Dr. Nambili Samuel: Ethical Hacker

The term “hacker” understandably carries negative overtones, but not all hackers are bad guys. As a professional trained individual in both ...

The term “hacker” understandably carries negative overtones, but not all hackers are bad guys.

As a professional trained individual in both offensive and defensive cyber warfare, my journey into hacking began many years ago out of sheer curiosity and a desire to understand how digital systems work. I successfully penetrated some of the world’s most sophisticated platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others. These platforms became my digital playground for exploration.

However, in 2014, my IP address was permanently banned, and my accounts were deleted from Facebook. Meta claimed my profile was linked to Russian hacktivists. Since then, Meta has never allowed my name, "Nambili Samuel" to return to its network. Yet the intent was never malicious. The core truth remains: ethical hackers do not break systems to steal or destroy; we do it to expose vulnerabilities, protect users, secure national infrastructure, and gather intelligence to stay ahead of cybercriminals.

My recent CISCO certification stands as both a refresher and a personal validation of the skills I’ve nurtured over the years. To be an ethical hacker is to operate with integrity, accountability, and mastery of both legal frameworks and advanced hacking techniques. These include: social engineering, spear phishing, DNS spoofing, SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), dictionary attacks, DDoS, zero-day exploits, and various malware techniques such as spyware and keyloggers.

I’ve completed practical simulations and operations using some of the most advanced cyber-offensive tools in the industry, including: Kali Linux, WebSploit, Metasploit, Cobalt Strike, Nessus, Nikto, Maltego, theHarvester, Hydra, John the Ripper, OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, SQLmap, Aircrack-ng, BlackCat, Stuxnet, and more.

I’ve led simulated red-team vs blue-team exercises, helping companies and institutions test their digital perimeter defenses, employee awareness, and incident response strategies. In one of my private contracts, I identified a critical zero-day vulnerability in a national agency's communication protocol that could have exposed millions of records. I reported it through a responsible disclosure framework—and that vulnerability is now patched.

In the field of cybersecurity, you're only as good as your last test. Cybercriminals evolve rapidly, so an ethical hacker must remain agile, curious, and constantly updated with the latest threats and tactics. I regularly attend DEFCON debriefs, contribute to open-source infosec communities, and test exploits in safe virtual labs.

I also believe strongly in the importance of education and ethical practice. That's why I mentor aspiring cybersecurity professionals through online bootcamps and university programs. Ethical hacking isn't about breaking the law—it's about defending it with technical excellence.

With every system tested and every vulnerability exposed, my mission remains clear: to defend, to secure, and to outsmart the threats that silently challenge our digital future.

If your organization needs help identifying weak points in its digital infrastructure, developing secure coding practices, or conducting professional penetration tests, feel free to reach out. Let's build a safer internet—one exploit at a time.