Secure transit · fragmented
Your visit travels as 8 encrypted shards · nothing is stored
A real example
You, to your AI assistant“Book my Milan trip. Up to €1,200, hotel under €250 a night, until Friday.”
- FlightLisbon → Milan€420Allowed ✓
- HotelDuomo€310/nightBlocked ✕
- HotelBrera€230/nightAllowed ✓
Live in
0+hospitals, insurers & payment processors
Apr 2023 — Mar 2024
Co-Founder & CTO · Dubai
A storage name, rebuilt decentralized.
Live examples · illustrative
No single node holds the file, and none of them can read it
The rebuild
2011 · Centralized
ThenOne company's servers: one point of failure, one point of trust.
NowEncrypted, split and spread across a network no one owns.
The team I built
Built and led engineering, and defined its:
- Apr 2023Co-founded, architecture defined
- May 2023Marketplace prototype, 2 prizes
- Jan 2024Launched in Dubai: marketplace on IPFS & Polygon
- NextDecentralized storage service
Built on
- IPFSContent-addressed files
- PolygonSmart contracts
- LensProfiles & identity
- ChainlinkAutomated pricing
2024 — 2025
Lead Systems Architect · Lisbon · Hybrid
CCTV that notices what matters.
Live examples · illustrative
Operator notified · evidence clip 14:32:08–14:32:11 secured
How a frame becomes an alert
- CameraExisting CCTV, any brand, thermal or night vision
- Secure ingestStreams stay on-site, encrypted in transit
- Vision modelsDetect and track people, objects, events
- Event enginePatterns over time, zones and context
- OperatorAlert with the evidence clip attached
The teams I led
Multidisciplinary teams across 4 disciplines:
Cortex41 and bespoke deployments built around it.
Built for
- ReliabilityRuns around the clock, in harsh environments
- ScalabilityFrom one site to a network of them
- Data protectionFootage stays local; access is restricted
Jan 2024 — Mar 2024 · Dubai
Lead Systems Architect · Distributed & Secure Infrastructure
Servers taken mid-attack. Recovered in an hour.
Incident replay · illustrative
1 week unresolved outside · 1 hour once the team stepped in
The calls I made
- Keep waiting on the outside firm?No. I asked to step in.
- Concede to the demands?Never.
- Restore first, or contain first?Contain, then restore.
- Back online when?Once integrity is verified.
The recovery team
Assembled and coordinated a dedicated team, and defined the containment and recovery strategies.
The difference
1 weekAn outside risk-mitigation firm. Still unresolved.
1 hourThe team I assembled. Assets recovered.
0Demands conceded
As lead architect
- System-wide architectureOwned it end to end
- Critical decisionsMade the calls that couldn't wait
- Technical leadershipAcross multiple enterprise projects
Feb 2022 — Jan 2024 · Dubai
Senior Software Architect · Distributed Infrastructure
A data centre burned. I didn't rebuild it. I distributed it.
Fire drill · illustrative
One building, one point of failure
How the storage works
- FragmentEvery file split into pieces
- EncryptEach piece sealed; no site holds readable data
- AddressPieces found by content hash, not location
- DistributeSpread across a private network of sites
- RebuildAny file reassembled from surviving pieces
The client
Al Kharafi GroupLinkedIn ↗Industrial SectorOne of the major industrial groups in Egypt: aluminium, paper, brake systems, foam and packaging.The result
- ↓Infrastructure cost reduced
- ↓Operational cost reduced
- ↑Resilience improved
- ↑Fault tolerance improved
The decision
Rebuild
- One site again
- Same single point of failure
- Full data-centre cost
DistributeChosen
- Encrypted fragments, many sites
- No single place to lose
- Lower infrastructure and running cost
Dec 2021 — Dec 2022 · Dubai
Software Architect
Where it started: architecture, next to the CEO.
Blueprint · illustrative
A blank sheet and a brief: enterprise, mission-critical
What the role covered
- 01System architectureHow the pieces fit together, and how they fail
- 02Infrastructure designWhere it runs and how it grows
- 03Early decisionsThe calls that are expensive to change later
Where it led
Four roles at OmniClouds, from here:
Worked directly with
Amr A. EidFounder & CEO, OmniCloudsLinkedIn ↗Hired for the overlap
Hired for my architect's training as much as for code: one person holding physical architecture, software and cybersecurity in the same design.
Rabid DAO
2020 · Portugal
Invited in · Tech & Teams
Extreme sports, owned by their community.
The platform · illustrative
The marketplace
How it started
- Two skater friendsClose to the scene, with the idea
- Their athletesRiders who wanted to be part of it
- They invited me inThe technical side and the teams
- One goalAwareness for extreme sports and their community
How far it got
- Architected
- Built
- Marketplace out
- Full launch
Timing is part of the architecture.
Owned by the DAO
Blenso
Jan 2019 — Jan 2020 · Lisbon
Founder
Architected in Lisbon. Built by teams in Brazil.
How we delivered · illustrative
Architecture stays with the client; building scales with the network
How a project ran
- ArchitectDesigned with the client, in Lisbon
- AllocateA team matched to the project, mainly in Brazil
- BuildOutsourced development, coordinated as one team
- ReviewArchitecture and security checked before hand-off
- DeliverShipped to the client
As founder
Built the company and its delivery network, and architected the projects with each client.
The network
- PTLisbonArchitecture with the client, coordination
- BRBrazilThe core development teams
- +Other continentsA freelance network on demand
What we built
- BlockchainSmart contracts and on-chain systems
- Data decentralisationData that doesn't live in one place
- CybersecuritySecurity designed in, not bolted on
Wood Houses Projects
2017 — Oct 2019 · Lisbon
Co-Founder & Architect
Houses designed in Lisbon, built in factories.
The models · my renders
1 / 5
Where they were made
Designed in Lisbon
From drawing to house
- DesignThe model, the system, the wall typology
- SpecifyMaterials, methods and technical standards
- FactoryBuilt by partners in Porto, Braga and Spain
- LogisticsFrom the factory floor to the site
- AssemblyPut together on site, quickly
Started with builders who already did it. The plan was a factory of our own.
What you could order
Wall typology
Wood frame · Timber studs, warm and quick to build
Jul — Aug 2018 · Funchal, Madeira
Architecture intern
Where I learned what an architecture office really takes.
The building · Estrada Monumental 268, Funchal
The plot, before the project
From project to site
- ClientBrought into the design, in direct contact
- DesignThe building takes shape
- MaterialsResearched and chosen for the project
- DrawingsDetailed enough to build from
- HandoverEverything the site needs, before it starts
What an office really takes
- ClientsIn the room, all the way through
- MaterialsResearched, chosen, justified
- PreparationMost of the work happens before the site
A summer internship offered by the Regional Government of Madeira, in Funchal.
Arms: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
2014 — 2019 · Lisbon
Integrated Master in Architecture
Trained as an architect: five years, one integrated master's.
The studio · illustrative
A blank sheet
At the same time
Football, servers, a prefab start-up and an internship, alongside the degree.
What carried over into software
- Designing under constraintsSite, budget, rules and people, all at once
- Thinking in systemsA building is a system of systems
- Drawing to explainOne good drawing beats a page of text
One degree · 300 ECTS
Five years of
Private Game Servers
2013 — 2017 · Online
Builder & Operator
Where infrastructure started: game servers.
Server console · illustrative
- $ ssh root@vps-01
From a bare VPS to players connecting
2013 → 2017
- 2013Minecraft and Counter-Strike: the first servers
- 2015ARK, then FiveM
- 2015–17Mostly FiveM: my own servers, and servers for others
Built for others
Besides my own, I helped other communities build their servers, end to end:
The servers
- Minecraft:25565Where it started
- Counter-Strike:27015Dedicated servers
- ARK:7777Survival worlds
- FiveM:30120GTA V roleplay, from 2015 the main one
What real players teach you
- UptimePlayers notice every minute it's down
- PerformanceLag is a bug report from everyone at once
- SecurityAdmin access, cheaters, attacks: all day
Cybersecurity, since 2009
2009 — present
Self-taught, and still learning
2009: the year curiosity got me.
One thing I got curious about · illustrative
My own game server's panel
How I learn
↻ still
- AskWhy does this work?The question comes before the tool
- UnderstandFind the real causeThe reason, not the symptom
- FixClose it properlyOn my own systems first
- Keep goingThere's always another layerWhich is the fun part
Where curiosity took me first
- FirstItem duplication
- ThenSQL injection
- ThenDDoS
- ThenNetworks
An ocean of categories
2009 → 2026
- Web
- Networks
- Infrastructure
- Game servers
- Cryptography
- Reverse engineering
- Malware
- Forensics
- Social engineering
- Hardware
- Cloud
- OT / ICS
- Mobile
- Identity
- AI systems
Same curiosity, bigger systems
LAN parties, MMOs & bots
2005 — 2013
Player, then tinkerer
It started at a LAN party.
Where it began · illustrative
A bar, a room full of PCs
Who showed me
- My cousinsTook me to the LAN party
- Their friendsIT and security backgrounds: they showed me bots
What came next
In the order they came
- Counter-Strike 1.6
- Tibia
- RuneScape
- Dekaron
- World of Warcraft
- Guild Wars
- League of Legends
Full circle
Bots were the first software I saw act on its own. Today, at Humanos, I build the checks for what AI agents are allowed to do.
C.D. Nacional
2005 — 2014 · Funchal, Madeira
Striker
Before code: nine years as a striker.
The pitch · illustrative
Kick-off
The path
- 2005ESFUMAEscola de Futebol da Madeira: where it started
- ScoutedA Nacional coachBrought me to C.D. Nacional
- C.D. NacionalFirst divisionMostly as a striker, the #9
- 2014Last seasonThen architecture, full time
Where the journey starts
Discipline on the pitch, then architecture, servers, distributed systems and security. All the way to Humanos.
ESFUMAEscola de Futebol da MadeiraC.D. NacionalFirst divisionWhat football taught me
- DisciplineIt shaped me into a disciplined person
- ResilienceLose on Sunday, train on Monday
- TacticsReading the game, not just playing it
- TeamI thrived in a team environment
Rui Lagos — Co-Founder & CTO, Humanos
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