Joe Grand
Grand in 2012
BornSeptember 3, 1975[1]
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationEngineer

Joe Grand is an American electrical engineer, inventor and hardware hacker known in the hacker community as Kingpin. He achieved mainstream popularity after his appearance on Prototype This!, a Discovery Channel television show.[2] He specializes in, "finding security flaws in hardware devices and educating engineers on how to increase the security of their designs". Grand has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs regarding government and homeland computer security under his internet handle, Kingpin.

Early life and education

Grand became involved in electronics at the age of seven and later joined the Boston-based hacker group L0pht Heavy Industries. He gained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. He has published two books and co-authored a number of books relating to hardware hacks and network security.

He received an honorary Doctorate of Science in Technology from the University of Advancing Technology, Arizona.

Television

In 2007 and 2008, Grand and his three co-presenters (Mike North, Terry Sandin, and 'Zoz' Brooks) filmed 13 episodes of Prototype This! which were aired later in 2008 and in early 2009. The show received positive reviews and ratings and Grand continues to host additional features and content on his site.

Business ventures

After his television appearance, Grand launched Grand Idea Studio,[3] a San Francisco-based research and development firm.[4] In 2009, Grand was a member of a team that demonstrated vulnerabilities in San Francisco's e-parking meters.[5] He is also the sole proprietor of Kingpin Empire, an apparel project that gives back to the community through charitable donations.

Other activities include exhibiting hardware as art in a San Francisco gallery art exhibition titled When Electronics Become Art[6][7] and designing the electronic badges for DEFCON 2006,[8] 2007,[9] 2008,[10] 2009,[11] and 2010.[12] Grand also served as judge of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's DEFCON badge hack contest,[13] and as an instructor at DEFCON Kids.[14][15]

Grand remains an active member of the electronics engineering and security communities and is a regular guest speaker at international conferences including at Black Hat USA 2013.

References

  1. ↑ Personal Resume/CV Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine found on Grand's Grand Idea Studio website
  2. ↑ "Your Prototypical TV Host". The Santa Barbara Independent. October 26, 2008. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Grand Idea Studio". Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  4. ↑ Vamosi, Robert (July 20, 2012). "The Best Hacking Film You Haven't Seen (Yet)". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ McCullagh, Declan (July 30, 2009). "Hackers: We can bypass San Francisco e-parking meters". cnet.com. CNET. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ McMillan, Robert (October 26, 2017). "San Francisco gallery shows hacker Joe Grand's work as art". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ "San Francisco Gallery Shows Hacker's Work as Art". PC World. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Defcon badges go high tech". The Inquirer. August 5, 2006. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ "Defcon diary: The real story". InfoWorld. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Defcon badges kill TVs". The Inquirer. August 11, 2008. Archived from the original on August 13, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ "Exclusive Peek Inside Defcon's High-Tech Badge". Wired. July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  12. ↑ "DEFCON 18 Badge". Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  13. ↑ Jue, Aaron (June 8, 2016). "EFF's Badge Hack Pageant Returns to DEF CON". eff.org. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Hackers school next generation at DEFCON Kids". gadgets.ndtv.com. Red Pixels Ventures Limited. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Hackers school next generation at DEFCON Kids". sciencetechnologyupdates.com. June 24, 2011. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2017.

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