Jacob Krell

Senior Director, Secure AI Solutions & Cybersecurity

I build systems that are hard to break and I break systems that appear resilient. My work sits at the intersection of offensive security, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. That means designing production-grade AI systems, architecting full-stack applications, leading penetration tests and red team operations, and running incident response when things go wrong. Every course on this platform comes directly from that experience.

jacobkrell.com

30+

Certifications

OSCE3 | CISSP | CCNP | CSIE

Top 25

Hack The Box

1,000+ Flags Captured

350+

CTF Machines

Completed

Full-Spectrum

Expertise

Red | Blue | Purple

What I specialize in

Secure AI & Intelligent Automation

Building AI-powered security tooling: automated phishing simulations, LLM-driven threat analysis, agentic pipelines
Hardening ML systems against adversarial inputs, prompt injection, and data poisoning
Shipping production AI services in Python and TypeScript with security baked in from day one

Penetration Testing & Red Teaming

Web apps, APIs, Active Directory, cloud (AWS/Azure), wireless, and physical security engagements
Custom exploit development: kernel drivers, browser bugs, heap manipulation on Windows and Linux
Social engineering campaigns with realistic pretexts and AI-generated phishing content

Digital Forensics & Incident Response

Leading IR from initial triage through containment, eradication, and post-incident reporting
Disk, memory, and network forensics across Windows endpoints and cloud workloads
Building detection rules from real incident artifacts and feeding findings back into defense

Security Strategy & vCISO Leadership

Fractional CISO work for startups and mid-size companies: roadmaps, budgets, board reporting
Standing up security programs from scratch: policies, vendor selection, team hiring
Translating pen test and IR findings into prioritized remediation plans that actually get done

How I got here

My technical work spans the full stack, from React-based front ends to Python services and infrastructure automation, plus custom security tooling and AI-enabled solutions that solve real business problems. On the offensive side, I lead penetration testing and adversary emulation across web applications, mobile platforms, APIs, Active Directory environments, cloud infrastructure, wireless networks, and physical security. On the defensive side, my work includes digital forensics, incident response leadership, and building detection capabilities that catch real threats.

I also contribute to the certification ecosystem as a beta tester for organizations including Hack The Box and GIAC, evaluating and refining exam content before public release to make sure it reflects current threat landscapes. Operating across both offense and defense creates a clear picture of how attacks unfold, how defenses fail, and where meaningful risk actually lives.

Why I built Krell Academy

I needed to learn these topics myself. When I started studying for certifications, I found that most existing resources were either dry slide decks, shallow overviews, or expensive bootcamps that still left gaps. So I started building my own structured courses to actually learn the material properly.

Once I had something that worked for me, it seemed obvious that other people studying the same topics would get value from it too. That became Krell Academy. Every course is free, comes with a verifiable certificate on completion, and is designed around the way I wish I had been able to learn: structured lessons, real tool output, and hands-on labs where you prove you understand the material by doing the work.

The platform keeps growing as I keep learning. New courses get added as I work through new domains and certifications, and the existing content gets refined based on what actually helps people pass their exams and build real skills.

See the Courses