I’ve been interested in hacking since I first binged Defcon and Blackat videos in around 2012 or so. Since then, I have kept up an interest in hacking and infosec related topics, binging many times on conference videos as well as the gateway drug which is InfoSec Twitter.

Around the same time, I started writing Java code, which soon led to some very poorly written C++ code. Here and there I had a few interesting projects, but never made the leap to become a professional coder. I did other things instead, some of which would turn out to be useful for hi-tech hijinks later on.

A few years ago, I learned Python, mostly by completing some of the cryptopals.com challenges. This gave me much more confidence to approach problems using Python, so I started making UPnPwn. Some time later, I was entrusted with Machine Learning in Python at work. At this point I realised I was actually somewhat competent at it.

Eventually, I bit the bullet and decided to give hacking an actual, concerted try. I played on TryHackMe and downloaded DVWA to mess around with. It was refreshing to actually learn how to implement attacks I had been somewhat aware of for a decade or so. As 2021 rolls on, I’m enjoying developing the skills I’ve thought about for years.