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Justin Collins

Justin Collins

Head of Security at Gusto, Ruby on Rails security expert

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Summary

Justin Collins is a recognized expert in application and product security, with over a decade of experience leading security initiatives at major tech companies. He currently serves as the Head of Security at Gusto, focusing on empowering the security organization and aligning security practices with business objectives. His expertise encompasses product security, security engineering, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), and privacy. theorg+2
He is the creator and lead developer of Brakeman, a widely used open-source static analysis security scanner for Ruby on Rails applications. This project originated during his internship at AT&T Interactive and evolved into Brakeman Pro, a commercial venture he co-founded and led as CEO. Brakeman Pro was subsequently acquired by Synopsys, where Justin integrated it into their SAST offerings and continued to maintain the open-source project. brakemanscanner+6
Justin has a strong background in academic research, holding a PhD in Computer Science from UCLA with a specialization in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). His doctoral work involved developing and evaluating communication paradigms for MANETs, including the creation of MELON. This academic foundation provides a deep understanding of complex systems and network architectures, influencing his approach to security. presidentbeef+3
He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and podcasts, sharing insights on application security, the evolution of Rails security, static analysis, DevSecOps, and the commercialization of open-source software. Notable talks include "The End of the AppSec Team" and "The Unreasonable Struggle of Commercializing Open Source," reflecting his thought leadership in the field. presidentbeef+3
Justin demonstrated a keen interest in exploring niche technical challenges, as evidenced by his project "Splashing Around with mruby/c on the Flipper Zero." This project showcases his hands-on programming skills and curiosity beyond his primary security responsibilities. presidentbeef+1

Work

Education

Projects

Writing

Communication Paradigms for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

January 1, 2014

Justin Collins' PhD Dissertation from UCLA, exploring and evaluating communication paradigms for MANETs and proposing a new one (MELON).

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MANET Application Development with MELON

January 1, 2014

A paper presented at ADHOC-NOW 2014, detailing the MELON programming model and its utility for MANET applications.

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MELON: A Persistent Message-Based Communication Paradigm for MANETs

January 1, 2013

A paper presented at MobiQuitous 2013, introducing MELON as a new communication paradigm tailored to mobile ad hoc networks.

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A Quantitative Comparison of Communication Paradigms for MANETs

January 1, 2010

A paper presented at MobiQuitous 2010, providing the first quantitative evaluation of common communication paradigms in realistic MANET environments.

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Programming in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

January 1, 2008

A survey paper presented at WICON 2008, examining current MANET programming approaches.

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Greedy transformation of evolutionary algorithm search spaces for scheduling problems

January 1, 2007

Undergraduate paper presented at IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation 2007, evaluating characteristics of search spaces under greedy transformations.

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Improving genetic algorithm performance with intelligent mappings from chromosomes to solutions

January 1, 2006

Undergraduate paper presented at GECCO 2006, investigating many-to-one mappings from phenotypes to genotypes for genetic algorithms.

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