4Beau Bullock

“I’m a firm believer that one should not jump directly into an offensive role without first getting a deep understanding of underlying protocols, including not only technical details but also business logic.”

Closeup image of the senior security analyst and penetration tester "Beau Bullock."

Twitter: @dafthack

Beau Bullock is a senior security analyst and penetration tester who has been with Black Hills Information Security since 2014. Beau has a multitude of security certifications and maintains his extensive skills by routinely taking training, learning as much as he can from his peers, and researching topics that he lacks knowledge in. He is constantly contributing to the InfoSec community by authoring open source tools, writing blogs, and frequently speaking at conferences and on webcasts.

How did you get your start on a red team?

I meet a lot of people who are interested in pentesting or red teaming and want to jump straight into those roles. I did not start out my career in information security on the offensive side. Being tasked with protecting a network, its users, and their data forced me to think like an attacker so I could be a better defender. I first developed an interest in offensive operations during an ethical hacking course I took while in college, but that interest did not develop into an offensive role until years later.

Working on a blue team at a hospital and then at a bank, I would consider how an adversary would get ...

Get Tribe of Hackers Red Team now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.