I’m David Rochester, a Software and Security Engineer, as well as an independent security researcher focusing on AI, cloud, and software security. I studied computer science in undergrad and found a passion for cybersecurity, specifically offensive cybersecurity. I’m currently pursuing my master’s in computer science with a focus on AI at the University of Texas at Austin. I have some security certifications and a few CVEs, most notably in Docker and Ollama. I enjoy writing code and hacking things, whether it’s new toys my kids get, new technology my wife brings home, or anything else I find interesting. I occasionally participate in CTFs, but recently my efforts have been focused on researching OSS for novel vulnerabilities and on AI security research.

  • M.S. Computer Science (AI focus), University of Texas at Austin — in progress
  • B.S. Computer Science, Clemson University
  • OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional)
  • OSWE (Offensive Security Web Expert)
  • CRTO (Certified Red Team Operator)
  • MCRTP (Microsoft Cloud Red Team Professional)

Presentations

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DEF CON 34 (August 2026) “No Socket, No Privs, No Problem: Weaponizing OCI Registries for SSRF, Credential Theft, and Container Escapes”

Experience

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Cisco - AI Software Engineer II, Security & Trust Organization (September 2026 – Present)

  • AI-driven vulnerability remediation at scale.

Booz Allen Hamilton - Penetration Tester 3, Enterprise Red Team (May 2026 – September 2026) Product Lead

Booz Allen Hamilton - Penetration Tester 2, Enterprise Red Team Pentesting across web apps, APIs, Active Directory, Kubernetes, and AI/ML applications. Building internal tooling.

Booz Allen Hamilton - Cyber Security Engineer Intern Researched and replicated 5G core network CVEs using open-source implementations. Developed PoC exploits and identified a novel attack vector for an existing vulnerability.

Bosch-Rexroth - Software Engineer Intern Developed autonomous navigation software for agricultural machinery, deploying object detection models on edge devices and implementing sensor fusion for real-time vehicle localization.

Clemson University - Computer Science Teaching Assistant Led lab sessions and code reviews for the Introduction to C programming course.