About
Who builds Ryft?
Ryft is a single-founder company, built by Ryan Cordell — a former U.S. Army special-operations soldier, now an offensive-security leader and independent security researcher.
Ryan served with the 82nd Airborne Division and in Army Civil Affairs (special operations), and spent time as an Army recruiter — roles built on operating under pressure, earning trust, and getting the human factor right. He carried that straight into security: nine years in offensive security and, as an independent security researcher on Synack (Slowl3ak), 400+ validated API vulnerabilities across U.S. federal government programs.
He's a hacker to the core — happiest taking a defense apart to see how it really works — and an API expert who built Ryft on a conviction about where security is heading: AI-first tooling that does the heavy lifting, with a human kept firmly in the loop. Ryft automates the grunt work and surfaces the evidence; you make the calls that actually need judgment. No black-box verdicts, no cloud, no telemetry.
One founder. One license. The whole bench — on your machine.
Track record
Selected work & background
Security
- Managed the first bug bounty program for DARPA
- Managing leader, Hack the Pentagon initiatives — the F-15 hack at DEF CON (2019) and Hack the Air Force (2022)
- Independent researcher, Synack (Slowl3ak)
- 400+ validated API vulnerabilities across U.S. federal government programs
Military
- 82nd Airborne Division, Army Civil Affairs (special operations), and Army recruiter
- Two combat deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Army Commendation Medal with Valor (ARCOM-V)
- Technical schools: Jumpmaster and the Reconnaissance & Surveillance Leaders Course
- A technical expert in his field throughout
When he’s not working on security, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family in Northern Virginia — and running, hiking and playing video games.