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November 4, 2024
Introduction
Next in our Meet the Vrax Team series...
October and Hacktoberfest may have ended, but we’re still sharing our contributors and insight into our work as the Vrax team.
In our Meet the Vrax Team series, Learn more about our cyber threat intel open-source work and the folks who make it run.
This week, we’re highlighting Vic, who supports our work via community management.
Hello! What are your name and pronouns?
I’m Vic, and I use they/them pronouns.
What’s your role with Vrax?
Vic supports Vrax through community management, reviewing the company’s open-source and community spaces and working to make them more welcoming to potential collaborators. Vic also considers how the company can contribute to the broader open-source ecosystem.
What inspired you to work with open-source technology?
Vic values the transparency, collaboration, and opportunities for learning and growth that local, regional, and global communities offer.
Vic first became interested in open source in 2015, after exploring Meetup groups as a newcomer to Austin. This led Vic to Open Austin, a local volunteer-run civic tech organization focused on transparency in government, civic engagement, and an open environment for technology and design. Vic kept attending while learning about GitHub, data-oriented work, and coding, and found a community of people who offered support to explore those areas.
Vic appreciated the opportunity to discuss local issues with global parallels and collaborate on solutions. These communities connected Vic with people and work opportunities worldwide. At the time of writing, nine years later, Vic still found community in spaces such as Open Austin and Vrax.
What about in threat intelligence and cyber security?
Vic was newer to cybersecurity and threat intelligence at the time of the interview. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Vic noticed Russian messages about a Trump presidency appearing in website backend analytics, which brought cyber safety into sharper focus.
Later, concerns about TikTok, deepfakes, misinformation, and fake news increased Vic’s interest. Working with Vrax provided a more formal introduction to the field and its growing importance as technology relies on data from many sources and people.
In addition to your contributions with Vrax, what else are you passionate about?
I’m an artist and enjoy creating poetry and making digital art in any form it takes. When I’m not online, you might find me doing tarot readings or interpreting dreams at a local fantasy tavern or queer community space. On Wednesday night I join the local social bike riding group, Bat City Biking. I enjoy going into various spaces to connect with a diverse range of people virtually and online to discuss converging topics of interest and build community locally and globally to support collective dreams.
What’s the best way for people to connect with you?
You can find me on Linkedin or contact me contact[at]vrax[dot]io
Meet and work on open-source projects with the Vrax Team
We recently hosted our first virtual event, which you can find a recording of on YouTube! Hear Vic, Kade, and our special guest, Stephen from DISARM, speak about open source and cybersecurity. Watch it here.
An excellent start to contributing is browsing the Vrax GitHub repository.
There you can:
- Read our documentation to get oriented to our projects
- Respond to our open issues, ready for your thoughts and contribution
- Find out how to join our Slack community
Together, we can contribute to a more secure and collaborative future.
Benefits
Why select Vrax?
Our platform searches the internet for information on threat actors, gathers reports, and categorises the findings by region, industry, and threat actor. Our process automatically maps TTPs to MITRE ATT&CK®, slashing research time and saving you money.
Testimonials & Partnerships
“Vrax’s team works closely with us in integrating our tool, Speculo, with their data. Speculo is designed to help organisations get a full picture of their cyber risk with reliable analytics and a streamlined risk assessment process. The integration of Vrax’s threat intelligence into Speculo provides evidence-based insights into cyber risks, making the tool more relevant to our customers. Vrax facilitated multiple face-to-face meetings and video calls, provided technical resources, comprehensive documentation, and example reports. This collaboration ensured that we could seamlessly integrate and utilize their data, significantly enriching the value we deliver to our clients.
Vrax’s commitment to excellence and their proactive approach in supporting our needs have made them an indispensable partner. We highly recommend their services to any organisation looking to strengthen their threat intelligence capabilities.”
Speculo
Partnership
Vrax is proud to partner with the DISARM Foundation as the inaugural member of their Partner Programme, launched at the beginning of 2024.
This partnership is crucial in supporting the DISARM Foundation’s mission to maintain and enhance the DISARM Framework, ensuring it remains a free and continuously updated resource in the fight against disinformation.
Through our collaboration, Vrax provides valuable feedback, promotes the integration of the framework into our operations, and encourages wider adoption within the defender community. This partnership highlights our commitment to combating evolving threats and fostering a secure digital environment.
