Michael Goetzman

Who Am I: Michael J. Goetzman (LinkedIn)

Location: Wisconsin

Title: Information Technology, Security, & Privacy Leader

Education: Master of Science in Business Management with international studies in Havana, Cuba

My name is Michael Goetzman (pronounced guh-ts-man). I was born, raised, and still live in Wisconsin, part-time in Minnesota during the summer months. While the Midwest is my home and I do my best to escape the brutual Midwest winters whenever possible to Nevada.

By day, I’m a leader of leaders in the Information Technology and Security space, with a focus on the resilience of critical infrastructure and only for technology for social good. It’s the kind of work that gets me out of bed making a tangible impact and helping to make the world more secure, equitable, and connected.

By night, I moonlight as a modern cultural anthropologist, exploring how technology shapes human behavior, often through local tech events and community engagement. Those being CypherCon, Wisconsin's largest technology conference & SecretCon in Minnesota you likely know about.

This site is my little slice of the internet. I created it as a place to collect and share my thoughts, experiences, ideals, and lessons learned both personal and professional. While many use blogs to influence, vent, or build an online presence, I see mine as a working archive: part journal, part sounding board, and part shared knowledge base. Sometimes I rant. Sometimes I reflect. Sometimes I just document what I’ve already built. Maybe in all that, we find something in common and maybe that’s where we connect.

"Who I am?" is a deep question...

My Personal World

When the great intertubes and information superhighway first came into existence, I was there as early as I could, just a youngster, growing up in Northern Wisconsin. Anonymity wasn’t just common; it was the default culture of the early web. As a curious child discovering this digital frontier, adopting an anonymous name felt essential to fully immersing myself in this new paradigm of freedom and exploration.

That first thrilling step, choosing a pseudonym, was my gateway into a world where identity was fluid and imagination reigned. My journey began with a character in a text-based MUD (Multi-User Dungeon), where a random name generator christened me “Kamic A’kota.” Kamic—an anglicized form of kamika, meaning “desirous” or “pertaining to desire,” reminiscent of the Latin cupiditas.

Since then, I’ve worn many names: “Minnow,” “Monster,” “Korgo,” and perhaps others by which you’ve known me. Each alias marked a chapter, a mask, a new lens through which to explore the ever-evolving internet. Today, I'm Monster. My daughter named me. I try to come up with Monstrous ideas, and actually execute on those.

Esse quam videri. Quisque aliquid habet quod occultet.
To be rather than to seem. Everyone has something to hide.

Still Here? Ah, Okay...

I have an excessive "Monstrous" number of hobbies... perhaps too many! One thing I quickly noticed during my travels is that the world’s most captivating destinations often revolve around water, whether it’s vast oceans or exotic rivers. I earned my PADI certification in 1998 at the age of 16, which opened up an entirely new realm of exploration beneath the surface. I've since shared this love of scuba diving with my kids, my daughter starting at the minimum of 10 years old, and my son at 12. We've had the privilege of diving in vibrant, colorful waters near the Hawaiian Islands. I've also drove off the coast of the Bahamas, Galapagos islands, throughout Mexico, and even in Cuba’s storied Bay of Pigs.

Though I’m not a professional photographer, I took a few classes on them, I’ve always tried to incorporate photography into my adventures to preserve memories that I can revisit later in life, especially when those moments involve diving, hiking, or discovering something unexpected. I also like to capture the era and vibes for future generations.

In addition to scuba diving, photography, and flying, I enjoy exploring local trails and forests, paddling the Peshtigo River, geocaching with my kids, building websites, strolling through historic Cedarburg, and curling like an Olympic pro with local clubs. In a past life, I worked as a lifeguard, built robots through FIRST Robotics, and still tinker with vintage hardware and software ICQ, BBSs, and other digital oddities long forgotten by most of society.

Odd, you are still here, hmm?!

Lastly, and most importantly, my greatest joy in life is being a husband and father of two. Together, we embrace what would be considered, from a world perspective, an avant-garde lifestyle (and at least by Midwestern standards): seeking out fine art, enjoying live indie theater, attending and participating in film festivals, traveling as a family, and constantly discovering new genres of intriguing music, mostly melodic techno though. :P

Life moves fast. But amidst the hustle, nurturing our children’s minds, bodies, and life experiences remains our highest priority. When I do find a rare moment of stillness, I try to pause and reflect often with a good book on philosophy, exploring questions far larger than I can fully grasp. I’m endlessly fascinated by what makes us who we are, both genetically and existentially, and I often daydream about potential future worlds "Solarpunk?" and adventures and concepts that may someday exist.

Carpe diem. Vita brevis.
Seize the day. Life is short.

Now I think you are just stalking me.. :P

I believe in the freedom of information, equality before the law, the advancement of scientific research, and the importance of the individual imperative, organizations and governments exist to serve people, not the other way around. I’m deeply troubled by dictatorships, attacks on democracy, and the sinister abuse of technology to control. I don’t claim to have any of the answers; I just wish someone or anyone did, and support that direction. Utopian visions are always a work in progress, constantly evolving. My hope is to help guide them in the right direction.

I don’t follow a single role model, but I draw inspiration from a variety of thinkers, creators, and innovators—each offering a unique lens on the world. Among them: Andrew Niccol, Isaac Asimov, Increase A. Lapham, Daniel Miessler Phil Zimmermann, Alan Watts, Tim Berners-Lee, Alex Garland, Nathan Myhrvold, Neil deGrasse Tyson, John Gilmore, Dean Kamen, Burt Rutan, Jason deCaires Taylor, and the late Jon Karkow. Even my "Heroes" have flaws, that's okay, let's get enough wins to advance humanity.

My interests extend deeply into creative and exploratory domains. I author science fiction novels (and never share them), produce indie shorts films (if you can find them), and construct large-scale interactive art installations in collaboration with international artists (if you are brave enough to seek them out). Basically, much of my time is spent creating immersive worlds—writing stories that explore philosophy, identity, and the mysteries of existence and how tech places into that. I enjoy the challenge of crafting unique worlds, characters and placing them in thought-provoking scenarios, refining the narrative for future publication.

Beyond the written word, I bring these characters to life through live-action film. For me, film is a mind simulator—a medium for exploring potential futures and the social dynamics they might bring. Mr. Robot or Black Mirror-like. I also pursue digital art, blending left-brain logic with right-brain creativity, always pushing boundaries and asking: What worlds will next-level creations reveal?

Now that I know you are stalking me, here is everything

I’ve worn many hats throughout my career: Starting as a Lifeguard while working for my high school on the Novell network, diving into the professional career as a Network Architect through my associates degree, As a Systems Engineer during my bachelors degree, following virtualization into the cloud as a Cloud Architect, and now a Privacy Advocate, and Technology Leader for critical infrastructure and social good. Basically I focus on technology people and transformational leadership. 🙂

My professional curiosity drives me to constantly study emerging and esoteric trends: zero-days, malware, cyber defense strategies, and topics often considered overly paranoid: artificial intelligence, facial recognition, biohacking, hardware hacking, the Internet of Things, and smart cities. I also have a soft spot for the old-school: phreaking, physical security, and hands-on tinkering. This passion leads me to volunteer, attend, and speak at a wide variety of technology conferences from San Francisco to New York. I firmly believe that sharing with the correct communities help elevate the industry as a whole.

Community is especially important to me. For the past decade, I’ve led and operated a major grassroots project: CypherCon, that has now become not only Wisconsin’s community hacker conference but the largest tech conference in the state. From October to April, any extra time my wife and I can find goes into planning the next unforgettable event that hackers and security professionals actively seek out and look forward to. We don’t take that responsibility lightly. Year eight (2025) brought in around 2,250 attendees. Seven speaker tracks, 125 talks.... it's a lot.

We go beyond CypherCon with our vision, we also organize BSidesMKE in Milwaukee and SecretCon in Minnesota. Through these events, we work closely with our local peers to drive visionary ideas and help educate the broader tech community on emerging concepts. Our current focus includes enhancing career development opportunities, strengthening community relationships, and designing immersive, multisensory experiences that offer meaningful escapes from the day-to-day grind.

Tech Certifications? Yawn. Over the past 20+ years, I’ve collected a stack of them—part of my ongoing commitment to balancing strategic leadership with deep technical know-how. But let’s be honest: the upkeep fees are relentless… I think I’ll start letting a few of them quietly expire and acquire a new one every year... Tech doesn't hold still.

Microsoft MVP Award –Azure Enterprise Security: Cloud and Datacenter - Highest Microsoft Issued Honor

C|CISO - Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) from EC-Council (Active)

GIAC GSTRT – Certification for Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership for CISOs from SANS. (Active)

CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional from ISC2 (Active since 2011)

CRISC - Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control from ISACA (Active)

CISM - Certified Information Security Manager from ISACA (Active)

CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor from ISACA (Active)

CEH - Certified Ethical Hacker from EC-Council (Active)

CDPSE - Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (Active)

CRMA - Certification in Risk Management Assurance from the Institute of Internal Auditor (IIA) (Active)

CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate (Active)

ITIL v3 - Certificate on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Foundation v.3 (Active)

Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate - Microsoft Cloud Azure AZ-500 Certification (Active)

AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional) - Amazon’s Cloud Computing Services (Active)

Certified Locksmith - Associated Locksmiths of America

And I'm dropping off another 10 or so, nobody needs to know that legacy stuff anymore, right? right?

Wow Stalker, Thanks for learning more about me, curious why you are still here... Say hi if you see this :P and give me the password "Illusory superiority" - So far only 12 individuals have sent me this password, well done! – non est antidotum