Hi, I’m Zack.

Online you may know me as NotsoanoNimus.

I like long walks on the beach, a pint of Guinness with a burger, the gentle peace of hymns, green gardens, and spending time with my budding family.

I also like cryptography, vulnerability research, and embedded systems development.

A few facts

• I’ve been a programmer in some misshapen capacity almost all my life.
• I graduated with my B.S. in Cybersecurity from Purdue University in late 2022.
• I graduated with my M.S. in Computer & Information Science from University of Michigan in mid-2024.
  • I published a paper along with this milestone.
• I have been an industry devotee since 2018.
• Certificates, expired or not, in no particular order: CSSLP, RHCSA, Security+, CCNA, and a few others.
• I am a proud mentor of very many bright minds and successful people.

Anyway

I have curiosities bordering on obsessions, often to a fault; there are only 24 hours in a day.

I’d like to consider myself a journeyman trekking a long road to mastery one brick at a time. I consider the apropos application of science a practiced craft; notably one that a machine can master, but never one that it will better.

Speaking of machines: these tools are so incredibly powerful for rapid engineering, and I’m really curious to see how this wide open this will blow the skill gap between those who blindly let it answer and those who take a moment to learn when appropriate.

What am I up to?

I’m either studying or contributing to one of these subjects in my spare time:

• Vulnerability research – i.e., mining for more gold
• Bootloader and Firmware security
• Classical cryptography and post-quantum cryptography
• Open-source software projects that make my life easier or bring me joy
• Network security

Someday I earnestly hope my delight and efforts may be well-spent in an academic or other R&D environment.

If you would like to collaborate, you may contact me as you please.

Thanks for visiting!