PRESS KIT
Everything event planners and media need. Bios, headshots, and intro scripts ready to copy.
Speaker Bios
Cody Kretsinger is a security researcher and speaker who leads security research at Galactic.
Cody Kretsinger is Director of Security Research at Galactic, where he leads vulnerability research and coordinated disclosure. His work includes research into MSP assessment software and industrial lighting controllers. He speaks on security research, incident response, and attacker behavior, drawing on experience across offensive security and security operations. Cody co-founded BSides Peoria and the Illinois Cyber Foundation and co-authored Level Up: vCSO Edition.
Cody Kretsinger is Director of Security Research at Galactic. He investigates vulnerabilities in the tools and systems organizations rely on, coordinates disclosure with vendors, and publishes research to help defenders understand and address the findings.
His background spans offensive security, security operations, incident response, and advisory work. He has built a security operations center and brings that operational experience to talks on research, incident response, and attacker behavior. His speaking appearances include GrrCon, BSides, and Zero Trust World.
Cody co-founded BSides Peoria and the Illinois Cyber Foundation and co-authored Level Up: vCSO Edition with Bruce McCully. His community work includes mentoring and advocating for second chances in the security industry.
In 2011, he participated in the Sony Pictures breach as a member of LulzSec. He pleaded guilty and served time in federal prison. He speaks openly about that history and the responsibility that comes with it.
Cody Kretsinger is Director of Security Research at Galactic, where he leads vulnerability research and coordinated disclosure. His published work includes two CVEs in Kaseya's RapidFire Tools Network Detective and research into internet-exposed industrial lighting controllers.
His background spans offensive security, security operations, incident response, and advisory work. He built a security operations center from the ground up, hiring analysts, writing detection logic, and establishing response procedures, and he has spoken at GrrCon, BSides, and Zero Trust World.
In 2011, Cody participated in the Sony Pictures breach as a member of LulzSec. He was arrested, pleaded guilty, and served time in federal prison. He rebuilt his career from an entry-level role at a managed service provider, and has spent the years since in security operations, offensive security, and research.
In Inside the Adversary Mindset, he takes that history apart for defenders: how targets were chosen, what reconnaissance looked like, and the signals an attacker looks for before acting. He co-founded BSides Peoria and the Illinois Cyber Foundation, co-authored Level Up: vCSO Edition with Bruce McCully, and advocates for second chances in the security industry.
Stage Introductions
Our next speaker hacked Sony before he was old enough to rent a car.
Since then, he's mostly reformed, now spending his time helping organizations avoid the exact kind of dumpster fires he used to start for fun.
Cody Kretsinger is a former black hat hacker who led Red, Blue, and Purple teams, breaks into things legally (usually), and once beat an entire SOC using nothing but charm and a macro-enabled email.
He's spoken at GrrCon, BSides, and other places where people still pretend AI will solve their security problems. His talks are packed with war stories, actual security strategy, and the kind of brutal honesty that makes compliance teams clutch their frameworks and cry.
Strap in. This won't be a sanitized, checkbox-friendly ride.
Please welcome… Cody Kretsinger.
Our next speaker has one of the most unique backgrounds in cybersecurity. You don't usually hear "former hacker" and "trusted advisor" in the same sentence.
Cody Kretsinger once made headlines for hacking Sony. Today, he works with companies to strengthen their defenses and stay ahead of the threats he used to exploit.
Over the past decade, Cody has worked on both offensive and defensive security teams, consulted on major breaches, and spoken at leading conferences like GrrCon and BSides.
His sessions combine real-world experience, sharp insight, and stories that remind us just how quickly things can go wrong, and what it takes to stay prepared.
Please welcome… Cody Kretsinger.
Headshots
