Cloud Security & DevSecOps

Ismail Hassan

I build and secure cloud infrastructure with code.

Security-as-code across AWS and Azure — least-privilege identity, network segmentation, secrets management, and security scanning wired into CI so nothing insecure ships. I came up through offensive security research: I already know how attackers find and exploit bugs — now I build the controls that stop them.

Open to Cloud Security / DevSecOps roles SC-500 certified 5 assigned CVEs
01

About

I design and run cloud infrastructure the secure way: least-privilege identity, private data services, encryption and secrets in a vault, and automated security checks on every change. I write it as Terraform so it is reviewable and repeatable, and I send logs to one place and write detections against them.

My foundation is offensive security research — five assigned CVEs and valid bug bounty findings, mostly broken access control, IDOR, privilege escalation and authentication flaws. Three of my five CVEs are access-control failures: the exact class of mistake that produces over-broad cloud IAM roles and trust boundaries that aren't really enforced. Finding these from the outside is why the infrastructure I build starts from least privilege and explicit deny.

Strongest on AWS, Terraform, Docker and Kubernetes, and working across Azure identity and Microsoft Sentinel.

How I approach a workload

  1. Threat-model it — assets, trust boundaries, what an attacker gains.
  2. Scope identity to least privilege; no long-lived keys.
  3. Segment the network; keep data services private.
  4. Encrypt data and move secrets into a vault.
  5. Build it in Terraform so it is reviewable.
  6. Scan every change in CI before it ships.
  7. Centralise logs and write detections against them.
02

Experience

Sep 2024 – Jul 2026
Security Researcher & DevSecOps Engineer
Datazone — Remote (London-based)
  • Researched and responsibly disclosed access-control and privilege-escalation flaws in the platform, including a full read-only → admin/owner escalation via API abuse.
  • Built secure AWS infrastructure in Terraform: least-privilege IAM, IMDSv2, private RDS, KMS-encrypted S3, centralised secrets.
  • Wired gitleaks, Checkov, Trivy and npm audit into GitHub Actions — security gates on every push.
  • Hardened Kubernetes with Pod Security Admission and Kyverno; ran kube-bench CIS and documented every failure.
Feb 2025 – Present
Information Security Analyst
Circlewise AI — Part-time, Remote
  • Identify, reproduce and responsibly disclose vulnerabilities in web apps, APIs and cloud systems.
  • Apply security automation: CI/CD pipeline security, container hardening, least-privilege access.
  • Produce structured reports with severity ratings and remediation guidance.
Dec 2025 – Aug 2026
Bug Bounty Mentor
Independent — Upwork · Rated 5.0 / 5.0
  • Mentored a client through practical methodology — reconnaissance, vulnerability identification and professional report writing.
2021 – 2024
Independent Security Research & Hands-on Training
Self-directed
  • Built offensive and defensive skills through continuous lab practice — 262 TryHackMe rooms, top 1% globally, #53 in Nigeria all-time.
  • Completed the Google (2023) and IBM (2024) cybersecurity professional certificates.
03

Expertise

Cloud Security — AWS

IAM least-privilegeIMDSv2KMS Secrets ManagerVPC segmentationS3 / RDS hardening CloudTrailGuardDutyCloudWatch

Cloud Security — Azure

Entra IDRBACPIM Conditional AccessKey VaultAzure Policy Microsoft SentinelKQL

DevSecOps & IaC

TerraformGitHub ActionsCheckov tfsecTrivygitleaks policy-as-codeSBOM / syft

Containers & Kubernetes

Docker hardeningPod Security AdmissionKyverno kube-bench CISRBACNetworkPolicies

Detection & Monitoring

MITRE ATT&CKlog analysisPython tooling Sentinel / KQLSplunkWireshark

Offensive & AppSec

OWASP Top 10API Security Top 10access-control testing IDOR / BACBurp Suitesecure code review
04

Projects

Every project has public code and CI on GitHub — real output, nothing estimated.

File Vault

◆ file-vault

Secure document platform on AWS, built the way a small company would: one web server, a private database, secrets in a vault, everything in Terraform, security scanning in CI.

94 Checkov checks 4 CI jobs / push IMDSv2 · KMS · least-priv IAM
View repository →

Container Security

◆ container-security

Two Dockerfiles for the same app — weak vs hardened — with real Trivy and Hadolint results for both. A documented before/after case study.

9,314 → 183 vulns 232 → 3 critical 1.6 GB → 206 MB
View repository →

Kubernetes Hardening Lab

◆ k8s-hardening-lab

A real cluster, an insecure workload, and two independent admission-control layers tested against it — actual kubectl output, not a diagram.

PSA — 0 pods created 5 Kyverno policies / 9 blocked kube-bench 63 PASS
View repository →

Detection Tools

◆ python · CI

Failed Login Detector — groups failed logins by source IP and alerts on a threshold (MITRE ATT&CK T1110). File Integrity Monitor — SHA-256 baselines with change severity. Both tested in CI.

Python · 14 tests ATT&CK T1110 SHA-256 baseline
View on GitHub →
05

Security Research & Findings

I find and report vulnerabilities through bug bounty programs and coordinated disclosure. Most are access-control and authentication flaws. Five have been assigned CVEs with public GitHub Security Advisories; others were rewarded under private disclosure terms.

5
Assigned CVEs
12+
Rewarded / accepted findings
2
Halls of Fame
3
Critical access-control bugs

Published CVEs

CVESeverityClassSummaryAdvisory
CVE-2026-73407 Critical Authentication REST datasource credential theft via cross-origin auth leak GHSA ↗
CVE-2026-25040 Critical Access control Creator role can invite users with Admin or any role GHSA ↗
CVE-2026-25045 Critical Access control Missing RBAC — privilege escalation and IDOR in role management GHSA ↗
CVE-2026-73409 High Server-side Filesystem read oracle via builder-controlled MongoDB cert path GHSA ↗
CVE-2026-25043 Medium Rate limiting Unauthenticated password-reset endpoint with no rate limiting GHSA ↗

Rewarded disclosures

Datazone$500
Privilege escalation · API abuse

read-only / app_view role performs admin & owner-level operations via API. Rewarded as a goodwill bounty under coordinated disclosure.

Report available on request →
Budibase$250
Access control · privilege escalation

Creator-level user invites users with Admin / any role via API, bypassing UI restrictions. One of several findings on the platform (see CVEs above).

Report available on request →
Greptile$1,500
Broken access control

Organization takeover via stale session reuse — session tokens not invalidated after a user is removed. Confirmed and fixed by the vendor.

Report available on request →
Greptile$1,000
Server-side request forgery

SSRF via OAuth jwks_uri in dynamic client registration — internal metadata & Hydra admin API reachable. Confirmed and fixed.

Report available on request →
Growens$527
Access control · BFLA

Multiple broken-access-control and privilege-escalation findings across the platform, rewarded under coordinated disclosure.

Report available on request →
Private programManaged$250
Broken access control · IDOR

Member/Viewer role performs admin-restricted actions via API and GraphQL. Reported through a managed engagement; vendor name withheld under program terms.

Details on request →
Private programManagedHigh
Server-side request forgery

SSRF in webhook URL validation — internal network probing & metadata reachability. Triaged High; vendor name withheld under program terms.

Details on request →
Private programVDP
Business logic · race condition

Business-logic and race-condition findings on a web3 platform, plus an unauthenticated OAuth-overwrite account-takeover class issue elsewhere. Accepted; disclosed privately.

Details on request →

Full write-ups for privately disclosed findings are shared on request, subject to each program's disclosure terms. Reach out at manhasino@gmail.com.

06

Recognition

Hall of Fame — Amplitude

Public researcher leaderboard · handle: ismailhacker
★ismailhackerlisted · broken access control & IDOR
◆Bugcrowd7 valid · 77.78% accuracy

Leaderboard — HackerOne

CoreWeave program leaderboard · handle: hasinohacker
6hasinohackerreputation 32
✓Weights & Biasesvalid report · public thanks

TryHackMe

Top 1%

#53 in Nigeria all-time · 262 rooms across Linux, networking, web & API security, enumeration and privilege escalation · Advent of Cyber 2024.

Hack The Box

Machines

Hands-on exploitation practice across retired and active boxes — enumeration, foothold and privilege escalation.

picoCTF

CTF

Jeopardy-style challenges across web, binary, forensics and cryptography categories.

07

Credentials

2026

Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (SC-500)

Microsoft

2025

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Amazon Web Services

2024

IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

IBM

2023

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Google

2025–28

B.Sc. Computer Science

University of the People · in progress

Let's secure what you're building.

Open to Cloud Security and DevSecOps roles. For private report details or anything else, reach out directly.