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Justin Elze

CTO, Director of Research

EXPERIENCE
Justin Elze is currently serving as Chief Technology Officer at TrustedSec. Over his 8 years with the company as an InfoSec expert, Justin has used his vast expertise in enterprise penetration testing, network security, social engineering, and red teaming to identify clients’ vulnerabilities and ultimately, protect their technology infrastructure. Prior to becoming CTO, Justin held the roles of Director of Innovation, Research, and Advanced Testing and Principal Security Consultant for TrustedSec.

With more than a decade of experience in the IT industry, Justin’s expertise is increasingly sought out by others in the field. He has taught at Black Hat and spoken at DerbyCon, where he also served on the CFP Review Board, and is also featured as an industry leader in the published books Tribe of Hackers: Cybersecurity Advice from the Best Hackers in the World and Tribe of Hackers Red Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Offensive Cybersecurity.

Prior to joining TrustedSec, Justin was a Senior Penetration Tester for Accuvant LABS, Optiv, Dell SecureWorks, and Redspin, where he led numerous red team engagements and penetration tests. He has worked across a variety of industries, including roles for ISPs, hosting companies, Department of Defense contracting companies, and consulting companies. Today, he leans on what he learned throughout his roles in various capacities to inform his choices as CTO and further his thought leadership in the industry.

Outside of his work experience and “ethical hacker” persona, Justin is passionate about building, tuning, and racing cars (and, yes, occasionally hacking them) and spending time with his 3 dogs. You can find his latest musings—security-related and otherwise—on his Twitter account, @HackingLZ.

Featured Blogs And Resources

Discover the blogs, analysis, webinars, and podcasts by this team member.

Blog May 18 2023

Walking the Tightrope: Maximizing Information Gathering while Avoiding Detection for Red Teams

Understanding network reconnaissance without detection is crucial in commercial testing, leveraging tools like BloodHound and scripts to gather valuable…

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Blog March 17 2023

Critical Outlook Vulnerability: In-Depth Technical Analysis and Recommendations (CVE-2023-23397)

Protect your organization from the Microsoft Outlook CVE-2023-23397 vulnerability with expert guidance and a simple remediation script.

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Webinars March 15 2023

Ask Me Anything: Penetration Testing Innovations and Insights

Join David Kennedy & Justin Elze for a live Q&A on penetration testing, tackling the ever-changing tactics used by attackers, and get answers to your burning…

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Webinars December 14 2021

Log4j: Live Update Webcast

Learn how to detect and respond to the Log4j vulnerability with experts from TrustedSec & Binary Defense, including David Kennedy, during our live webcast.

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Blog November 03 2026

The Quiet Phase: Why Active Directory Group Enumeration Deserves Your Attention

Most teams watch the door; the window gets less attention. In this blog, we cover how auditing Active Directory group enumeration surfaces attacker…

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Blog October 27 2026

What is CUI? A Contractor’s Perspective

Three questions every government contractor should be able to answer about CUI—how to identify it, when to mark it, and how to handle it correctly. In this…

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Blog October 22 2026

Trimarc, 18 Months Later at TrustedSec

Eighteen months after Trimarc joined TrustedSec, the work speaks for itself. In this blog, we reflect on Trimarc’s integration into TrustedSec and what it…

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Blog October 20 2026

Handling Pre-Contract FCI and CUI

CMMC requirements don’t exist before a contract does and that distinction matters. In this blog, we clarify what FCI and CUI obligations apply during the…

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Blog October 15 2026

Two Config Files, Two Release Tracks, and One Very Bad Commit

Some of the best infrastructure improvements start with one bad afternoon. In the final part of this blog series, we walk through the configuration, release…

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Blog October 13 2026

TrustedSec Joins the OpenAI Daybreak Defense Network

We're part of OpenAI’s Daybreak Defense Network—what does that mean for our customers? Go deeper, get to the evidence faster, and make real security…

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