Gouki Williams

I was initially drawn to cybersecurity because hacking seemed interesting, but I stayed because I became fascinated by understanding what happens beneath the abstractions we use every day. I enjoy discovering unexpected behavior, understanding why systems fail, and contributing findings that other researchers can build upon.

I'm particularly interested in investigating how ELF binaries are loaded and executed in virtualized environments, how the different layers of abstraction interact with the host system, and where discrepancies between these layers may introduce unexpected behavior or security implications.

I approach technical problems by questioning assumptions and investigating behavior at the implementation level. In my checksec NX-mismatch research, I examined how security tools interpreted ELF program headers and compared that behavior with how the Linux kernel loads binaries. Rather than relying on a tool's output, I wanted to understand the underlying mechanisms and verify the behavior through experimentation.

I'm interested in connecting with security researchers and engineers working on vulnerability research, reverse engineering, binary analysis, and Linux internals. I'm also open to research collaborations and internship opportunities where I can contribute to technically challenging security projects and continue developing my expertise.