At 15, I was volunteering at a nonprofit that restored computers for children in need for free. While cleaning a garage full of old computer parts, I found a dusty CD on the floor labeled by hand: “BackTrack” (the predecessor to Kali Linux).
Not long after, I downloaded a pirated copy of Mr. Robot. The first episode opened with: “Hello, friend. Hello, friend? That’s lame. Maybe I should give you a name.” I can hear this opening in my head till this day.. But that was it, I was hooked. Down the galactic cybersecurity rabbit hole I went.
Trying to install Kali Linux for the first time felt like operating a spaceship, and yes, I completely destroyed my laptop in the process.
Years later, I am leading incident response cases involving APT groups that even the FBI is chasing. I still think about that 15 year old kid standing in the garage, holding a dusty CD and having no idea that it would lead him to a life he could only dream of.
