Portfolio / 2026

Naeem
Roussas

Cybersecurity researcher focused on public-sector resilience.

I work on Linux kernel and network security, threat intelligence, and public-infrastructure assurance.

DisciplineComputer science
FocusCybersecurity
Next stepPhD research
Research focus Security for systems people rely on.
  • Threat intelligence
  • Kernel and network security
  • Public infrastructure

Based in Houston, Texas
Applying for PhD study in computer science

— Interested in secure systems, privacy, and the protection of public infrastructure. Current focus

I work across Linux network administration, threat intelligence, and systems security. I got my first systems administration job at 16 working with BGP/OSPF routing and Linux servers, and spent the last four years splitting my time between operational security work and independent research.

Most of my current work focuses on two areas: high-throughput packet filtering and telemetry at the Linux eBPF/XDP kernel boundary, and field assurance for public election infrastructure. Because my undergraduate university does not have doctoral security labs, I built my own hardware and kernel testbeds to run experiments and write papers independently.

I finish my B.S. in Cybersecurity in December 2026 and am applying to Computer Science Ph.D. programs for Fall 2027. Longer term, I want to do applied security research in federal labs, UARCs/FFRDCs, or government-partnered research centers.

View my GitHub profile ↗
Writing & presentations Selected
In progress Sole author2026

QXDP: Sub-Byte Packet Quantization and Runtime Bytecode Synthesis for Line-Rate Polymorphic DDoS Mitigation

Evaluates 64-bit payload striding, shift-invariant shingle bloom quantizers, and runtime-synthesized eBPF/XDP bytecode for dropping polymorphic UDP DDoS traffic at line rate.

Read on ResearchGate ↗
In progress · TBD Sole author2026

Refusal Under Uncertainty: Reproducible Benchmarks for Abstention in Security-Critical Systems

Benchmarks when security tools should abstain rather than issue unsafe classifications under partial telemetry, pairing filesystem policy checks (PolicyContinuity) with encrypted QUIC traffic association (QUICScope).

Draft in preparation
October 2025 — December 2026 Expected December 2026

Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity at Southern New Hampshire University

Cumulative GPA: 3.953 / 4.00. CAE-CD accredited program.

Honors: Summa Cum Laude track (accelerated credit-transfer completion).

2021 — 2025 Completed

Cyber Defense Academy through Homeschool

High school general education and information-systems coursework completed through homeschooling (9th to 12th grade) alongside full-time IT and security work.

Dec 2025 — Present Roussas Research Labs Independent research lab

Threat Security Researcher at Roussas Research Labs

Conduct CTI and research on network defense and offense, adversary behavior, C2 frameworks, vulnerability research, and bug bounty work. Managed Linux infrastructure, BGP/OSPF routing, and automated monitoring and alerting workflows with Python and SOAR tools.

Sep 2025 — Present Harris County, Texas

Help Desk Agent at Harris County Elections

Help election workers resolve account, application, password, and device issues while following documented procedures and supporting Texas election-code requirements. Maintain accurate incident records and create charts, spreadsheets, and presentations for election operations.

Jun 2025 — Aug 2025 Houston, Texas

Technology Assistant at City of Houston TechConnect

Supported STEM programming for children ages 6–13 by maintaining program iPads, troubleshooting devices, and setting up technology stations for community-center activities and the TechConnect Fair.

Mar 2025 — Oct 2025 Roussas Research Labs Independent research lab

Security Threat Analyst at Roussas Research Labs

Track and profile threat actors, malware, and adversary infrastructure using Censys, FOFA, Shodan, and related intelligence sources. Research emerging tactics such as ClickFix campaigns, write CTI blog posts and papers, and build detection and threat-hunting rules.

Dec 2023 — Mar 2024 Remote

Security Analyst Intern at Private MSSP (NDA)

Investigated phishing and security incidents, extracted indicators of compromise, tuned IDS and EDR tooling, and developed SOAR playbooks, incident-response runbooks, and Linux hardening guidance.

Mar 2023 — Aug 2023 Remote

Linux Systems Administrator at Auraside Inc. / Hone.gg

Built and maintained resilient Linux and network environments using BGP/OSPF, Docker, PostgreSQL, Nginx, and PM2. Supported deployments, troubleshooting, hardening, firewall configuration, service isolation, and patch compliance.

My first IT job (started at age 16).

Volunteering Current memberships
Mar 2026 — PresentMember

InfraGard

Current member of the FBI-partnered public-private network for critical-infrastructure security collaboration.

Visit InfraGard ↗
Mar 2026 — PresentVolunteer

Ballotpedia

Current volunteer supporting accessible, nonpartisan civic and election-information work.

Visit Ballotpedia ↗
Nov 2025 — PresentVolunteer

US Digital Response

Part of the volunteer network applying technical skills to help public-interest and government teams deliver better services.

Visit USDR ↗
Research toolingPython · ML

AEGIS-LOOP

A versioned LoRA/QLoRA and multi-agent pipeline for defensive security research, combining code review, threat modeling, detection engineering, and policy-gated reporting.

View repository ↗
Systems researcheBPF · Go · C

GhostNIC

An eBPF research framework exploring passive packet observation and controlled in-kernel network manipulation on IoT and edge Linux gateways, paired with defensive detection utilities.

View repository ↗
Network securityGo · Linux

EdgeSight

A single-binary passive network detection tool with AF_PACKET capture, behavioral baselining, z-score anomaly detection, ATT&CK-mapped alerts, and an embedded dashboard.

View repository ↗
Network security researcheBPF · Packet systems

QXDP

An eBPF/XDP packet filter using 64-bit payload striding, shingle bloom quantizers, and runtime bytecode synthesis for line-rate polymorphic DDoS mitigation.

Started after a 1 a.m. conversation about whether LLM quantization ideas could work inside XDP packet filters.

View repository ↗
Security researchPython · Policy

PolicyContinuity

A reproducible benchmark for testing whether security policies remain safe and consistent as filesystem state, permissions, and execution context change.

View repository ↗
Network securityPython · QUIC

QUICScope

A reproducible measurement and analysis toolkit for associating encrypted QUIC traffic with observable behavior while making uncertainty explicit.

View repository ↗

More work, papers, and technical notes available on request.

06 / CREDENTIALS

Certifications

Selected certifications and practical security training.

Professional development

Security certifications

BTL1

Blue Team Level 1

HTB

HackTheBox

CySA+

CompTIA CySA+

Security+

CompTIA Security+

PNPT

Practical Network Penetration Tester · TCM Security Inc.

Practice that keeps the research close to the machine.

Security research

Bug bounty profiles

Public profiles documenting vulnerability research, responsible disclosure, and practical security testing.

Recognition: Received an EPA award through Bugcrowd for bug-bounty work.

Validation: Reported a vendor-validated and triaged command-injection bug in /usr/bin/udapi-speedtest.sh on the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro via HackerOne, alongside router firmware static analysis.

Research fit

Where I want to
go deeper.

For my Ph.D., I want to work in a systems or security lab tackling kernel/network defense, firmware and binary analysis, network measurement, or election and public-infrastructure security.

I am particularly interested in departments with active connections to federal research labs, FFRDCs/UARCs, and public-sector partners.

Contact

Research, collaboration,
or a good question.

For research conversations, technical collaboration, or questions about my work, reach me through these public profiles.

Certification detail