Hello world! My name is Shayne, and I'm currently a senior college student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). I will graduate in May 2026 with a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science, with a focus in Cybersecurity. Go DAWGS! My areas of interest are primarily in cryptography and software development.
Growing up, I've always been fascinated by technology. Everything from looks, features, usability, and even the circuitry. My family deemed me as the "IT guy" very quickly due to my constant curiousity. Many of my projects include game controller shell swaps, soldering new components, self-hosting services, and configuring and maintaining networks.
My current self-hosted services I use are:
- Pi-hole DNS Resolver
- Network Attached Storage (NAS)
- Dedicated media server via Jellyfin
- Containerized game servers
- Custom VPN tunnel via Wireguard
Work Experience
Research Intern @ UMBC Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
Oct. 2025 - Present
With Dr. Yiwen Hu as my supervisor, this position is my first time seeing what goes on in the research scene. I am astonished with the freedom that researchers have, and I have grown an appreciation towards those who have contributed to papers on their studies! Below are some skills I've learned during this time:
- Debug and reverse engineer Android applications through automatic data processing.
- HTTP Toolkit for HTTP inspection and TLS decryption through Frida, a dynamic instrument toolkit.
- Android Open-Source Projects (AOSP) and secure root access on Android platforms (rooting).
- Using LineageOS and GrapheneOS for easier access to system files
- Contribute to research paper for proposal at local cybersecurity conferences.
Game Master @ Escape This LLC
May 2025 - March 2026
While this wasn't a job directly in the field of Computer Science, I was able to learn more about IT devices, network configurations, and Virtual Reality (VR) equipment used for entertainment purposes! Here's what I learned:
- Developed training material on setup, troubleshooting, and safety requirements to ensure equipment was used properly and safely. Employees utilized the troubleshooting steps to swiftly get players back into games.
- Designed network infrastructure for virtual reality headsets and continued to ensure proper connections for uninterrupted gameplay.
CryptoHack
CryptoHack is an online CTF-based course for multiple cryptography topics, such as modular arithmetic, symmetric cryptography, public-key cryptography, and elliptic curves. I chose to dive into this for my independent study course in my last semester, and I loved it! I will add my notes here soon, pardon the dust!