BarCode

In the back office of his father’s telecommunications business, something in five-year-old Ryan Williams initialized. Programming in BASIC on a Commodore 64, he typed endless lines of code from a magazine, waiting three hours for a Mandelbrot set to render pixel by pixel across the screen. He was disappointed with the result, but the process had already taken hold. Years later, Williams was setting up a Formula One driver’s party when his phone rang. Pack it down. COVID wiped out his entire music career, his production company, and $40K in a single moment. Everything he’d built over two decades as a touring DJ and musician terminated without warning.By eleven, he was hacking payphones with McDonald’s straws and engaging in underground BBSs after answering questions about death metal. But music became his focus, taking him from classical orchestras to rock bands to DJ tours across Australia and overseas. It was a life of little responsibility and constant motion, until March 2020 forced a hard stop. At rock bottom, Williams enrolled in a cybersecurity course at a local TAFE college. He quickly realized he was ahead of his classmates, but that wouldn’t be enough among 12,000 graduates nationwide. So he went online, consuming everything he could while documenting his path as D8RH8R from the hills of Victoria. Now he works as a lead security engineer at Applied Computing Technologies, breaking AI models deployed in critical infrastructure. He runs Smart Security Solutions, publishes HVCK Magazine, builds offensive security training, and operates Solo Hobo, providing pro bono assessments for organizations with no budget. The man who once lived for sold-out shows now works in the quiet RF spectrum of Victoria’s hills, pushing physics-based AI models until they fail.TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 - Introduction and guest background00:05:11 - Early computer addiction and origin story00:07:30 - Music career and COVID impact00:09:10 - Transition into cybersecurity education00:13:22 - Data Hater persona meaning explained00:16:22 - Lessons learned the hard way00:20:03 - Adversarial AI security role00:28:00 - Solo Hobo pro bono security00:35:00 - Hack Magazine and Academy vision00:45:00 - Business model and creative processLINKSApplied Computing Technologies – https://www.appliedct.com.au - AI platform company for critical infrastructureAttackIQ Academy – https://www.attackiq.com/academy/ - Cyber security training platformB-Sides Brisbane – https://bsidesbrisbane.com - Information security conferencePADDOK's AI Red Team Course – https://www.youtube.com/c/PADDOK - Adversarial AI security trainingHack Magazine – https://hackmagazine.org - Cybersecurity publicationSolo Hobo – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwilliams-datahater/ - Pro bono security assessmentsTAFE – https://www.tafe.edu.au - Technical education colleges AustraliaOrbital AI Platform – https://orbital.ai - AI platform for industrial applications

One batch file flatlined an entire school district’s network. That was 1994, in a town so small you could drive fifteen minutes and see nothing but the curvature of the earth. By sixteen he was building one of Wyoming’s first ISPs, and by 1996 he had already founded a Red Team. Then came twenty three years as a DEF CON goon, followed by an offensive security practice that scaled to 132 pen testers and nearly forty million dollars a year. He has breached security inside Ferrari dealerships, biolabs, and financial trading floors. If it had a lock, a network, a password, or a perimeter, Pyr0 found a way through it. Now he lives off grid in the mountains of Northern Colorado, running ham radio on solar, raising chickens, and still pulling sixty hour weeks breaking into things that were never supposed to be breakable. And this year, he's building something new. A conference on the beach at Carolina Beach, NC that is dedicated to preserving the stories and the history of hacking before they're lost to time.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction and Background09:44 Life Off-Grid: The Journey19:10 Introducing naclcon: A Community-Driven Conference26:55 Conference Planning and Logistics32:10 Badge Life and Unique Experiences37:03 Celebrating Hacker Culture and History39:04 Organizational Challenges and Insights42:00 Creating a Unique Conference Experience47:12 The Vision for a Cybersecurity BarLINKS[NaClCon Official Website] – https://naclcon.com Main website for NaClCon where users can register, book accommodations, and access full event details.[NaC Con Contact Email] – mailto:[email protected] Official support email for inquiries about the conference, including registration and partnerships.[Pyr0 (Luke McOmie) Email] – mailto:[email protected] Direct contact for sponsorships, collaborations, and communication with the event organizer.[Fat Pelican – Carolina Beach] – https://fatpelican.com – Iconic dive bar on the Carolina Beach boardwalk highlighted as a must-visit during NaClCon.[Red Helm] – https://redhelm.com – Pyr0's company where he serves as VP of Offensive Security.[DEFCON] – https://defcon.org – The world's largest hacking conference where Pyr0 spent 23 years as a senior goon and founded SkyTalks.[SkyTalks at DEFCON] – https://skytalks.info – The off-the-record talk track at DEFCON founded by Pyr0.[Dual Core] – https://dualcoremusic.com – Nerdcore hip-hop artist performing live at NaClCon's Concert at Sea.

A kid builds a website for Game Boy Advance tips. Then another one. Then a racing game with a contact form he didn't think twice about. Until, someone hit it with a SQL injection. That moment cracked open a door he never planned to walk through. Years later, he's still walking. Past classical computing, past the ones and zeros we all know and into a space where a bit doesn't have to choose. One where particles hold their breath until someone measures them. This is the story of someone who cut their teeth building websites about gaming tips and a comedy sketch audio site that hit number one on G4TV. Now he's volunteering at DEF CON's Quantum Village, building browser-based quantum simulations, and trying to make the most complex frontier in computing feel a little less sci-fi.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction to Robert Covington and His Journey00:51 From Web Projects to Security Awareness03:51 Diving into Quantum Computing06:22 Understanding Quantum Concepts08:31 Making Quantum Accessible with Qubitide.dev11:13 Quantum in Enterprise: Use Cases and Costs13:14 Involvement with Quantum Village and Community Initiatives15:17 Emerging Job Opportunities in Quantum Computing17:27 Learning Resources for Quantum Computing19:31 Understanding Q Day and Its Implications23:16 The Role of Quantum Random Number Generators25:38 Unique Bar Experiences and Quantum ThemesLINKS[Robert Covington – LinkedIn] – https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-covington-2693a914b - A LinkedIn profile where Robert Covington shares posts about quantum computing, security conferences, and experiments with quantum simulations and QPU workflows.][QubitIDE] https://qubitide.dev - Quantum computing simulation platform for browser-based learning[Quantum Village] https://www.quantumvillage.org - DEFCON village focused on quantum computing education and CTFs[CompTIA SecurityX] https://www.comptia.org/certifications/securityx - Advanced cybersecurity certification[Amazon Braket] https://aws.amazon.com/braket/- Quantum computing service on AWS[IBM Qiskit] https://qiskit.org - Open-source quantum computing framework[PennyLane] https://pennylane.ai - Quantum machine learning library by Xanadu[D-Wave] https://www.dwavesys.com - Quantum computing systems and cloud services[Xanadu] https://xanadu.ai - Quantum computing company behind PennyLane[G4TV] https://g4tv.com - Gaming and technology television network[QEDC] https://www.quantumeconomicdevelopmentconsortium.org - Quantum Economic Development Consortium[Graph Machine Learning] https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~wlh/grl_book/Academic resource on graph theory and ML[WordFence] https://www.wordfence.comWordPress security plugin

An Uber ride. A stranger in the backseat. A conversation that changes everything. What if the person who redirects your entire life is someone you've walked past a thousand times and never noticed? This is the story of a kid from West Philly who didn't know what a server was, what the cloud meant, or why Windows OS mattered and then turned that into a cybersecurity career built on hustle, community, and an obsession with doing the work. 00:00 Moo's Journey into Cybersecurity09:14 Navigating Distractions in Tech13:26 Finding Passion and Purpose17:11 The Reality of Rapid Industry Changes23:11 Supporting Newcomers in Cybersecurity25:53 Starting Over: Lessons Learned29:41 Experiencing Hacker Summer Camp35:07 The Culture of Networking and Community38:39 Unique Bar Experiences and Networking44:10 Creative Drink Ideas and Closing ThoughtsSYMLINKSMoo Muhammad – LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/munirmuhammad/Cybersecurity professional specializing in application security, incident response, and hands-on technical projects. Connect to follow his work, insights, and career journey in tech.National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) – https://www.nsbe.orgA professional organization supporting Black engineering students and professionals through mentorship, scholarships, and career development.IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) – https://www.ieee.orgA global professional organization advancing technology, offering resources, publications, and networking for engineers and technologists.Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) – https://www.wicys.orgA nonprofit organization dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in cybersecurity through mentorship, conferences, and career opportunities.DEF CON – https://defcon.orgOne of the world’s largest and most well-known hacker conferences, held annually in Las Vegas as part of “Hacker Summer Camp.”Black Hat – https://www.blackhat.comA premier cybersecurity conference series featuring technical training, research briefings, and industry networking events.

The future of cybersecurity is not coming. It is already here. AI is writing code faster than humans. Deepfakes can impersonate your boss. Quantum computers threaten the encryption that protects everything we trust. And most organizations are still playing catch up.In this episode of BarCode, Chris sits down with Jim West, a 30 plus year cybersecurity veteran who has seen every wave of the industry. From building machines in the early days of dial up to advising on quantum risk and AI driven defense, Jim breaks down what is hype, what is real, and what is about to change everything. This is not theory. This is what comes next.If you want to understand how to think like an attacker, adapt like a defender, and prepare for a world where machines outpace humans, this conversation is your briefing.Welcome to the future of security.00:00 Introduction to Jim West and His Expertise04:59 Jim's Origin Story and Early Career10:36 The Importance of Certifications in Cybersecurity17:16 The Rise of Quantum Computing in Cybersecurity27:05 Preparing for Quantum Day and Its Implications28:28 Exploring Quantum Computing and Qiskit28:58 AI's Role in Cybersecurity Threats30:45 The Evolution of Deepfake Technology31:45 Quantum Computing as a Service33:09 The Intersection of AI and Quantum Computing34:34 Future Scenarios: AI and Quantum in Cyber Warfare38:39 AI's Impact on Society and Human Interaction39:24 The Creative Potential of AI46:41 Balancing AI and Human Interaction52:46 Unique Bar Experiences and Future Ventures[Facebook – Jim West Author] – https://www.facebook.com/jimwestauthorOfficial author page where Jim West shares updates about his books, cybersecurity insights, speaking engagements, and creative projects.[LinkedIn – Jim West] – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimwest1Professional networking profile highlighting his cybersecurity leadership, certifications, conference speaking, mentoring, and industry experience.[Official Author Site – Jim West] – https://jimwestauthor.com/Personal website featuring his published works, cybersecurity thought leadership, creative projects, and links to his social platforms.[BookAuthority – 100 Best Cybersecurity Books of All Time] – https://bookauthority.orgA curated book recommendation platform that recognized Jim West’s work among the “100 Best Cybersecurity Books of All Time,” reflecting industry impact and credibility.[ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association)] – https://www.isaca.orgA global professional association focused on IT governance, risk management, and cybersecurity, where Jim West has spoken at multiple regional and international events.[GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) Conference – San Diego] – https://www.grcconference.comA cybersecurity conference centered on governance, risk management, and compliance practices, referenced in relation to industry speaking engagements.[EC-Council (International Council of E-Commerce Consultants)] – https://www.eccouncil.orgA cybersecurity certification organization known for programs such as CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) and events like Hacker Halted, where Jim West has participated and spoken.