Introduction
Joe Grand is an American electrical engineer, inventor, and hardware hacker, known in the hacker community as Kingpin. He achieved mainstream popularity after his appearance on Prototype This!, a Discovery Channel television show. He specializes in, "finding security flaws in hardware devices and educating engineers on how to increase the security of their designs". Grand has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs regarding government and homeland computer security under his internet handle, Kingpin.
Early life and education
Grand became involved in electronics at the age of seven and later joined Boston-based hacker group L0pht Heavy Industries. He gained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. He has published two books and co-authored a number of books relating to hardware hacks and network security.
He received an honorary Doctorate of Science in Technology from the University of Advancing Technology, Arizona.
Television
In 2007 and 2008, Grand and his three co-presenters (Mike North, Terry Sandin and 'Zoz' Brooks) filmed 13 episodes of Prototype This! which were aired later in 2008 and in early 2009. The show received positive reviews and ratings and Grand continues to host additional features and content on his site.
Business ventures
After his television appearance, Grand launched Grand Idea Studio, a San Francisco-based research and development firm.
He is also the sole proprietor of Kingpin Empire, an apparel project that gives back to the community through charitable donations. Other activities include exhibiting hardware as art in a San Francisco gallery and designing the electronic badges for DEFCON 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Grand remains an active member of the electronics engineering and security communities and is a regular guest speaker at international conferences including at Black Hat USA 2013.