Tribe of Hackers Red Team

11Justin Elze

“The biggest asset of a valuable member of a red team is having a depth of knowledge in as many areas of computing as possible.”

Twitter: @HackingLZ

Justin Elze is the adversary emulation and threat research practice lead at TrustedSec. He has more than 13 years of experience in the information technology industry specializing in enterprise penetration testing, network security, social engineering, and red teaming. Prior to joining TrustedSec, Justin was a senior consultant for Accuvant Labs, Dell SecureWorks, and Redspin, where he led numerous red team engagements and penetration tests. Justin has worked in various industries including internet service providers, cloud services/hosting, DoD contracting, and services consulting companies.

How did you get your start on a red team?

For me, being on a red team was a natural transition from where I started in penetration testing and offensive testing. I always wanted to move offensive testing toward a more realistic model for clients, which was a real deciding factor in making that transition.

Looking back, I have been involved in IRC and computers since I was young, and I grew up with Hackers being one of my favorite movies. My actual start down a career pathway in computers was really fueled by two amazing high school teachers, Michelle Greenway and Meg McDonald, who supported my growth within the field and helped ...