At simply 13 years previous, Dylan grew to become the youngest safety researcher to collaborate with the Microsoft Safety Response Heart (MSRC). His journey into cybersecurity is inspiring—rooted in curiosity, resilience, and a deep need to make a distinction.
Early beginnings: From scratch to safety
Dylan’s fascination with expertise started early. Like many youngsters, he began with Scratch—a visible programming language for making easy video games and animations. However for Dylan, Scratch was greater than a toy; it was the beginning of a a lot larger journey. He rapidly moved on to HTML and different languages, and by fifth grade, he was analyzing supply code behind instructional platforms. One experiment—unlocking video games earlier than finishing the teachings—landed him in a little bit of bother but in addition sparked a rising curiosity in how techniques work.
That curiosity solely deepened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When his faculty disabled pupil entry to create Groups conferences, Dylan discovered a workaround utilizing Outlook. It wasn’t about bypassing guidelines—it was about serving to classmates keep linked in a time of isolation. It was a glimpse of the problem-solver he was turning into.
Dylan’s first vulnerability
When his faculty later disabled student-created Groups chats, Dylan didn’t hand over—he acquired inventive. What started as a quest to revive communication choices grew to become his introduction to safety analysis. After 9 months of self-teaching, exploration, and trial and error, he found a vulnerability that allow him take over any Groups group. That breakthrough marked his entry into the world of accountable disclosure—and kicked off his relationship with MSRC.
Quickly after, Dylan submitted his first official vulnerability report back to Microsoft. In response, the Bug Bounty group up to date its program phrases to permit participation from researchers as younger as 13. Since then, Dylan has labored carefully with MSRC, demonstrating technical perception and professionalism nicely past his age.
Collaborating with MSRC
Dylan’s communication abilities are as spectacular as his technical ones. He’s recognized for respectfully pushing again when he disagrees with MSRC’s preliminary assessments—all the time aiming to know their perspective and articulate his personal clearly. This considerate strategy has earned him respect and helped drive significant outcomes.
One notable instance: Dylan submitted a vulnerability within the Authenticator Dealer service that was initially thought-about out of scope. By means of clear, constructive dialogue, he helped MSRC perceive its broader implications. The end result? Not solely was the difficulty acknowledged, however the bounty program additionally expanded its scope to incorporate it for future submissions—a testomony to Dylan’s impression.
Challenges and triumphs
Regardless of his achievements, Dylan’s path hasn’t been straightforward. He’s confronted misunderstood reviews and setbacks, however credit his household—particularly his mom, father, stepparents, and grandparents—for serving to him keep grounded, affected person, {and professional}.
His journey hasn’t simply been technical. Throughout the pandemic, Dylan additionally misplaced his voice attributable to a well being problem and underwent two surgical procedures to recuperate it. The expertise solely strengthened his resolve and resilience.
What’s subsequent for Dylan?
Now a junior in highschool, Dylan balances schoolwork with extracurriculars like Science Olympiad, math competitions, swimming, biking, and cello. He filed 20 vulnerability reviews final summer season alone—up from simply six whole beforehand.
He’s been named to MSRC’s Most Invaluable Researcher record for each 2022 and 2024. In April 2025, Dylan competed at Microsoft’s Zero Day Quest—a premier onsite hacking occasion in Redmond, Washington—and took residence third place, an unimaginable achievement that positioned him among the many high researchers globally.
Regardless of a busy educational schedule, Dylan continues to see safety analysis as a rewarding interest. He’s captivated with studying, exploring new vulnerabilities, and giving again to the neighborhood. Lengthy-term, he’s open to a variety of potentialities, together with continued work in cybersecurity, science, or civics.
Dylan additionally goals of attending safety conferences as quickly as he’s sufficiently old, keen to fulfill fellow researchers and be taught from the most effective. For different younger researchers, his story is proof that age is not any barrier—what issues most is creativity, persistence, and a willingness to be taught.
