Enterprise networks. Embedded systems. Everything between.
I break systems to understand how they fail.
I specialize in penetration testing, vulnerability research, firmware and binary reverse engineering, Active Directory security, and embedded/IoT devices. My work spans enterprise environments, hardware, radio protocols, mobile applications, and custom embedded systems.
Selected work
From a camera's flash chip to the trust relationships in Active Directory. Detailed writeups, source code, and talks behind the work.
IoT camera vulnerability research
From an SPI flash dump to proprietary network protocols: firmware and binary analysis of the Victure PC420 uncovered a hardcoded root password, weak encryption, and code execution from micro-SD media. The work includes a Wireshark decoder and coordinated disclosure.
Attacks, detection & a vulnerable lab
Exploring ADCS attack methods and defenses through talks and Damn-Vulnerable-ADCS, a PowerShell lab setup for testing NTLM relay vulnerabilities. Used in Iowa State University's Cyber Defense Competition.
Binary reverse engineering
Reverse engineering the recovery tool's decryption-ID checker with Ghidra: unpacking Nuitka output and tracing how SHA-256 hashes are compared against a lookup table.
Hardware & radio protocols
Investigating garage-door radio protocols with accessible hardware. Research notes, a Python implementation for decoding Security+ 2.0 transmissions, and a practical walkthrough presented at SecDSM.
Areas of focus
Internal and external penetration testing, web applications, Active Directory, ADCS, Kerberos, and social engineering.
Binary analysis, vulnerability discovery, proprietary protocols, cryptography implementation review, and coordinated disclosure.
Firmware extraction, SPI and serial interfaces, embedded Linux, ARM and MIPS reverse engineering, mobile applications, and RF.
Purpose-built utilities in Python, PowerShell, and C, with Ghidra, Burp Suite, Wireshark, and SDR tools for investigation.
Speaking & community
I share practical investigations into ADCS, IoT cameras, RF, RFID, and hardware reverse engineering.
Explore all talksDetecting common attacks and enabling certificate authority logging.
Taking an IoT camera apart, from firmware to network protocols.
Watch the presentationAlso presented at Secure Iowa, BSides Iowa, and Iowa State University.
Beyond the engagement
I enjoy taking systems apart: in software, with a debugger, and sometimes literally with a soldering iron. Outside professional penetration testing, I investigate embedded devices, unusual hardware, and security problems that have received little attention.
I also restore vintage computers and build security projects for competitions and the security community.
More about meFor research conversations, speaking, and professional inquiries.