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Niche Systems

Welcome to Niche Systems, where we specialize in filling knowledge gaps in technology. Our expertise spans from cybersecurity to firmware, offering clear solutions and empowering your team towards independence. With a focus on up-to-date, streamlined guidance, we make complex tech simple. Partner with us for a secure, proficient digital future.

Philipp Deppenwiese

Bochum, Germany, CET

LinkedInX
PD

Work Experience

Niche Systems

2023 - now

Co-Founder

In August 2023 I started working as an independent Cybersecurity and Software Architect consultant.

immune GmbH

2020 - 2023

Co-Founder | CEO

In December 2019 I co-founded immune GmbH, a tech startup that develops Trusted Computing based solutions for securing servers and edge devices. I served as Chief Executive Officer.

9elements GmbH

2015 - 2021

Founder | Head of Cyber Security Department

In 2015 I founded the 9elements Cyber Security department, which I led for 6 years. We were a team of 15 people, working on various open-source firmware and cyber security projects for the silicon valley and cyber secuirty companies.

Sirrix AG

2011 - 2015

System Security Developer

System Security Developer for the Trusted product family. Worked on products similar to SINA Workstation and Samsung Knox.

Education

Technical Professional School Bochum

2011 - 2013
Qualified IT Specialist for Application Development

Skills

Coding: Golang, Python, C/C++, Java
People Management
Threat Modeling
Specialist for Platform Security
Security Engineering
Open-Source Community Management
Public Speaking
Technical Writing
Embedded/Firmware Development
Android Development
Linux Userspace Development
SecDevOps
Operating System Development

Projects

Converged Security Suite

Converged Security Suite for Intel & AMD platform security features

Golang
Trusted Computing
Intel/AMD Platform Security
Firmware

System Transparency

System Transparency is a security framework ensuring your computer starts up safely and reliably. Think of it as a guarantee: when your computer powers on, it uses only trusted software, free from tampering or malicious changes.

Golang
Bootloader
Trusted Computing
Linux

coreboot

coreboot is an extended firmware platform that delivers a lightning fast and secure boot experience on modern computers and embedded systems. As an Open Source project it provides auditability and maximum control over technology.

Firmware
x86, ARM64

LinuxBoot

LinuxBoot is a firmware for modern servers that replaces specific firmware functionality like the UEFI DXE phase with a Linux kernel and runtime.

Bootloader
Linux

immune Guard

immune Guard is a remote attestation service for servers and edge devices. It uses Trusted Computing to ensure the integrity of the system. It is designed to be used in a cloud environment. It is open source and free to use.

Remote Attestation
Trusted Computing
Golang
Firmware

Open Source Firmware Foundation

The Open-Source Firmware Foundation (OSFF) is a Oregon non-profit mutual benefit with members organization with the overall goal to enhance communication between all parties involved in the open-source firmware space. The OSFF was founded in 2021 by a group of industry-leading companies in open-source firmware. I'm a founding member and serve on the Board of Directors.

Firmware
Non-Profit

Open Source Firmware Conference

The Open-Source Firmware Conference (OSFC) is a non-profit event that brings together the open-source firmware community. The conference is a platform for firmware developers, security researchers, and industry leaders to come together and discuss the latest developments in the firmware space.

Firmware
Non-Profit

Kai Michaelis

Bochum, Germany, CET

LinkedIn
KM

Work Experience

Niche Systems

2023 - now

Co-Founder

In August 2023 I started working as an independent Cybersecurity and Software Development consultant.

immune GmbH

2020 - 2023

Co-Founder | CTO

In December 2019 I co-founded immune GmbH, a tech startup that develops Trusted Computing based solutions for securing servers and edge devices. I served as Chief Technology Officer and are responsible for development and design of the product’s software architecture.

9elements GmbH

2019 - 2020

System Security Architect

In March 2019 I joined 9elements’ Cyber Security department where I was responsible for the whole team of three developers, customer communication, project planning and implementation. After December 2019 I served as a consultant.

p≡p Foundation

2017 - 2019

Software Developer

Between 2017 and 2019 I worked for the p≡p foundation in Switzerland. There, I worked on a Free Software implementation of OpenPGP in Rust. I wrote most of the cryptographic subsystem of Sequoia as well as the first version of Hagrid, a verifying OpenPGP key server.

g10 Code GmbH

2016 - 2017

Hacker

In 2016 I joined g10 Code, the company developing GnuPG. I did some work on GnuPG itself as well as on Enigmail, the OpenPGP plugin for Thunderbird. I left g10 Code in 2017.

Sirrix AG

2013 - 2016

Intern → Student Developer

I interned at Sirrix (now part of Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity GmbH) in 2013 and was later employed as a part-time developer. I wrote substantial parts of a TPM 2.0 library (MicroTSS2) and the TCG TPM 2.0 PC Compliance test suite. I evaluated random number generators used in various cryptographic libraries as part of the BSI project 197. I also developed cryptographic software for the TrustedDesktop product. I left Sirrix AG in 2016.

Education

Ruhr-University Bochum

2013 - 2018
Master of Science in Information Security. Thesis: 'Language Model Directed Decompilation'.

Ruhr-University Bochum

2009 - 2013
Bachelor of Science in Information Security. Thesis: 'Randomly Failed! The State of Randomness in Current Java Implementations' (CT-RSA 2013).

Skills

C, C++, Rust and Golang
Static program analysis
Platform and firmware security
Cryptography

Projects

Open Source Firmware Foundation

The Open-Source Firmware Foundation (OSFF) is a Oregon non-profit mutual benefit with members organization with the overall goal to enhance communication between all parties involved in the open-source firmware space. The OSFF was founded in 2021 by a group of industry-leading companies in open-source firmware. I'm a founding member and serve on the Board of Directors.

Firmware
Non-Profit

Panopticon

Panopticon is a open source tool for analysing binary code. It implements Abstract Interpretation, decompilation, type-inference and data flow analysis for various instruction set architectures.

Rust
Abstract Interpretation
Binary Analysis

immune Guard

immune Guard is a remote attestation service for servers and edge devices. It uses Trusted Computing to ensure the integrity of the system. It is designed to be used in a cloud environment. It is open source and free to use.

Remote Attestation
Trusted Computing
Golang
Firmware

System Transparency

System Transparency is a security framework ensuring your computer starts up safely and reliably. Think of it as a guarantee: when your computer powers on, it uses only trusted software, free from tampering or malicious changes.

Golang
Bootloader
Trusted Computing
Linux

You’ll be in good company