Bryan Seely

Get inside the mind of hacker Bryan Seely

What does it take to spot a security vulnerability that everyone else has missed? Bryan Seely has built his cyber security career around finding precisely those weaknesses. As an ethical hacker, cyber security expert, author and former U.S. Marine, he combines technical knowledge with an unusual collection of real-world experiences that make the realities of hacking tangible for audiences.

Bryan Seely's speaking career was launched by his TEDx talk, “Wiretapping the Secret Service can be easy and fun”. The title captures the combination of serious subject matter and entertaining delivery that characterizes his approach. His keynotes take audiences inside the mindset of a hacker and demonstrate how seemingly ordinary digital weaknesses can create extraordinary security risks.

For companies and organizations, his stories provide a compelling reminder that cyber security is about more than technology. Understanding how hackers identify opportunities is an important part of understanding how vulnerabilities arise and why they can remain undetected.

The hacker who wiretapped the Secret Service and FBI

In early 2014, Bryan Seely discovered a way to exploit Google Maps and used it to intercept calls intended for the United States Secret Service and FBI. His objective was to make Google aware of the security problem he had uncovered.

It was an exceptionally bold demonstration. The decision almost resulted in his arrest, yet ultimately helped establish Bryan as a celebrated ethical hacker. He became known as the only hacker to ever wiretap calls to both the Secret Service and FBI.

The episode illustrates the approach at the heart of Bryan's work: finding weaknesses before people with malicious intentions can exploit them. Rather than discussing cyber threats purely in theory, Bryan can draw on experiences where vulnerabilities had significant real-world implications.

When you book Bryan Seely for your event, audiences hear what happens when a hacker starts questioning the systems people interact with and trust every day. His experiences offer a memorable way to explore security, risk and the importance of recognizing vulnerabilities before they become costly problems.

From Secret to global attention

Later in 2014, Bryan Seely and another security expert turned their attention to the highly valued mobile app Secret. Together, they succeeded in de-anonymizing the application. The discovery brought Bryan further recognition and resulted in coverage from Wired.com, CNNMoney, CNET, Forbes and The Washington Post on the same day.

Less than a week later, Bryan landed a consulting engagement with Secret. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban also personally contacted the pair to provide mobile application security and ethical hacking services for Cyberdust, his newest technology investment at the time.

These experiences demonstrate the unusual position Bryan occupies in cyber security. He understands how to uncover vulnerabilities, communicate their consequences and turn discoveries into opportunities to improve security.

Bryan also became an Advisor to John McAfee and his company MGT, helping develop cyber security techniques designed to work in the modern digital age.

Exposing vulnerabilities before criminals do

Throughout his cyber security career, Bryan Seely has helped reveal a substantial number of data breaches across several hundred major institutions. His work has helped prevent the potential theft or loss of significant amounts of sensitive information and money.

Among the information and assets involved were more than nine million Social Security numbers and $23 billion in managed funds at MBIA. These figures show the scale of the vulnerabilities Bryan has encountered and the potential consequences when weaknesses in digital systems remain undiscovered.

His background gives audiences an opportunity to explore cyber security through concrete experiences rather than abstract warnings. A keynote with Bryan can help audiences understand:

• How an ethical hacker approaches systems and searches for weaknesses
• Why vulnerabilities can exist in services that people and organizations trust
• How hackers can exploit seemingly small gaps with serious consequences
• Why identifying weaknesses early can help protect information and financial assets
• What organizations can learn by looking at security through the eyes of a hacker

Book Bryan Seely for your event

Cyber security can be highly technical, but Bryan Seely makes the subject accessible, engaging and entertaining. His charismatic presentation style brings audiences into stories involving some of the world's most recognizable institutions, technology companies and public agencies while keeping the focus firmly on the security lessons behind them.

As a former U.S. Marine, author, ethical hacker and experienced cyber security expert, Bryan brings a distinctive combination of backgrounds to the stage. His experiences range from hacking Google Maps and intercepting calls to federal agencies to investigating mobile applications, advising technology companies and uncovering vulnerabilities involving billions of dollars and millions of sensitive records.

Book speaker Bryan Seely for a keynote that takes your audience beyond generic cyber security advice and directly into the mind of a hacker. Through remarkable real-world cases, Bryan shows what can happen when someone looks at familiar technology differently, searches for the weaknesses others overlook and refuses to ignore vulnerabilities simply because they are difficult to confront.

For organizations navigating a digital world where information, money and everyday operations depend increasingly on connected systems, Bryan Seely offers a fascinating perspective on what those systems can expose. His keynotes turn cyber security into a human, understandable and memorable subject—and challenge audiences to see their digital environment through the eyes of someone who knows exactly where to look for the cracks.