Cybersecurity & Hardware Engineering

Abek
Khokhar

I build hardware end to end, across embedded systems, security, and the software that runs them. All under one label.

Work in progress
P3 · NFC Complete
Encrypted NFC Payment Terminal

Encrypted fare terminal on a Pi Zero 2W and PN532, reading DESFire EV3 cards provisioned to my own AES-128 keys. Identity is cryptographic, not the spoofable UID. It authenticates first, then reads a protected internal ID. Tap-to-ride, two-factor reload, tamper-evident signed logging, in a diecast MTA subway train with synced headlights. EMV-style, not licensed EMV.

Progress100%
HardwareNFC · RFIDAES CryptoEmbedded LinuxPi Zero 2W
P1 · Red Team In Progress
Cyber Homelab Environment

Ready-to-deploy red team tool built from a Raspberry Pi 5 8GB, 512GB NVMe, custom 3D printed housing running Kali Linux, WiFi 7, fully wireless. Aimed at a self-built Windows Active Directory lab simulating an under-patched office network. Wireless entry, then a documented pivot to Domain Admin. Both sides of the attack built by hand.

Progress40%
Offensive SecurityActive DirectoryKali Linux3D PrintedPi 5
P2 · AI In Progress
Self Hosted A.I

A fully offline personal AI system for Linux and macOS, running local models on my own hardware with no cloud dependency. Local inference is up and running; the roadmap adds task-based model routing, a compounding memory system from journal entries, and sanitized open-API access for live data. Every piece of personal data stays on your own hardware, permanently.

Progress25%
OllamaLLMRAG · ChromaDBPrivacyRTX 3070
P4 · Infrastructure In Progress
Private Cloud Storage

Physical cloud storage built on repurposed enterprise hardware using NVMe drives in RAID, SODIMM RAM and Nextcloud with full encryption at rest, accessible from anywhere via VPN. No third party holds the data. No terms of service on your own files.

Progress5%
NextcloudRAIDSelf-HostedEncryptionWireGuard
P5 · Research Coming Soon
Quantum Computing

Stepping outside the owned-hardware pattern to learn a frontier field firsthand. Using cloud quantum platforms to run real circuits, understand the fundamentals, and turn that into a documented research project. The natural next horizon after owning classical cryptography: understanding the machines that will one day break it.

ProgressComing Soon
QuantumCloud ComputeResearchCryptography
Credentials in progress
CompTIA A+
Hardware · OS · Troubleshooting
Readiness · In Progress55%
// project coverage
P3
90%
P1
85%
P4
70%
CompTIA Network+
Networking · Protocols · Infra
Readiness · In Progress30%
// project coverage
P1
95%
P4
80%
P2
55%
CompTIA Security+
Security · Crypto · Threats
Readiness · In Progress30%
// project coverage
P3
95%
P1
90%
P2
65%
Background

Building at the component level.

Eight years of development and assembly from the component level up: custom PCs, workstations, handhelds, and security hardware.

I build things, break them to understand how they fail, and rebuild them better.

Currently studying Computer Information Systems on the Cybersecurity track at Baruch College in New York.

Each project starts as a question I wanted answered for myself. Could I run my own AI offline? Could I build my own payment terminal? Could I host my own cloud storage? I build them to find out, and to keep them in my own hands.

Currently
Junior, Baruch College · CIS / Cybersecurity
GPA
3.911 · Dean's List
Focus
Cybersecurity & Hardware Engineering
Credentials in progress
CompTIA A+ · Network+ · Security+
Location
New York City, USA
Languages
English · Urdu · Spanish · Punjabi · Arabic · Hindi
Evil Avenue

Evil Avenue

Evil Avenue is the name I put on my work. It comes from a few ideas I keep coming back to: that finished beats perfect, and that it's worth learning to push past your own limits rather than settling inside them.

It covers everything I make, across hardware, software, art, music, and design.

8+
Years building at component level
NY
New York City · building · available
Contact

Get in touch.

I document projects as I build them. Links below.