Our Server Got a Second Job: The Fourth of July Cryptominer
Even a security engineer can get pwned. How we traced a cryptominer consuming 12.5 CPU cores to a vulnerable Next.js app—and what the incident taught us about patching,…
11 min readSECURITY ENGINEER AT PINTEREST
Security engineer.
Builder. Dad.
I’m Quentin. I work at the intersection of application security, cloud infrastructure, and automation. This is where I share what I’m building, learning, and figuring out along the way.
THINGS I THINK ABOUT
Application security Cloud & automation AI & engineering Life beyond the keyboard
01 / FROM THE NOTEBOOK
Recent field notes.
AI Created My Security Backlog. Then AI Fixed It.
AI helped me build more software—and accumulate nearly 1,000 security findings. Then I put agents to work on the backlog. Here’s what I learned about remediation, independent verification,…
15 min readYou Probably Don’t Need the Cloud Yet
I have a love-hate relationship with cloud computing. Let me start by making something clear: I’m not anti-cloud. AWS is actually my default cloud provider. I use Route…
8 min readWhere Should the Compute Live? Lessons From 100+ Hours of AI-Assisted Development
This isn’t one of those posts where I’m going to tell you that I’ve figured out the perfect development environment. I haven’t. There isn’t even necessarily a winner…
13 min read02 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE POSTS
Curiosity comes
with the territory.
Security engineer by trade.
Builder by habit.
Dad, always.
I’m a security engineer at Pinterest, where I work on vulnerability management, developer enablement through automation, and secure access to production resources during incidents.
My work spans application security, cloud infrastructure, and the practical details that help engineering teams build securely. That includes triaging and validating bug bounty reports, then working with developers to get issues remediated.
Before Pinterest, I worked in security at Nextdoor and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. I earned my Ph.D. at the University of North Texas, researching security pattern-based vulnerability detection using static analysis.
I like building things, experimenting with new ideas, and connecting the dots between development, infrastructure, and risk. Lately, I’ve been thinking about AI agents, automation, and how to make security part of the design from the start.
Outside of tech, I’m a dad who values family time, staying active, and a good workout. This blog is a place for all of it: security work, side projects, home automation, and whatever I’m figuring out next.
03 / KEEP LEARNING. STAY CONNECTED.
Beyond the day job.
People & communities
The communities I’m part of and the conversations I keep coming back to.
Find me at
LASCON and BSides DFW most years. Occasionally DEF CON, when family life allows.
Certifications
A few milestones along the way. Each links to its verification.