I grew up loving to tinker with technology and computers. When I was eighteen, I built my first full-stack web app, then hacked it to steal all the usernames and passwords. This early experience helped me decide to build my career around coding and hacking. Since 2009, I’ve been feeding that curiosity and love for computers into a healthy career, which has led me into Red Teaming, where I will probably never leave.
Red Teaming involves simulating real-world attacks against organizations to help them measure and improve their defensive capabilities. You can learn more about Red Teaming here. Attempting to break into computer networks and steal things requires a unique mindset. I grew up playing sports and developed a very competitive spirit. I love to win. I also enjoy breaking things and taking them apart to understand how they work. While this can be educational, I’ve also learned through experience that it can be very fun to find and exploit loopholes discovered during this process.
While competitiveness and curiosity are a deep part of me, more importantly, I want to leave a positive impact on the world, and that’s where these would-be nefarious activities actually pay off. While attacking computers to exploit weaknesses for personal gain is clearly wrong, Red Teaming is the ethical manner in which we employee our adversarial skillsets for the better of the world. And I must say, it is very fun 😊.
Aside from my career, I have a wonderful family, and enjoy learning new skills and hobbies.
For a detailed rundown of my educational and professional experience, please see my LinkedIn page.