Over the last couple of years, I’ve done quite a bit of writing. I’ve written training material on a variety of languages and frameworks. I’ve written high-level articles for other companies as well as delivering custom training. Despite creating all of that material, I haven’t been able to share it the way I’d like to. I feel that now is the right time to shift gears and start writing for myself.
So Why Now?
For the past couple of years, I’ve been working without much else than my resume and a few great recommendations. I’m now finding myself in the situation where it would be helpful to have a site of my own. A site that will allow me to share my knowledge and expertise and build my own identity.
I don’t know about you, but I like to know a bit about those I’m learning from. Please allow me a brief introduction to who I am, my professional experience, and my goals for the site.
A Brief Personal Background
I started programming around the time I was about eight years old by teaching myself Basic on an Atari 400. Throughout high school I started learning Visual Basic, C and C++, and Java. I continue to learn a variety of other languages and frameworks over the years, including Python and Ruby.
Before starting college, I worked as a contract developer putting together websites and applications for small businesses. While studying for my computer science degree, I was able to find a full-time job working as a software tester. After a Summer testing software, I moved onto the software development team during the school year. After graduating, I spent the next few years in the financial industry working on a multitude of projects. Everything from web services, transaction systems, and a variety of web applications.
A Passion For Security
Hacking and computer security has always been a passion of mine throughout my entire life in one form or another. As a kid I spent a lot of time hacking computer games. As a professional I spent time remediating issues other security testers found in my applications. My first taste of the culture back then was attending 2600 meetings out in Minneapolis. My passion for security continued throughout the years.
However, I held off from working in the security industry full-time. Every time I’d get a job offer, it wasn’t for a consulting role. Whenever I received a job offer from a company, it was always to work on their security products. Writing more software wasn’t my goal so I didn’t accept any offers.
I eventually took my first full-time security consulting role on the application security team at GuidePoint Security. I then had a brief stay at VSR. During the Summer of 2017 I took an opportunity that allows me to focus on research and education. Going independent also allows me more time to travel the world with my girlfriend.
What I Hope to Accomplish
My goal is to bring my experience in development, teaching, and consulting to turn this site into a useful resource. Whether you’re a student, bug bounty hunter, or an experienced software developer. I look at from if I was starting today, what would I want for a resource?
It’s from thinking about that question that my content development plan is taking shape. My plan takes into account my current interests and what I think I can improve on. I plan to cover writing secure code, attacking and defending web applications and mobile application hacking, among others. What I won’t be focusing on is covering current information security news. There are already plenty of others doing a great job with that.
Join the Conversation!
I’d love to hear from you if you have questions, feedback, or would like a particular topic covered. Feel free to leave a comment here or get a hold of me via the Contact page.
Thank you for spending a few minutes of your time with me. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with you. If I can help out just one person get their start, then I consider this a success.
I know I prefer to get updates via email and if you do too, please subscribe to the mailing list.