AI-Driven Security Researcher // Penetration Tester // Bug Bounty Hunter

Hi, I'm Kaif Tarasgar

AI-Driven Security Researcher and Penetration Tester, Technical Lead at CREST Cybersecurity Club. Building secure-by-design systems with generative AI, hunting bugs across enterprise bug-bounty programs, and leading 100+ members into national CTF wins.

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Kaif Tarasgar
Live Kaif Tarasgar

// ABOUT ME

AI-Driven Security Researcher

Penetration tester, bug bounty hunter, and AI/ML practitioner building the next generation of secure systems

I'm a B.Sc. Cyber Security & Forensics student at Pimpri Chinchwad University focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and offensive security. I build AI-augmented tooling, perform penetration tests and red-team engagements, and report bugs to enterprise bug-bounty programs.

As Technical Lead at CREST Cybersecurity Club, I led the design of the CREST CTF 2026 "Operation Ghost Mantis" (2,000+ participants) and won 1st place at IU Hack2Xploit 3.0 — a 12-hour solo CTF with 19+ flags and 600+ participants hosted by the Defcon Pune Chapter.

I've been awarded responsible disclosure certificates from Max Healthcare, Sai Life Sciences, Perfios, and TMF Group, with severities ranging from P4 to P5. Recent work blends generative AI for packet analysis, Sliver C2 tradecraft, and Zero-Trust cloud security.

AI-Driven Security Research
1st Place — IU Hack2Xploit 3.0
Bug Bounty Hunter (4 disclosures)
Technical Lead @ CREST
$ whoami
Kaif Tarasgar
$ cat role.txt
Technical Lead @ CREST Cybersecurity Club
$ ls skills/
ethical_hacking/ penetration_testing/ bug_bounty/
ctf_development/ osint/ red_teaming/
$ echo $MISSION
Making the digital world safer 🛡️
$ _

// TECHNICAL SKILLS

My Expertise

A comprehensive toolkit for offensive and defensive security

Offensive Security

Ethical Hacking Penetration Testing Bug Bounty Red Teaming Web App Security Vulnerability Assessment MITRE ATT&CK Mapping NIST 800-61 Standards

Security Tools

Metasploit Burp Suite Wireshark Nmap Kali Linux Sliver C2 SIEM SOAR

Cloud Security

Microsoft Azure AWS Security Zscaler Zero Trust Oracle Cloud

Programming

Python JavaScript Bash SQL HTML/CSS React.js

Intelligence & Forensics

OSINT Threat Intelligence Digital Forensics Incident Response

Frameworks

OWASP Top 10 MITRE ATT&CK Zero Trust

// EXPERIENCE

Professional Journey

Hands-on experience through industry internships and leadership roles

13 Apr – 12 Jul 2026

Cyber Security Intern

Hacktify Cyber Security LLP

Current internship. Performing web application penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and producing advisory reports for client engagements.

Apr – Jun 2026

Fortinet Network Security Associate Intern

EduSkills (AICTE × Fortinet)

Fortinet-certified network security internship. Completed the Fortinet 3-course series and earned the Fortinet Certified Associate (FCA) credential.

10 Mar – 5 Apr 2026

Cybersecurity Intern — Generative AI & Cloud Security

Edunet Foundation × VOIS for Tech (AICTE)

Generative AI & Cloud Security track. Applied LLM-driven analysis to threat detection and explored Zero-Trust cloud architectures.

Mar – Apr 2026

Cyber Security Intern

CyberWarLab

Worked on advanced penetration testing and vulnerability research. Applied offensive security techniques and red team methodologies in live engagements.

Jan – Mar 2026

Cyber Security & Ethical Hacking Virtual Intern

Cryptonic Area

Received Letter of Recommendation from CEO. Identified 12+ security vulnerabilities through full-stack penetration tests and vulnerability assessments, improving the security posture of enterprise clients.

Oct – Dec 2025

Web Exploit Hunting & Bug Bounty Intern

EduSkills Academy (AICTE)

Ranked Outstanding (O) in 10-week offensive security internship with OWASP Top 10 focus. Developed expertise in vulnerability discovery and PoC development.

Sep – Oct 2025

Cyber Security Intern (Advanced Level)

ShadowFox

Completed MSME and ISO 9001 certified program. Performed penetration testing, network security analysis, and password cracking.

Jul – Sep 2025

Palo Alto Cybersecurity Virtual Intern

AICTE

Completed 10-week program on network security, firewall configuration, SIEM, and SOC operations with Palo Alto Networks tools.

// PROJECTS

Featured Work

Security tools and applications built with passion

CipherX Pro v4.2.0

High-performance AI-powered universal decoder with recursive multi-layer decoding engine supporting 73+ operations. Features parallel processing with 8 concurrent decoders and sub-10ms latency.

Python FastAPI asyncio AI/ML

PCAP-StoryTeller

Transforms raw PCAP files into interactive attack storyboards with threat detection, attack graphs, geolocation maps, and automated forensic reports.

Python Network Analysis Forensics

Banking-Security-Platform

Enterprise banking security platform with MFA, fraud detection, and real-time monitoring capabilities for financial institutions.

Python Security MFA

Packet-Scope

Real-time network packet analyzer with payload detection, geolocation mapping, protocol statistics, and malicious IP alerting system.

Python Networking Real-time

Advanced SOC Report

Real-world security monitoring & incident response. SQL Injection, XSS, Brute Force detection with MITRE ATT&CK mapping & NIST SP 800-61 playbooks.

Blue Team SOC Incident Response

Vulnerability Research

Vulnerability assessment mapping — SQLi, XSS, broken access control. Includes testing methodology, PoC documentation, and remediation roadmap.

Pentesting Vulnerability Assessment PoC

Python Keylogger

Educational keylogger tool built using the pynput library. Records keyboard input and logs it securely for ethical hacking practice and malware research.

Python Malware Dev

Password Security Center

Advanced password generator & analyzer with zxcvbn scoring, breach check integrations (HIBP), and custom word mixing.

JavaScript Cryptography

Pixel Image Encryptor

Secure image encryption tool that uses pixel manipulation algorithms to obfuscate visual data, ensuring privacy for sensitive imagery.

Python Steganography Encryption

// CERTIFICATIONS

Professional Credentials

Industry-recognized certifications validating my expertise

Google Cybersecurity Professional

Google

Sep 2025

CISSP Specialization

Infosec/Coursera

Feb 2026

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) v12

Coursera/Packt

Jun 2025

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)

Coursera

Sep 2025

CompTIA PenTest+ (PT0-002)

Coursera

Sep 2025

Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst

Microsoft

Sep 2025

Microsoft Azure Security Tools

Microsoft

Oct 2025

Certified Red Team Ops (CRTOM)

Red Team Leaders

Dec 2025

Certified Ransomware Protection Officer

EU Cyber Academy (98%)

Dec 2025

Palo Alto Security Operations

Palo Alto Networks

Aug 2025

Fortinet Certified Associate (FCA) — Cybersecurity

Fortinet Training Institute

Jun 2026

Zero Trust Cyber Associate (ZTCA)

Zscaler Cyber Academy

May 2026

AI-Driven Cybersecurity Automation

Data Science Academy / Udemy

Feb 2026

Databricks Generative AI Fundamentals

Databricks Academy

Feb 2026

Google Gemini Ambassador — AIQrew 2025

Google / Unstop

Jan 2026

Proactive Cybersecurity Master (ISEA)

CDAC Noida / MeitY

May 2026

Junior GRC Analyst (JGA)

Vibe Security

Apr 2026

Weaponizing Sliver C2

CyberWarFare Labs

Feb 2026

Linux & Web Bug Bounty Bootcamp

CappricioSec University

Mar 2026

Cloud + DevOps with AI Bootcamp

EXLEARN TECHNOLOGIES

May 2026

HackOps & Recon Methodology

Cryptonic Area

May 2026

CompTIA Security+ Certification Course

KodeKloud / Matthew Burch

Feb 2026

DNA Genome Webinar

CyberSisco & Forensico

Feb 2026

View All Certifications

// ACHIEVEMENTS

Recognition & Impact

Bug bounties, CTF competitions, and leadership accomplishments

Technical Lead

CREST Cybersecurity Club, Pimpri Chinchwad University

  • Technical Lead of CREST Cybersecurity Club — leading technical initiatives and cybersecurity awareness for 100+ members
  • Technical Lead — CREST CTF 2026 "Operation Ghost Mantis" with 2,000+ participants and zero downtime
  • Felicitated by PCU Vice-Chancellor Dr. Santosh Sonavane with a trophy for the CREST CTF win (Apr 2026)
  • Created highly complex CTF challenges that remained unsolved by first-ranked teams

// BUG BOUNTY

Responsible Disclosures

Max Healthcare

Certificate of Appreciation for responsible vulnerability disclosure (P4 severity) — Feb 2026

TMF Group

Certificate of Appreciation for responsible vulnerability disclosure (P5 severity) — May 2026

Perfios

Certificate of Appreciation for responsible vulnerability disclosure through Bug Bounty Program (Mar 2026)

Sai Life Sciences Ltd

Certificate of Appreciation for identifying security issue (P5 severity) via Com Olho RDP (Mar 2026)

CTF Competitions

Active participant in national and international capture the flag events

🥇 1st Place — IU Hack2Xploit 3.0 · Defcon Pune Chapter · 12-hr solo CTF, 19+ flags, 600+ participants
Tech Lead — CREST CTF 2026 "Operation Ghost Mantis" · 2,000+ participants
🏅 Felicitated by PCU VC Dr. Santosh Sonavane for the CREST CTF win (Apr 2026)
ISEA ISAP CTF 2026 (IIT Madras)
Digital CyberHunt CTF
SYNAPSE 2025 CTF (24-hour offline)
H7CTF 2025 (EC-Council sponsored)
Chaitanya CTF 2025
ZERODAY CTF
SecLeaf Q2 CTF 2026
Dhurandhar CTF (Hack!tup) — Apr 2026

// EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

Community & Events

Workshops attended, conferences, and community contribution

06 FEB 2026

AI For Everyone Workshop

TechVerse Nexus

Hands-on workshop on practical AI applications, generative models, and integrating AI into everyday workflows.

Workshop AI GenAI
· APR 2026

PCCOE Job Fair 2026 — Company POC

PCCOE Training & Placement Cell

Volunteered as the single point of contact between participating companies and the placement cell. Coordinated logistics, scheduling, and on-ground execution across the event.

Volunteer Leadership Coordination

// GET IN TOUCH

Let's Connect

Have a security concern or opportunity? I'd love to hear from you

Open to opportunities
Email
kaiftarasgar2005@gmail.com
Phone
+91 9823453379
Based in
Pune, MH, India
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