Bronwen Aker is a BHIS Technical Editor who joined full-time in 2022 after years of contract work, bringing decades of web development and technical training experience to her roles in editing pentest reports, enhancing QA/QC processes, and improving public websites, and who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy, Animal Crossing, and dogs outside of work.

Corey Ham has been with Black Hills Information Security (BHIS) since 2021 delivering red teaming and OSINT services. Currently, Corey leads the ANTISOC team at BHIS, providing subscription-based continuous red teaming to BHIS clients. Outside of his time at BHIS, you can find him out in the woods or up on a mountain somewhere.

Hayden Covington joined Black Hills Information Security (BHIS) in the Summer of 2022 as a SOC Analyst. He chose BHIS after hearing many great things over the years and seeing the quality of work, as well as finding people who have the same passion for the field as he does. His favorite part of the job so far has been the community. Previously, Hayden worked in a SOC for a Naval contractor, where he also served as their SOAR project manager and SME, as well as insider threat lead. When he’s not working, Hayden can be found doing anything athletic (like triathlons!), as well as enjoying video gaming and Formula 1.

John Strand has both consulted and taught hundreds of organizations in the areas of security, regulatory compliance, and penetration testing. He is a coveted speaker and much loved SANS teacher. John is a contributor to the industry-shaping Penetration Testing Execution Standard and 20 Critical Controls frameworks.

Wade Wells has been working in cybersecurity for a decade, focusing on detection engineering, threat intelligence, and defensive operations. Wade currently works as a Lead Detection Engineer at 1Password, where he helps build and mature scalable detection programs. Outside of his day-to-day work, Wade is deeply involved in the security community through teaching, mentoring, podcasting, and running local events

Alethe Denis is a Senior Security Consultant II at Bishop Fox specializing in red team social engineering, physical security bypass, and open-source intelligence (OSINT). With extensive experience conducting security assessments for both private and public sector organizations — including critical infrastructure — she brings a rare combination of technical depth and human-focused attack simulation to every engagement. Alethe developed and owns Bishop Fox’s Tabletop Facilitation service line, designing realistic, scenario-driven exercises that help organizations stress-test their incident response capabilities. A recognized leader in the DEF CON community, Alethe serves as Global DEF CON Groups Coordinator and Deputy Lead for DEF CON Groups Singapore, working to grow and support the international security community. She earned a DEF CON Black Badge at DEF CON 27 after winning the 10th annual Social Engineering Capture the Flag (SECTF) contest, compromising a Fortune 500 target using only a telephone. She and her teammates have also earned bronze, silver, Most Valuable OSINT, and Black Badge awards across multiple TraceLabs capture-the-flag competitions, including first place in the August 2020 DEF CON edition of the TraceLabs Missing Persons OSINT CTF. Alethe has appeared on the “Darknet Diaries” podcast and has taken the stage at venues as varied as San Diego Comic-Con and the DEF CON main stage. She regularly supports conferences throughout the year with talks and workshops.

Ryan Poirier began his time at Black Hills Information Security (BHIS) as the Video Producer and Editor in August 2020. Ryan polishes and perfects every webcast, podcast, and workshop on the BHIS, ACM, and WWHF YouTube Channels. Prior to Ryan’s time at BHIS, he worked for one of the largest public schools in the United States, conducting their video production and live broadcasting. He joined the BHIS team because he felt like it would be a great group of people to work with, and he couldn’t pass up the perfect next step in his career. Outside of his time with BHIS, Ryan does freelance photography, attends Cars & Coffee events, and expands his knowledge of audio and videos.