About Me
Hello! Thank you for checking out my little spot on the internet. My name is Hayden and I go by “Hackden” online. I am a cybersecurity professional with experience in Threat Intelligence, Incident Response, Security Operations, and Offensive Security.
When I am not working, I am either studying for my next certification, working on a project, or writing the next article for my blog.
Key Achievements
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Featured Research: My research on dark-web job markets has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.
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MITRE ATT&CK Contributor: I contributed a novel execution technique of malicious copy-paste attacks to the ATT&CK framework.
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SAP NetWeaver 0-Day Analysis (CVE-2025-31324): Co-authored ReliaQuest’s public blog on the SAP NetWeaver 0-day compromise, providing analysis of the exploit chain and attack methodology.
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ReliaQuest Annual Threat Report 2025: Co-authored ReliaQuest’s flagship annual report analyzing adversary tradecraft and emerging threat trends. Contributed research that identified the average adversary breakout time of a record setting 48 minutes.
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Law Enforcement Collaboration: I have created and maintained relationships with law enforcement to share intelligence and collaborate on joint publications.
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Podcast Speaker:
Skills & Expertise
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Threat Intelligence: Skilled in the F3EAD intelligence cycle, open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection, attribution/threat clustering, malware and infrastructure tracking, and ATT&CK mapping. Experienced in producing tactical and strategic reports for both technical teams and executive stakeholders.
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Research and Report Writing: Published technical analyses on attacker trends, new CVEs, novel techniques, and cybercrime ecosystems. Strong ability to translate complex technical findings into actionable intelligence and thought leadership for a wide audience. Created tailored threat briefings and presented in-person and virtually to CISOs of fortune 500 companies.
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Incident Response: Hands-on experience triaging malware, phishing, cloud attacks, and hands-on-keyboard intrusions across enterprise environments. Proficient in host isolation, credential remediation, and incident lifecycle management using SIEMs (Splunk, QRadar, Devo, Microsoft 365 Defender) and EDR/XDR platforms (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Carbon Black).
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Vulnerability Analysis: Experienced in reviewing and triaging newly released CVEs to determine impact across diverse customer environments. Skilled at creating and distributing timely advisories that include patching guidance and mitigation strategies. Collaborates with threat hunting and detection engineering teams to operationalize exploit intelligence.
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Offensive Security: Knowledge of adversary emulation and penetration testing techniques. Skilled with tools such as Metasploit, Burp Suite, SQLMap, Hydra, and Nmap, with practical experience in privilege escalation, pivoting, and web application exploitation. Exposure to ICS/OT penetration testing concepts through CISA training.
Contact
- Email: Hayden @ hackden.io (no spaces)
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hackden/
- Twitter/X: @Hackden_
Reviews
There is a massive amount of educational resources in the field of cybersecurity. I started reviewing content with the mission to offer non biased reviews to help students make informed decisions on their education.
Scoring
Review Disclaimer
My goal is to provide honest and consistent reviews that can help others decide if an educational resource is right for them. Due to this, reviews are not influenced by discounts given, affiliate marketing, or if product is given for free. However, it is admitted that these benefits influence if a resource will be reviewed and that I only engage in partnerships with companies who provide quality products. If you decide a resource is right for you, it is very appreciated to use any noted affiliate links as this will help me produce more content to further help students make informed decisions on their education.
Scoring Guide
A score is on a 0-20 point scale with the following categories:
Quality (0-5 Points)
This considers how well the content is produced. Examples of this are good sound quality, being free of spelling errors, and being free of technical issues. This category considers the overall presentation of the material.
Education (0-5 Points)
This category scores how well the subject is delivered to the student. Example considerations include if the content is engaging or detailed and leaves the student well informed of the subject that is taught.
Value For Price (0-5 Points)
This considers how much value of the provided materials the student receives per the expense paid. For example if the resource is a book, is the content written in a way were it will become quickly outdated or will it be a useful resource for years. If it is a certification it is considered how much value does it provide a student in the job market. Note- If the educational resource is free, this is an automatic score of 5 and will solely be judged off of value for time.
Value For Time (0-5 Points)
This category considers the educational value that is received for the student’s time investment. Example considerations include if the material is short and impactful or lengthy and dry.
Note- if the educational resource is free but can be used for job seekers, this will also include how valuable the resource is in the job market (such as a free certification).
Verdict
A totaled score is given to help students decide if the reviewed resource fits their education needs.
0-9 “Not worth your time or money”
10-15 “Could be useful for some students, but consider if it is worth your time and/or money”
16-19 “A highly recommended resource that is worth the time and/or monetary investment”
20 “A perfect resource of very high quality that is recommended to anyone who is looking to learn it’s subject”
Reviews Contact
Do you have feedback, a review request, or are interested in partnering?
Please email Hayden @ hackden.io (No Spaces)