Gyan Udyan: Implementation of a Semantic Digital Garden for Cybersecurity Research

Prateek Yadav
Dept. of Computer Science
RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
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Abstract—Traditional linear blogs are ill-suited for the interconnected nature of cybersecurity studies. Gyan Udyan (Sanskrit: "Knowledge Garden") proposes a graph-theoretic approach to knowledge management. Built on the Quartz v4 engine, it visualizes relationships between distinct security domains—Web Security, OSINT, and Network Protocols—allowing for non-linear exploration. This paper discusses the taxonomic structure, content strategies for Capture-The-Flag (CTF) writeups, and the underlying static site generation architecture.
Index Terms—Knowledge Management, Digital Garden, Graph Theory, Web Security, OSINT, Quartz, Static Site Generation.

I.Introduction

Information retention in the rapidly evolving field of Information Security is a significant challenge. Concepts often overlap; for instance, a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payload may rely on specific URL Encoding quirks. A hierarchical folder structure fails to capture this relationship. Gyan Udyan serves as a "Second Brain," utilizing bidirectional linking to mirror the associative nature of human memory.

II.Platform Architecture

A.Quartz and Obsidian Integration

The platform is powered by Quartz v4, which transforms a local vault of Markdown files (managed in Obsidian) into a high-performance static website. This pipeline supports:

  • Backlinks: Automatic indexing of all pages referring to the current node.
  • Interactive Graph: A D3.js powered visualization of the knowledge network.
  • Callouts & LaTeX: Support for mathematical notation and distinct warning/info blocks.

B.Deployment Pipeline

Changes are committed to a Git repository, triggering a CI/CD build process that generates the semantic HTML structure and deploys to the edge via Netlify.

III.Knowledge Taxonomy

The garden is divided into "Security Domains" and "Learning Paths" to guide the reader.

A.Web Security

This domain documents the OWASP Top 10. Notes include practical reproduction steps for vulnerabilities such as Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) and Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR). Unlike static tutorials, these notes evolve as new bypass techniques are discovered.

B.reconnaissance & OSINT

Documentation of passive and active intelligence gathering. Methodologies include sub-domain enumeration, tech stack analysis, and the use of public datasets.

C.Automation & Tools

A dedicated section for building efficiency. It covers workflows using **n8n** for data pipelining and the integration of AI models to summarize threat intelligence feeds.

IV.Case Studies: CTF Writeups

The garden hosts writeups for HackTheBox and TryHackMe challenges. These are not merely solution guides but "post-mortem" analyses that deconstruct the exploit chain to understand the root cause of the vulnerability.

[Vulnerability] <--> [Protocol Spec] <--> [Exploit Tool]
Fig. 3. Graph-based Knowledge Linking

V.Conclusion

Gyan Udyan demonstrates that treating knowledge as a network rather than a library fosters deeper understanding and easier retrieval of critical security concepts.

Access

The garden is openly available for the community.

Enter the Garden