whoami

// obstinatus

I got into offensive security the same way I got into most things: by taking apart something I wasn't supposed to touch and trying to understand why it worked. The security part came later. The compulsion to see what's underneath was always there.

I spent years on the other side of this, building systems, hardening processes, writing governance docs that nobody reads. Useful work. But I kept asking myself what it looked like from the attacker's side. Eventually I decided to find out.

Right now I'm working through the CPTS path on HackTheBox and studying for CISSP, which is a strange combination but makes sense to me. Also spending time on agentic AI and what it means for security, both as an attack surface and as a tool for offense. That space is moving faster than most people are paying attention to.

Currently Working On

HackTheBox CPTS

CISSP

CTF Challenges

Penetration Testing

Web Exploitation

Binary Exploitation

Privilege Escalation

Active Directory

Network Attacks

Reverse Engineering

Python / Scripting

Agentic AI

The Philosophy

Obstinatus is Latin for persistent, stubborn, relentless. I picked it because it's accurate and because it looks good in a terminal.

The box doesn't open on the first try. Most of the time it doesn't open on the fifth try either. You stay anyway, you write down what didn't work, and sometimes that's the whole lesson. This blog is that process made public. Unfinished, honest, updated when there's something worth saying.

Contact

Got a question, a tip, or just want to talk about something you broke? get in touch.