About

Posted on Jul 27, 2023

this site contains original content related to threat hunting, active defense, and deception.

but since you clicked on about i’m gonna assume you also want to learn a bit about me, faan ross.

further, since we find ourselves here it should come as no great shock that I love all things cybersecurity. my main interests center around the practice of not simply waiting for an intruder to make their presence known, but instead actively seeking them out. y’know - all the good stuff you’ll find on this page. i also enjoy playing CTFs, in particular on HackTheBox - it’s how i was introduced to this world in the first place. let it be known here that cybersecurity is the coolest goddamn thing i’ve ever had the opportunity to be a student of - praise be.

here are a few other things that tickle my fancy…

i have been practicing brazilian jiu jitsu since 2015 and think its likely the most fun goddamn thing i’ve ever done. i mostly practice nogi and received my purple belt under sensei louis ho (10th planet montreal) in 2019. i love hitting a sneaky gogoplata from guard or sliding into a d’arce from side control, but really nothing feels better than finishing a mata leão, with a body-triangle obvs - IBJJF point system be damned.

dogs might be the best thing in existence fr. i love dog training as a way to develop a common language between oneself and a dog. and in general, simply petting dogs, playing with dogs, and just being around them. i have two friends at the moment - kuma the groenendael and voodoo the dutch shepherd. i also have a legendary abyssinian called buddlez - i love cats too!

good stories + storytelling in all its forms - from myths to graphic novels to nic cage movies to anime to point-and-click adventure games. at the risk of sounding a touch overly woo-woo: i think stories are inextricably intertwined with the evolution of humans. i believe they can serve not merely as some form of temporary distraction, but as a deeply informative source of meaning for our deep + collective psychologies. some favourites include chainsaw man, napoleon dynamite, south park, the wire, and anything by nathan fielder.

learning new things and enjoying the suck is both humbling and deeply invigorating. there is not only an inherent joie de vivre in learning new things, but it may be the best practice to keep one’s mind potent and pliable. i think it excellent practice to progressively master subjects over time - of course - but equally, there is great wisdom that emerges from perpetually choosing to enact the role of the archetypal fool.

the meta here is also great - the more new things you learn, the better you can become at learning new things. i’m currently learning both spanish and french + electric guitar. i’m admittedly terrible at them, yet sucking at them and becoming infinitesimally better each day brings me tremendous joy. and after all - memento mori.

here are some words + ideas i live by:

“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed.” ― Terence McKenna

“The universe is not only stranger than we imagine; but stranger than we CAN imagine.” ― JBS Haldane

finally, if you wanna connect:

you can find my video courses here.

you can find my twitter page here.

you can contact me here.