Hi, I'm Stephen Xu, a student at Harvey Mudd College, a small liberal arts college in California. I have many interests, and as such am currently undeclared, but I'm primarily considering majoring in Math, Computer Science, and English.

I spend a lot of time playing Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, which I find to be a great way to learn about computer security. You'll find some of my writeups for problems I solve on this site. I founded Les Amateurs, which is ranked as the 4th best CTF team in the United States. I also play CTFs with smiley, which is currently ranked as the #1 team in the Untited States. Some notable competitions I've won includes 3rd at PicoCTF 2023, and 2nd at CSAWCTF Quals 2023, two of the largest CTFs in the world. I also was a DEFCON 32 Finalist for the CTF.

I also enjoy reading, and am slowly making my way through the books that are recommended to me, as well as the classics that I find interesting. Some of my favorite books include East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Occasionally I'll also dabble in writing poetry, all of which is far too embarassing to be posted here.