions.
  • Performed system health checks, monitoring, and reporting.
  • Supported system upgrades and preventive maintenance to ensure high availability.
  • Designed storage and database configurations for scalability and reliability.
  • Collaborated on SAP HANA deployments on IBM POWER platforms.

A to Z Technology Systems

Software Developer

Kigali, Rwanda

Dec 2014 - June 2016
  • Developed and maintained software applications in multiple programming languages.
  • Automated repetitive tasks using scripts to reduce manual workload.

Competitions

Selected Achievements

SANS NetWars Skills Quest scoreboard showing discorpion in 1st place in BelgiumGrad with 4,779 points

1st Place — BelgiumGrad Category

SANS NetWars Skills Quest (Core Edition) 2026

Belgian Cyber Force LinkedIn post about the Cyber Security Challenge Belgium finale, with Underdog (ULB) in 2nd place

Belgian Cyber Force recap

Cyber Security Challenge Belgium Finals 2026

The Belgian Cyber Force's write-up of the finals, where my team Underdog (ULB) finished 2nd.

View LinkedIn post →

Outside work

Practice

Home lab

Virtual Linux and Windows machines where I try attacks and read the logs they leave behind.

CTFs

Web exploitation, cryptography and network analysis challenges, plus the competitions listed above.

Contact

Get in touch

Email is the best way to reach me.