As a Penetration Tester and Cybersecurity Consultant, my work revolves around diving deep into the world of security, exploring everything from web and network penetration testing to assessing cloud environments. What really sets me apart is my knack for breaking down complex security findings into understandable insights, making sure everyone from tech teams to top execs gets the full picture.
Security Researcher: Coming soon!
Penetration Tester: I perform penetration tests on web applications and infrastructures, and I handle tasks such as configuration reviews and firewall rule analysis. I have the chance to attack a different target every week, which has allowed me to see several kinds of targets and technologies, continuosly extending my knowledge. I have also done security assessmentes on cloud environements and I have also had the opportunity to write the security guidelines for Docker and Kubernetes for a big client of ours. Less often, I have carried out penetration tests activities on Android applications.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant: I work as a consultant for enterprise clients in the telco, banking, insurance, and automotive industries. My work is mostly technical, but at the end of each pentest activity, I write a technical report that is aimed both at developers and exec-level staff; this sometimes includes a presentation where I explain the results using simple but clear slideshows. Occasionally, I handle the initial part of the engagement, having meetings with the stakeholders and making sure that everything is set and ready before the penetration tests start.
Extra: I am a member of the Keen Minds team, the group of people that designs and manages the Reply Cybersecurity Challenge. In the last two editions of the challenge, I designed the CRYPTO500 and WEB400 challenges.
Backend Software Engineer: I developed from scratch the backend of a web application that is currently deployed in RFID-powered SelfCheck systems in libraries around Italy. The backend acts as a central dispatcher for communication among multiple actors: the frontend (RESTful API and websockets), the RFID reader (SOAP), the SIP2 server (TCP sockets), and the printer (OS library).
I also developed SipTo, a Python client for SIP2 servers that is now being used internally by ISNG S.r.l.
As a full remote penetration tester, I possess a blend of interpersonal skills vital for effective remote collaboration and security analysis.
I attended mostly courses from the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Reliable Systems, where I focused on courses about AI, ML, Deep Learning, Information Retrieval, Computer Vision, Data Mining, Digital Forensics, Real-Time Systems, Distributed Systems, and Computer and Network Security.
Thesis: PIN Inference on a Covered Hand Scenario: a Computer Vision Approach Abstract: A novel attack that exploits the power of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to retrieve the victims' PIN just by looking at the movements of their covered hand when typing on an ATM pinpad, with a success rate of 1 PIN out of 3, in a user-independent scenario, when given only 3 attempts. Extra: A significant extension of this work was later published on USENIX Security 22, and an article was written on Wired! Italia.
Download Thesis PDF (English - 8,297 KB)
Thesis: Project Projector: Never Mind the Bullets Summary: A timing side-channel attack that exploits the power of machine learning to predict consecutive keys based on inter-keystroke timing. The timing information is extracted from videos where the password characters are obfuscated (e.g., by using a masking charachter such as •). With respect to the bruteforce approach, this technique reduces the number of attempts needed to find a password by 6 orders of magnitude. Extra: A significant extension of this work was later published on ESORICS 18.
Download Thesis PDF (Italian - 1,572 KB)
[P3][arXiv] Cardaioli, Matteo, et al. "Hand Me Your {PIN}! Inferring {ATM}{PINs} of Users Typing with a Covered Hand." 31st USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 22). 2022.
[P2][arXiv] Balagani, Kiran, et al. "Pilot: Password and pin information leakage from obfuscated typing videos." Journal of Computer Security 27.4 (2019): 405-425.
[P1] Balagani, Kiran S., et al. "Silk-tv: Secret information leakage from keystroke timing videos." European Symposium on Research in Computer Security. Springer, Cham, 2018.