I am an offensive security researcher specializing in Generative AI vulnerabilities, the use of LLMs for vulnerability discovery, and AI-driven cyber threat intelligence. My work focuses on research with national-security relevance and contributions to the open-source community. I currently teach the crash course Practical Adversarial GenAI for Red Teamers, and I have previously taught Digital Forensics.

During my postdoctoral research, I conducted vulnerability discovery and exploit development on IoT and ICS devices. My team and I identified multiple zero-day vulnerabilities that enabled remote code execution on devices deployed in smart buildings and smart grids. I developed an IoT vulnerability research methodology called PatrIoT, authored several responsible disclosure and classified reports, and supervised over a dozen master’s theses on offensive security topics.

My PhD research focused on exploit kits (EKs). I designed a lightweight detection system using URL-based anomaly analysis and a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques to rapidly and accurately cluster unknown EK infection traffic. As part of my scholarship, I was responsible for incident response activities, malware analysis, and reverse engineering. I served as an active member of the military’s Computer Security Incident Response Team, contributing to numerous security incident investigations and gaining deep expertise in common exploits, zero-day vulnerabilities, and countermeasures. I discovered vulnerabilities in electronic warfare systems, including NATO-connected systems and reconnaissance aircraft, and participated in military cyber defense exercises as a pentester, trainer, and scenario designer. I also organized CTF competitions and taught courses in Digital Forensics, Penetration Testing, and Web Application Security.

During my master’s studies, I developed machine-learning-based classifiers for malicious webpage detection. Within the scope of my scholarship, I performed application penetration tests and offensive code reviews. I reported more than a thousand vulnerabilities to government agencies, the military, and financial institutions; around 50 were zero-day findings, including remote code execution, authentication bypasses, and critical business logic flaws. I was an active member of a national Computer Emergency Response Team, participating in incident response operations against threat groups targeting governmental infrastructure. I also took part in national cyber defense exercises as a web application penetration tester. Throughout my graduate studies, I held several top-tier cybersecurity certifications, including GREM, GPEN, and GWAPT.