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skull

Role: CTF Team Lead / Offensive Security Researcher

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Bio​

skull is the lead and organizer of the Trave Tricksters Legion (TTL) CTF team—a group with members from THL working with UzL and HAW. He specializes in offensive security, capture-the-flag competitions, and cybersecurity research, and is responsible for team coordination and infrastructure.

skull works in cybersecurity as a whitehat hacker and actively develops internal tools, CTF challenges, and automation for the team. He has professional experience as a 'Werkstudent', independently developing an AppLocker use case with SIEM systems, and leads the TTL CTF team’s technical direction.

Areas of Focus​

  • Red Teaming & CTF: Active leader in CTFs at university level, blending technical and organizational responsibilities.
  • Security Automation: Developed custom AppLocker/SIEM integrations in a professional context.
  • OSINT & Recon: Builds and experiments with AI/LLM-driven OSINT recon tooling, focusing on practical security impact.
  • Windows Active Directory: Experience with attacks, defense, and operational use of Windows AD in both lab and real-world scenarios.
  • Social Engineering & On-Prem Security: Incorporates social engineering techniques—including on-premises (physical) security aspects—for red team exercises, awareness training, and realistic scenario planning.
  • Consulting: Provides advice and support on operational security, technical implementations, and CTF problem-solving.
  • Research & Responsible Disclosure: Interested in real-world attacks (e.g., urban DDoS, traffic signal manipulation, social engineering vectors) with the goal of improving safety and security.
  • LLM/AI Prompt Injections & Prompt Engineering: Designs, exploits, and researches attacks and defenses related to prompt injection and prompt engineering, particularly in the context of OSINT automation and adversarial use of LLMs.
  • Team Building: Coordinates and supports a mixed team from multiple universities for CTF participation and knowledge sharing.

Current Projects​

  • TTL CTF Team Website: Full-stack development and deployment, including operational security and automation.
  • Bachelor Thesis (Planned): Researching attacks on traffic systems to study real-world urban DDoS and digital manipulation scenarios.
  • OSINT Recon with LLMs: Designing tools that automate prompt-driven OSINT for use in penetration testing and social engineering preparation.

Principles​

  • Live outside the Box.
  • Value direct feedback, radical candor, and technical rigor over superficial polish.
  • Build and break things to learn.

Contact & Profiles​

This profile reflects ongoing projects and CTF leadership as of May 2025.