How I got here.
JEE to CTFs to research to startups. Here's how it happened.
Cracked JEE
Prepared for JEE with a focus on building strong fundamentals and problem-solving skills. After clearing the exam, I secured admission to NIT Rourkela.
Joined NIT Rourkela
Joined NIT Rourkela in Metallurgical Engineering, but early on I felt my calling was elsewhere. I had always been interested in cybersecurity, so I started taking it seriously and dived deep into it, learning things from the ground up and building a strong understanding across the field.
CTFs & Hackathons
Started participating in CTFs and hackathons alongside my learning. This helped me apply what I was studying, gain hands-on experience, and strengthen my practical understanding.
Competitions & Recognition
Focused on competitions and practical work. Won national and international level hackathons and CTFs, participated in bug bounty programs, reported several vulnerabilities, gained recognition, and built capital through these activities.
Cybersecurity Engineer
Worked as a Cybersecurity Engineer at Briskinfosec. Worked on red teaming projects, a ransomware attack forensics project, built AI-based security tools, and delivered corporate cybersecurity training programs.
Research Associate
Worked as a Research Associate at NIT Rourkela under Dr. D.P. Mohapatra, focusing on a vulnerability research program under NSCS with multiple findings under NDA. Alongside this, carried out independent research in security and adversarial AI.
Founded Rapture Twelve
Founded Rapture Twelve Pvt Ltd as a service-based cybersecurity firm. Worked across VAPT, SOC, DFIR, and GRC, building the core foundation of the company.
Scaling Rapture Twelve
Scaled Rapture Twelve into a structured company. Built a team, expanded across India, handled multiple projects, and developed strong industry connections.
Co-Founded Zharnyx
Co-founded Zharnyx after identifying a gap in practical cybersecurity talent. Focused on building a platform where people learn through real-world work instead of purely theoretical courses.
What's Next
Plan to scale both ventures further and pursue a PhD, focusing on research that can be translated into real-world products and meaningful impact through my companies.