Keeping It Open Source with Metasploit’s HD Moore

Keeping It Open Source with Metasploit’s HD Moore

This season of Hacker Valley Red wraps up with another interview of an incredible offensive cybersecurity legend. Known first and foremost for his work founding Metasploit and his recent work co-founding Rumble, HD Moore joins the show this week to hear about his journey from spiteful hacker to successful founder. HD walks through the history of Metasploit, the motivation behind their coding decisions, his opinions on open source software, and the excitement of exploration and discovery.

Timecoded Guide:

[04:57] Catching up with HD’s career from his hacking exploits in the ‘90s through his founding of Metasploit to his recent activities with Rumble

[11:41] Getting personal with the feelings and takeaways from a project as successful and impactful on the cyber industry as Metasploit

[18:52] Explaining HD’s personal philosophies around accessible education and the risk of sharing vulnerable information publicly

[25:39] Diving deep into the technical stories of HD’s path of discovery and exploration during his time at Metasploit

[31:14] Giving advice for future founders and hackers looking to make a legendary impact on the cybersecurity community

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What were some of the trials, tribulations, and successes of Metasploit?

Although Metasploit has had a lasting impact on the cyber world, HD Moore is not afraid to admit that part of Metasploit existed out of spite for critics, employers, and gatekeepers in the cybersecurity industry. In terms of trials and tribulations, HD saw a great deal of criticism come from his peers and from professionals ahead of him in the industry, often displaying rudeness towards the quality of the exploits and Metasploit’s audience of young hackers. Later, HD says that a surprising and amusing side effect of his success with the project was watching employers and peers go from criticizing to lifting up his work with Metasploit and attributing success of many hacking professionals to its creation.

“When we started the Metasploit project, we really wanted to open up to everybody. We wanted to make sure that, even if you barely knew how to program, you can still contribute something to Metasploit. So, we did our best to make it really easy for folks to get in touch with us, to submit code.”

Where does your philosophy land today on giving information freely?

HD has heard the same opinions many professionals that teach and give information freely have heard: “You’re making it easier for people to use this information the wrong way.” Instead of considering the worst possible outcomes of making hacking accessible, HD chooses to acknowledge the importance of accessible education and publicly provided information. According to HD, if someone is creating and teaching content to the next generation of red teamers, that content is theirs to use. Whether they’re a physical pen tester teaching lock picking or a hacker disclosing a vulnerability, what they choose to share with others has to be based on personal moral code and what others do with that information is up to them.

“It comes down to: You do the work, you own the result. If you're teaching people how to do stuff, great, they can do what they want. You can decide to do that, you can decide not to do that, but it's your decision to spend your time training people or not training them.”

Is it possible to be a CEO, or a co-founder, and stay technical?

The downside of success in the cybersecurity industry is often stereotyped as losing the opportunity to be a hands-on hacker. However, for HD, his success has allowed him to do the exact opposite and instead prioritize his time to be technical. HD believes strongly in the ability to make this happen through proper delegation of duties, incorporating new leaders and managers in your company or project, and acknowledging when you may need the help to bring what you’re working on to the next level. HD is proud of his success with Metasploit and Rumble, and is happy that he was able to hand off certain duties to other professionals that he knew would do better if they had a chance in the founder’s shoes.

“Don't let the growth of your company change what you enjoy about your work. That's really the big thing there, and there's lots of ways you can get there. You can hire folks to help out, you can promote your co-founder to CEO. You can bring on program managers or project managers to help with all the day to day stuff."

What advice do you have for people looking to follow a similar cyber career path?

Content is the name of the game, especially when you’re looking to get more eyes on what you do. HD is the first to admit that putting himself out there in a blog post, on a podcast, or at a stage show is not always a walk in the park, taking him out of his comfort zone and often away from the tech that he spends his time on. However, publicly displaying himself and his work has brought attention to Rumble and Metasploit, and HD knows he would not have achieved this level of success without putting his content out into the world, hearing feedback from his peers, and even receiving his fair share of criticism from industry professionals.

“Not all of it is the most fun thing to do all the time, but it is crucially important, not just for growing yourself and getting out there and getting feedback from your peers, but for learning because you learn so much from the feedback you get from that effort.”

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Links:

Stay in touch with HD Moore on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website.

Learn more about Rumble, Inc on LinkedIn and the Rumble website.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Follow Ron Eddings on Twitter and LinkedIn

Catch up with Chris Cochran on Twitter and LinkedIn

Continue the conversation by joining our Discord

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Digital Clutter and the Death of Passwords with Collin Sweeney & Chase Cunningham

Digital Clutter and the Death of Passwords with Collin Sweeney & Chase Cunningham

Passwords are the original digital clutter—messy, overstuffed, and way too easy to forget. Like a junk drawer full of old keys and cables, we keep tossing more into them, hoping they’ll somehow keep working. But what if it’s time to throw the whole thing out? In this episode, Ron Eddings is joined by Collin Sweeney of ZKX Solutions and Dr. Chase Cunningham, a.k.a. “Dr. Zero Trust,” for a bold conversation on the future of authentication. From the failures of MFA to the promise of zero-knowledge proofs, the crew breaks down how we got stuck with broken access systems—and what it’ll take to finally fix them. Whether it’s SIM swapping, face IDs, or security keys on the battlefield, this is the real talk on identity security you don’t want to miss. Impactful Moments: 00:00 – Introduction 03:45 – ZKX’s origin: voice verification breakthrough 06:45 – Collin’s “oh crap” SolarWinds realization 09:15 – Why MFA still fails in practice 13:15 – Zero-knowledge proofs explained with a coin 15:30 – How ZKPs reduce identity attack surfaces 17:45 – Making MFA faster, smarter, more human 20:00 – MFA fatigue and ice skating uphill 24:00 – Why people still cling to passwords 30:54 – Quantum fears vs real-world encryption limits Links: Connect with Collin Sweeney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin-sweeney-6ab6a5176/ Check out ZKX Solutions new product, Helix: zkxsolutions.com/helix Connect with Chase Cunningham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-chase-cunningham/ Grab a copy of Chase Cunningham's book “vArIable: A Novel in the gAbrIel Series” here: www.amazon.com/vArIable-gAbrIel-Dr-Chase-Cunningham-ebook/dp/B0DVMWCWCD?ref_=ast_author_mp     Check out Hacker Valley’s upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord B

10 Huhti 43min

What Most Cybersecurity Advice Misses—And How to Fix It with Robert Hansen

What Most Cybersecurity Advice Misses—And How to Fix It with Robert Hansen

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3 Huhti 36s

Hackers Have HR Now? featuring Christopher Budd

Hackers Have HR Now? featuring Christopher Budd

The internet once came this close to crashing—and Microsoft was on the front line. In this episode, cybersecurity veteran Christopher Budd takes us inside the Microsoft Security Response Center during one of the most chaotic cyber events in modern history. From the Nimda worm of 2001 to ransomware turf wars, and the weird future where threat actors post job ads for ransom note writers, Christopher lays it all out with perspective only decades in the game can bring. If you think AI or ransomware is the endgame, you’re not seeing the whole board.   Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 04:35 - Breaking down the Nimda attack 07:00 - “We carried 90% of the internet” 10:37 - Ransomware gangs fighting for headlines 15:26 - Secure perimeter is officially dead 17:31 - AI as your cybernetic exosuit 24:00 - Filtering 100,000 security emails with AI 27:05 - Privacy tension in AI-powered defense 32:00 - The inevitable swing back to local control 35:31 - “You will”: when sci-fi became real   Links: Connect with our guest, Christopher Budd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherbudd/   Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

27 Maalis 36min

Staying Ahead in the Age of AI Agents with Marco Figueroa

Staying Ahead in the Age of AI Agents with Marco Figueroa

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21 Maalis 40min

I Built an AI Version of Myself – Here’s Why with Marcus J. Carey

I Built an AI Version of Myself – Here’s Why with Marcus J. Carey

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14 Maalis 39min

Cyber Warfare, Digital Deception, and the Hidden Threats We Ignore with Dr. Eric Cole

Cyber Warfare, Digital Deception, and the Hidden Threats We Ignore with Dr. Eric Cole

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8 Maalis 41min

The AI Shift You Can’t Ignore with Marco Figueroa

The AI Shift You Can’t Ignore with Marco Figueroa

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28 Helmi 37min

Superhuman Productivity and AI Mastery with Pedram Amini

Superhuman Productivity and AI Mastery with Pedram Amini

What if you could have a conversation with yourself—years into the future? Or leave behind an AI-powered avatar that understands your thoughts, philosophies, and even your voice? In this episode, we explore the mind-blowing potential of AI and its impact on cybersecurity, productivity, and even legacy. Pedram Amini, Chief Scientist at OPSWAT, joins Ron Eddings to discuss his journey from bootstrapped startups to AI-driven innovation. Together they cover topics like the role of AI in cybersecurity, the rise of fake identities in hiring, the ethics of AI-generated content, and why mastering AI tools is no longer optional—it's essential. Pedram shares his workflow for superhuman productivity, his thoughts on deepfakes, and how AI is reshaping how we work and communicate. Impactful Moments: 00:00 - Introduction 02:00 - Meet Pedram Amini, cyber innovator 03:07 - The $17M North Korea insider threat case 06:00 - Fake job candidates and AI hiring scams 09:28 - Deepfakes and AI-driven deception 14:00 - Future of AI-powered personal assistants 20:49 - The reality of bootstrapping vs. VC funding 26:00 - AI in cybersecurity: risk or revolution? 31:00 - “AI isn’t taking your job—someone using AI is” 35:00 - The ultimate AI-powered legacy project   Links: Connect with our guest, Pedram Amini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedramamini/ Check out the entire article about the $17M North Korea insider threat case here: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/12/arizona_woman_laptop_farm_guilty/ Check out our upcoming events: https://www.hackervalley.com/livestreams Join our creative mastermind and stand out as a cybersecurity professional: https://www.patreon.com/hackervalleystudio Love Hacker Valley Studio? Pick up some swag: https://store.hackervalley.com Continue the conversation by joining our Discord: https://hackervalley.com/discord Become a sponsor of the show to amplify your brand: https://hackervalley.com/work-with-us/

21 Helmi 36min

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