BSidesAugusta 2023

Aishwarya is currently working as a Security Engineer at Cloudflare, inc. Her passion lies in finding ways to improving the security posture of the application, bug bounties and automate security processes. She earned her Master of Science in Cybersecurity from George Washington University, DC and her Bachelor’s in Computer Science Engineering from Anna University, India. She enjoys mentoring budding security enthusiasts, and sharing knowledge to the security community by participating in meetups, hackathons, CTFs and contributing to open source projects. Apart from Security, she has an ardent interest in sports and finance side of things. So, if you spot her in your local cricket team or sports club, don’t get surprised :)

Andrew is a member of SixGen, where he works as an Offensive Cyber Operator that specializes in network and web application pentesting. Before joining SixGen, Andrew was part of the U.S. Army Cyber Command, where he contributed to the success of defensive cyber operations.

Andrew holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of North Georgia. Andrew has also obtained multiple certifications, including OSEP, OSCP, CRTL, CRTO, and CISSP.

Brian Contos is the Chief Strategy Officer at Sevco Security. With two IPOs & eight acquisitions, Brian has helped build some of the most successful security companies in the world. He has over 25 years in the security industry as a security company entrepreneur, board advisor, investor, and author. After getting his start with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and later Bell Labs, Brian began the process of building security startups and taking multiple companies through successful IPOs and acquisitions, including Riptech, ArcSight, Imperva, McAfee, Solera Networks, Cylance, JASK, Verodin, and Mandiant.

Brian has worked in over 50 countries across six continents. He authored the book Enemy at the Water Cooler and co-authored Physical & Logical Security Convergence with former NSA Deputy Director William Crowell. He was featured in the cyberwar documentary 5 Eyes alongside General Michael Hayden, former NSA and CIA Director. Brian writes for Forbes and regularly presents at conferences like Black Hat, RSA, OWASP, and BSides.

Craig Bowser is an infosec professional with over 20 years of experience. After ten years in the Air Force as a communications officer, he has worked as an Information Security Manager, Security Engineer, Security Analyst and Information System Security Officer for contractors in DoD, DOJ and Dept of Energy and is currently a Security Solutions Architect at GuidePoint Security. He has some letters that mean something to HR departments. He is a Christian, Father, Husband, Geek, Scout Leader who enjoys woodworking, sci-fi fantasy, home networking, tinkering with electronics, reading, and hiking. And he has a to-do list that is longer than his open to-do slots.

Daniel Cornett is a recent graduate from the University of North Georgia receiving a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity. Daniel has already been working in the private sector for a little over a year and in that time has passed both the CEH and GSEC exams. Daniel has a passion for coding which has led him to create multiple tools that are using in red team engagements.

David is a Staff Security Strategist on Splunk’s SURGe research team. He is also a SANS Certified Instructor, where he teaches network forensics. David has more than 20 years of experience in the information security field, primarily in incident detection and response, threat hunting, and Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). He is the creator of both the Pyramid of Pain and the Threat Hunting Maturity Model, both widely cited defensive security models. Really, he just wants to make security better for everyone, and he has a special interest in helping people get started in their cybersecurity careers. You can follow David on Twitter as @DavidJBianco or on Mastodon as @DavidJBianco@infosec.exchange.

If you mention “Ed” when discussing penetration testing or incident response, everyone knows exactly of whom you are speaking. Ed Skoudis has taught upwards of 40,000 security professionals globally and his countless contributions to information security have had immense impact on the community. His courses distill the essence of real-world, front-line case studies he accumulates because he is consistently one of the first authorities brought in to provide post-attack analysis on major breaches. He’s not just an expert in the field, he created many of the founding methodologies employed by governments and organizations around the world to test and secure their infrastructures.

Ed is the founder of the SANS Penetration Testing Curriculum and Counter Hack; leads the team that builds NetWars, Holiday Hack, and CyberCity; and serves as president of SANS Technology Institute. A consummate presenter, Ed is a keynote speaker appearing internationally at conferences, and is an Advisory Board member for RSA.

Fernando Tomlinson is a Technical Manager for Digital Forensics and Incident Response at Mandiant. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Army where he retired as a Cyber Warrant Officer. While serving, he was the Senior Technical Advisor for forensics and malware analysis at the U.S. Army Cyber Command, responsible for the defensive actions of all U.S. Army systems. He also served as a Technical Director of a Cyber Operations Center and has led multi-level Digital Forensics and Incident Response and threat hunting teams. Additionally, he is a collegiate cybersecurity Adjunct Professor who enjoys contributing to the community.

George Sandford is a passionate advocate for building a more effective and positive security community through expanding diversity & inclusion, mentorship, and helping individuals and teams reach their best potential. He has over 20 years of experience helping clients solve their IT and Security challenges through firsthand engagement, leading exceptional teams, and focusing on customer success.

Jake Coyne is a cybersecurity professional specializing in offensive security operations. He currently holds the position of Senior Offensive Operator at SIXGEN. Before joining SIXGEN, Jake was part of the U.S. Army Cyber Command and U.S. Cyber Command, where he contributed to cyber operations.

Jake earned a Master's degree in Cyber Security from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology from Illinois State University. He holds several certifications in the field of cybersecurity, including Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional (GICSP), GIAC Response and Industrial Defense (GRID), and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Cybersecurity Analyst | Threat Hunter | Software Engineer | Problem Solver

Josh Brower has been crashing computers since his teens, and now feels fortunate to be doing it professionally. He has spent the last 15 years focusing on InfoSec, particularly network and endpoint detection. He also enjoys teaching around InfoSec issues, especially to non-technical learners - helping them to understand how their actions in the digital world have real-world consequences, as well as how to proactively reduce the risk.

You can catch him on twitter @DefensiveDepth.

Lonnie Best has spent over 12 years in security, with his introduction to the field working physical security at a commercial nuclear power generating plant, and the last 6 of those years helping organizations detect and respond to security incidents as part of Rapid7's Managed Detection and Response (MDR) practice. His experience during that time is wide-ranging, including everything from responding to low-impact commodity malware, to working large-scale Incident Response engagements against advanced cyber criminal and nation state threat actors. Currently, Lonnie leads a team of world-class threat analysts in Rapid7 MDR's flagship Security Operations Center in Arlington, Virginia, and is helping to evolve traditional MDR service capabilities to extend into the realm of ICS/OT cybersecurity.

Lonnie recently ended his military career after serving over 11 years as a Signal Officer in the Army National Guard. His assignments included Platoon Leader and Executive Officer of a Brigade Engineer Battalion Signal Company; S6 for a Brigade Support Battalion; Company Commander of a Network Support Company; Brigade Information Systems Engineer for a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade; and, during the final two years of his service, Information Operations Planner within the 91st Cyber Brigade, where he helped plan and coordinate several major Critical Infrastructure cyber exercises.

Marc Lopez is a cybersecurity professional with nearly two decades of experience in cyber and intelligence operations. He serves as a Senior Technical Advisor for offensive operations at Fort Gordon.
In addition to his work at Fort Gordon, Marc is a respected educator who teaches cybersecurity bootcamp classes with ED-X at top-tier universities such as Georgia Tech, University of North Carolina (Charlotte), and the University of Utah. His commitment to education is further reinforced by his pursuit of a Master's in Information Technology focused on Information Assurance and Security at American Military University.
His list of certifications includes the highly esteemed CISSP, PMP, Linux+, and AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals). His broad range of knowledge and experience allows him to bring a unique perspective to the multifaceted domain of cybersecurity.

A skilled cybersecurity professional with years of experience working with, and in the Department of Defense in support of protecting critical information systems. With a wide variety of additional experience working years at Silicon Valley startups and most recently working with large Fortune 100 companies.

Max Harley is an operator and red team tool developer at SpecterOps. His passion for cybersecurity and software development has motivated him to release open source tools, mostly focused on safe payload delivery and JA3. Max has given presentations at multiple security conferences including CarolinaCon and BSides Charleston. He is a Clemson University alumni and former president of their cybersecurity club, CU Cyber.

Michael is a Senior Security Engineer with over 10 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He is a proactive and iterative cyber threat hunter specializing in detection engineering, DFIR, and automation. Michael has led teams and directed collaborative efforts to develop and implement strategies for mitigating evolving threat trends.

Michael is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Sawbox Consulting, where he identifies and resolves security issues, implements solutions and evaluates security systems for clients. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Director and Co-Founder of SmashTheStack, a prominent educational platform focused on ethical hacking. His dedication to sharing knowledge is further exemplified by his role as a Cybersecurity Author on Pluralsight, where he has created and published several high-quality courses.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Global College and has obtained multiple certifications, including CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and multiple GIAC certifications.

Michael Holcomb is the Fellow of Cybersecurity and the ICS/OT Cybersecurity Global Lead for Fluor, one of the world’s largest engineering, procurement, and construction companies. His current role provides him with the opportunity to work in securing some of the world’s largest ICS/OT environments, from power plants and commuter rail to manufacturing facilities and refineries. He is currently completing his Master’s thesis on the attack surface of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) with the SANS Technology Institute. Additionally, he maintains cyber security and ICS/OT certifications such as the CISSP, GRID, GICSP, GCIP, GPEN, GCIH, ISA 62443, and more.

As part of his community efforts, Michael founded and leads the UpstateSC ISSA Chapter and BSides Greenville conference. He also wrote and taught all six cyber security courses for Greenville Technical College's cyber security program which focused on helping educate the cyber security practitioners of tomorrow. In 2023, he was awarded CyberSC’s MG Lester D. Eisner Award for Cyber Excellence in Leadership for the State of South Carolina.

Mike has spent many years in the MSP world helping businesses protect and grow their IT systems. Over that time, I've fixed mice, laid out IT roadmaps, and managed systems & tools that do the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting. My first computer was an Apple IIc clone, I learned programming on the Atari 2600, and I've braved an AS/400. Away from the keyboard, I enjoy time with my kids, geocaching, and wood-turning.

Nicholas previously served as a cyber officer within defensive cyberspace operations, and now works as a Defensive Security Analyst with SpecterOps where he assists in developing Security Operation Centers for customers, develop detection mechanisms, and assist in the enhancement customer security.

He has a deree in Computer Science from Hampton University, and holds OSCP, OSWE, and OSEP.

Olivier Bilodeau leads the Cybersecurity Research team at GoSecure. With more than 12 years of infosec experience, he enjoys luring malware operators into his traps and writing tools for malware research. Olivier is a passionate communicator having spoken at several conferences including BlackHat USA/Europe, Defcon, Botconf, Derbycon, and HackFest. Invested in his community, he co-founded MontréHack, is the President of NorthSec and hosts its Hacker Jeopardy.

VP, Cybersecurity Solutions at Target

Rachel Jones has an interdisciplinary background, specializing in space and cyber technology. She has been an analyst at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) since 2020. Previously, Rachel supported the United States Air Force as a civil servant working on space and cyber projects.

Rachel is also a PhD Student at the University of North Dakota studying Aerospace Science. She has a Master of Science in Space Management from the International Space University and a Master of Arts in Intelligence with a cyber focus from the American Military University. In addition, she has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from LaGrange College and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Networking and Cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Samuel is employed as a security engineer for Cloudflare. He is a graduate of University of Oklahoma where he received a Master in Data Science and Analytics and Bachelor in Petroleum engineering. Samuel started his career as a security generalist in Oil and Gas, eventually moving his way up to Incident Response/DNR in the tech industry, ultimately finding his calling in security engineering. Samuel is a Security Engineer for Cloudflare where he leads the mobile device management security as well as builds automations and processes to secure enterprise systems.

Scott Jordan has a background in Electronics Design and Reverse Engineering. He has been an engineer with Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) since 2022 focusing on Cyber-Physical Security. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University. Scott has dabbled in GNU Radio and Hack RF for many years.

Stef is an Intelligence Analyst at Red Canary. Prior to joining Red Canary, she was a consultant at Mandiant, specializing in digital forensics and incident response. She graduated from the Augusta University School of Computer and Cyber Sciences in the fall of 2019. Before Stef started her career in cybersecurity she earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. She loves finding new ways to integrate psychology and cybersecurity in her research, writing, and conference presentations. If she's not at her computer she's probably hiking, camping, or crafting.

Steven Weldon is the Savannah River National Laboratory Cyber Program Director at the Georgia Cyber Center. He is also an adjunct Instructor at the Augusta University School of Computer and Cyber Sciences.

Threat hunting and Pen testing enthusiast with 7 years of experience currently working for the Cyber Protection Brigade. Certifications include OSCP, GXPN, GCPN, CEH, and CHFI. Education includes a Masters of Science in Information Technology with a concentration in Software Engineering. Top 3% on TryHackMe.

Tim is fortunate to be the CISO for Mandiant as well as lead the Cloud Threat and Adversary Operations team for Google Cloud. In these roles Tim and his team get to defend Mandiant and Google Cloud from some of the most sophisticated adversaries in the world. Tim has almost 40 years in the technology space, starting his professional career in 1986, and has been privileged to work in security since 1994. Over the course of these years he's had the opportunity to work in all aspects of cyber security and has a particular passion for cyber threat intelligence, reverse engineering, and incident response and breach investigation. He's also authored or co-authored 17 books to date as well as spoken frequently internationally at some of the largest cyber security conferences in the world. More importantly, Tim is blessed to be the partner of a spouse of 37 years and have 3 kids and 8 grandkids who call him Baba. Ultimately, Tim has a passion for finding and developing talent as he believes that leaving the world a little better than we found it is everyone's responsibility.

Timothy De Block is a security generalist. He cut his teeth in IT as an Electronic Technician for the United States Navy and the State of South Carolina. He jumped to security in 2012 and has done a little of everything. He reads because he has a strong passion to learn. One of his most recent reads was a Douglas Adams series that included The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (hence the title). He also enjoys Overwatch and forcing his kids on a 13 mile backpacking camping trip. Fin.

Application Security Engineer with extensive experience in the information technology and security industries. Experience ranges from software development to full-scope penetration testing (red teaming) as both a technician and leader for both the United States Military and private industry. Currently specializing in application security as a trainer and practitioner of web application penetration testing and secure software development.

Will Schroeder is a member of the R&D team at SpecterOps, where he helps research and develop new offensive techniques and capabilities. He has spoken at a number of industry conferences including Black Hat and DEF CON on topics spanning AV-evasion, Active Directory, post-exploitation, red team tradecraft, BloodHound, malicious access control, malware, and offensive PowerShell. He is also the cofounder of numerous open source projects including Empire, BloodHound, GhostPack, and more.

Xenia Mountrouidou is a Senior Security Researcher at CyberadAPT with a versatile experience in academia and industry. She has over 10 years of research experience in network security, machine learning, and data analytics for computer networks. She enjoys writing Python scripts to automate the boring things, finding interesting patterns with machine learning algorithms, and researching novel intrusion detection techniques. Her research interests revolve around network security, Internet of Things, intrusion detection, and machine learning. She has authored scholarly papers in the areas of performance modeling, computer networks, embedded computer architectures, and computer network security.