From Curiosity to Zero Days: Milton Valencia (wetw0rk) on Exploit Development, Research, and Giving Back

From Curiosity to Zero Days: Milton Valencia (wetw0rk) on Exploit Development, Research, and Giving Back

July 15, 2026 · 31 min · Season 4 · Episode 27

About this episode

Milton Valencia shares his journey from a curious student to an offensive security researcher, discussing exploit development and the importance of mentoring.

In this episode of The Phillip Wylie Show, Phillip Wylie sits down with offensive security researcher Milton Valencia, better known in the cybersecurity community as wetw0rk. Known for his exploit development research, educational content, and commitment to mentoring others, Milton shares the remarkable journey that took him from a curious student fascinated by hacking to discovering zero-day vulnerabilities and working on elite offensive security teams. Milton discusses overcoming adversity, breaking into the industry without a traditional path, earning certifications like the OSCP, finding his first security roles, and ultimately building a career centered around vulnerability research and exploit development. Along the way, he emphasizes the importance of curiosity, persistence, and helping others succeed. The conversation also explores the future of offensive security, the growing role of AI in reverse engineering, why exploit development remains a valuable specialty, and how aspiring researchers can get started today. If you enjoyed this episode, check out Milton on Season 3 Episode 19 of Simply Offensive @Suzulabs. ========================= Planning to attend Black Hat USA…

People in this episode

Host: Phillip Wylie

Guest: Milton Valencia

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

Black Hat

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Black Hat, Suzulabs, OSCP

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