In the next years, I want to achieve a few things. The general theme is doing more computer science and security. I think I can realistically achieve these things, if not I need to analyze it. Some of these things are more important than others and some are a byproduct of the general direction.

So here is the list:

  • Publish a paper
  • Give more talks
  • Build awesome technology
  • Get better at CTF
  • Do more organizing of events
  • Enrich the community

These are all related to my passion for security and technology. But while focusing on these things, I must not forget what really matters: my friends and family, my health, my sanity and all the other mundane things.

Publish a paper

I have a few ideas, but I also know writing a paper is hard and getting it published is harder. The ingredients are clear: solid foundamentals, a good idea, and good execution. I think I can do it, but I need to put in the work. Also, I want to publish in a community run zine like Phrack or Paged Out!

Give more talks

I have given a few talks and it is a lot of fun. I want to give more talks, but I also want to give better talks. I am espacially interested in giving a talk at a hacking conference, like Congress, but smaller or something more underground like BSides or just at a local meetup. I need to create a talk pipeline, where I can just come up with ideas, do some reasearch and then look for suitable venues. I want to work on topics which are interesting, where I can add value (no “intro to X” or “infosec 101”) and where I can learn something. Feedback and talking with the audience is important, so I can learn more and improve my skills.

Build awesome technology

I want to build awesome technology. Just like a wacky sideproject, something which is useful, uses novel approaches and is build with a tech stack I like. This would ideally come out of other projects, like my work or ctf.

Get better at CTF

CTF is a lot of fun, as it combines technology, problem solving and competition within a community. To hone my skills, I need to play more CTFs, build challenges, do writeups and talks.

Do more organizing of events

During my time at university, I was involved with Unifest and with smaller festivities. This was a very valuable experience, because the people I met, the things I learned and the service it provided to the community. I want more of that, with myself doing more advanced organizing. So to start, I am involved with organizing the helpers for GPN, previously I did the same for Unifest. In the future, I want to organize a conference myself.

Enrich the community

I also want to share my knowledge and experience with the community, this can be done in ways described above, but I also want to give back to a broader audience. I’m not sure how to do this yet. I have thought about starting a youtube channel multiple times, but when I look at the current landscape, I don’t think I can reach the scale I want to reach. I look at creators that do similar things, and I see so many that were not sustainable, of course there a people who succeed like LiveOverflow or Low Level, but they are the exception. There are others, which were able to build a community, but their concept is not what I believe in, like flashy, “how to darknet” type of stuff. I want something more fundamental and innovative. One way to reach a broader audience is to give surface level talks. I once was at a event where a guy was introduced with “programmed since he was 10 and build websites since he was 12”. I don’t want to be that guy. When you are in the computer pool past 10pm, everbody did this. This is not a flex, this is the bare minimum. So I can give comparable talks, but surface level talks are not what I am after. I don’t have an idea on how to do this. I still need to cook up a real concept, and then find the time to do it.