Tribe of Hackers Red Team

15Jared Folkins

“Learn how to learn. Then teach yourself how to ship. And find or create a platform or community to share what you ship.”

Twitter: @JF0LKINS

After surviving the dot-com crash of the late 90s, Jared Folkins went on to have a long career in systems and programming. In 2013 he turned a hobby into a career and has never looked back. Known for having technical chops and a high emotional IQ, he enjoys working with those who prioritize goals and people while placing egos last. He currently red teams for ThreatHound.com, blue teams for Bend La Pine Schools, and breaks down software while building up people at OpsecEdu.com. If you want his help or you just need a new InfoSec friend, contact him at JaredFolkins.com.

How did you get your start on a red team?

I had been a coder and a systems and database person for more than a decade. One day I started a project on the side where I was dismantling and reversing a Java application. The software’s primary function was that it would back up your files and cryptographically seal them. It would then send this backup to the cloud, giving you an end-to-end encrypted archive. I wanted to see how it worked. While I was performing this work, I wrote my thoughts into four blog articles about what I was learning. I didn’t detail the actual piece of software I was targeting but gave a general overview of the topics I was exploring. ...