Greetings!
Background
Originally from the Bay Area, currently residing in the Southeast for over a decade. I graduated with my Masters’s in Computer Science and a Graduate Certificate in Information Security and Privacy.
I worked as a developer in a former life and have since transitioned to InfoSec. Past roles have been as a Security Automation Engineer, Penetration Tester, etc. My foundation is Web Application Security (#webislife), but I dabble in Mobile and Cloud Security.
I’m an adjunct professor on both coasts. This keeps me busy but also fulfills the acts of service / giving back to my community. I’ve also created courses with companies and universities such as Cybrary, Infosec Institute, and Drexel University and presented at a handful of conferences (which are growing by the day…).
Passion Projects
- Cybersecurity Education/Digital Literacy: My goal is to help increase underrepresented groups in cybersecurity through education, as it’s a global issue. I created a non-profit, The Accelerated Training Program (T-ATP), which is a cybersecurity digital literacy program that is focused on providing quality cybersecurity education to underrepresented groups and studying the systemic exclusion of cybersecurity education to the same groups. This falls in line with the first pillar – equip every American with foundational cyber skills from the National Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Strategy from the White House. Also, to learn about digital equity act visit here.
- Education policy: This is intertwined with #1 (cybersecurity education/digital literacy). I learned about education policy and technology recently. My ultimate goal of T-ATP is to change how cybersecurity education is taught in the United States and worldwide through legislation. At this point, education policy will be the way to get there. I was recently accepted to the North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) that focuses on education policy in North Carolina and beyond. If you’re in education policy, please reach out, as I would like to connect and collaborate!
- Securing medical devices: To give a background, I participated in the Biohacking Village (BHV) (which marries medical and cybersecurity) CTF at the 2020 DEFCON. I learned about medical history and found and tested vulnerabilities in insecure medical devices. I was hooked! I wanted to know more, so for DEFCON 2021, I participated in the Device Lab, a live network that allows researchers to pentest medical devices. I found five of the thirteen vulnerabilities during the engagement. Now I am the Device Lab co-lead and Education Lead with BHV. To learn more about BHV, click here.
- Security research/bug bounties: This inspiration came from number 3, working in the device lab. I dabbled in bug bounties occasionally, but now I prioritize increasing my skills. I can’t wait to write more blog posts when I find more vulns!
Future State
I want to use my passion projects to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and show prospective cybersecurity professionals they can succeed in this industry too.
This will be done by collaborating with the Office of the National Cyber Director with their working groups or joining CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee’s subcommittees in Transforming the Workforce and the Technical Advisory Council.
Wanna know more? Let’s connect through email (hello@thefluffy007.com) or Calendly.
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