I didn’t have a traditional start, and I began in cyber after being invited to join a private middle school largely funded by the US military. Before the invitation to the STEMM school, I received an award from my state’s governor for achieving the highest-level scores on our state testing for math and science. At this school there were 88 of us, and I still remember a field trip where they showed us the F-35 up close on the military base.
Growing up between three military bases, coming from a military family, and having nearly everyone I know in the military shaped how I think about duty and security. Outside of schooling I was a Boy Scout, played football, wrestled, and trained Jiu-Jitsu.
None of this would have been possible without my adoptive parents, who took my brother and me in when I was three years old. My papa (adoptive dad) was a disciplined Vietnam War veteran who instilled tenets into the core of my being. It’s the small things. Growing up he would drive me to school every day and I remember playing a game where he would point out gas prices and ask me to calculate how much it would cost to fill up the gas tank. We played this game daily.
Fast forward to today, I’m known for teaching online and my research that concerns matters of public interest involving surveillance technology, cybersecurity, and associated national security concerns. These are issues that I take very seriously, and I can largely thank him for that.
My research isn’t concerned with a company’s quarter-to-quarter profit. It focuses on the national security risks attached to the dataset that Flock holds. I reported four vulnerabilities to Flock and often got little or no response, though not for lack of trying.
This matters when the dataset that a company holds encompasses nearly every American’s pattern of life and the ability to trace their daily activities. Imagine the power you’d have knowing you can trace nearly every politician, judge, service member, or federal employee and their families. This opens up risks concerning espionage and blackmail. If you do not know about Flock, Flock probably knows about you.
Ignorance is not security, and foreign nations won’t warn a company about its security flaws the way I did. I hope you take the time to read my formal paper and the four vulnerabilities I reported. If you’re keen to know more about me you can look here.
