~/about
About
I break software to understand it, then build the tools to do it again.
Background
I've spent over a decade on both sides of the security line: writing software and taking it apart. The path ran from design and Mac tutorials, through systems and networking, into full-time offensive security — memory corruption, shellcode, and CVEs that saw real use.
Today I'm a Senior Principal Security Engineer and security architect at Verizon, holding the OSCP, OSWP, OSCE certifications. I still write tools in the open, mostly in Go, Python and TypeScript.
- [email protected]
- 2008–12Design & liberal arts
A design-focused education at Moravian College, with semesters abroad across four continents. The visual side still shows up in how I present technical work.
- 2012–13Designer & writer
Design and web work for Hampden-Sydney College, plus freelance Mac and OS X tutorials for Envato Tuts+.
- 2014–15Systems & networking
Shifted toward infrastructure and networking: TCP internals, firewalls, SSL and early Metasploit work, written up on kevinkirsche.com.
- 2016Into security
Earned the Ixia BreakingPoint Systems Specialist certification and moved fully into security work.
- 2017–19Offensive security
Focused on exploit development, shellcode and CVE research on deceiveyour.team, earning OSCP, OSWP, SLAE and OSCE along the way.
- NowSecurity architect
Senior Principal Security Engineer and security architect at Verizon, working in offensive security from Aldie, Virginia.
Expertise & certifications
From raw x86 assembly up to systems architecture, and the certifications behind it.
Offensive Security
Finding the bug and turning it into reliable code execution.
- Exploit development
- Memory corruption
- ROP & SEH
- CVE research
- Penetration testing
Reverse Engineering
Working at the level software actually runs: assembly, payloads and binaries.
- x86 assembly
- Shellcode & encoders
- Binary patching
- Payload analysis
- Egghunters
Network & Protocol Security
The wire-level fundamentals behind both attacks and defenses.
- TCP/IP internals
- Packet crafting
- DoS analysis
- Firewalling
- Wireless (OSWP)
Security Engineering
Building the tooling, automation and architecture that scale the work.
- Go
- Python
- TypeScript
- Automation & Ansible
- API & systems design
Certifications
- OSCEOct 2018Offensive Security Certified ExpertOffensive Security
- SLAESep 2018SecurityTube Linux Assembly ExpertSecurityTube TrainingID SLAE-1134
- OSWPMay 2018Offensive Security Wireless ProfessionalOffensive Security
- OSCPJan 2018Offensive Security Certified ProfessionalOffensive Security
- BPSDec 2016BreakingPoint Systems SpecialistIxia