About me

Hello, I am Marco Thomas, a software developer from Germany! 👋

I'm currently pursuing a Master's in IT Security in Munich, with a strong passion for low-level systems, especially UNIX-like OS internals, network security, and how our tech world generally works under the hood.

Feel free to explore my little corner of the internet, where I somewhat try to give a glimpse on what I'm doing and what I'm interested in. I'm trying to keep this place here updated as my life progresses, because it's a fun side project.

Feel free to find my public projects on my Gitea and GitHub or reach out to me via eMail.

Talk Anne2 Anne2

Interests

  • 💻 Computer Systems & IT Security

    I'm really obsessed with studying and understanding how modern UNIX-like computer systems work, down to the lowest levels and how to secure them effectively. My biggest interests here are the network stack, the operating system kernel and everything related to that. Many interests of mine derive from this curiosity of diving deep into such topics and is generally a reoccuring theme, when I once again deep-dive way too deep into a random topic I found or heard about online. Additionally, I love giving talks and presentations about technical topics to share my knowledge and create value for everyone!

  • 📷 Photography

    I was always fascinated by cameras, using them for both photography and videography, dating back to my first camera-capable device: A Nintendo DSi! I try to focus my attention towards the particularity of everyday things, but I also love shooting street and sometimes I'm trying myself in architecture, such as castles on my last Japan trip! All of this is done with my trusty GX80 with the 20mm 1.7, as I just love the challenge of finding the perfect shot with a 'limited' prime. See the Photography tab for my portfolio!

  • 🧪 Research

    During the work on my bachelor's thesis on some SMT problems and the subsequent publication of such, I became quite interested in general research inside the realm of computer science. I spend a lot of time reading some papers or reading myself into random different topics, but mainly on topics related to cryptography or privacy.

  • 🔒 Privacy

    I do believe in the idea of privacy being a basic right, which everyone has and which is often exploited by big companies, to their financial advantage. In my opinion, everyone should be able to decide on their own which information about themselves are online and to use software without the fear of being tracked and sold to advertisement companies or data brokers.

  • 🔧 Selfhosting

    After learning the basics in server administration, I started to host my own cloud for the love of privacy and hatred of subscription models. It took some time to get used to, but now I'm happy to have made the jump, as I can 100% choose which services to run, without compromising comfort or the fear of loosing features in the future.

  • 🧑‍💻 Programming

    My favourite languages are Rust, C and Python! Most of my time is spent programming random things, but I'm geared towards systems programming. My preferred tools of choice are Helix in a tmux session with the everforest colorscheme. All of my public projects are on my Gitea and GitHub.

  • ⌨️ Keyboards

    I love(d) to design and build my own keyboards for both programming and gaming. I prefer tactile switches on the heavier side, but I have all sorts of switches here. Check out the Keyboards tab for some images!

  • 🍵 Tea

    Brewing and drinking a variety of green and white teas has become a passion and relaxing hobby ever since starting with it in 2021, which was only deepened after my exchange semester in Japan.

  • 🕹️ Gaming

    Growing up with all sorts of Nintendo Consoles shaped my relationship to video games. I really love sandbox games and my 3DS LL, primarily playing the DS and 3DS Mario-titles!

Resume

Education

  1. HM Logo Master Science: IT Security

    Mar 2024 — now

    Munich University of Applied Sciences

    Munich (BY), Germany

  2. SIT Tokyo Logo Graduate Exchange Program

    Apr 2025 — Jul 2025

    芝浦工業大学 (Shibaura Institute of Technology)

    Tokyo, Japan

  3. HM Logo Bachelor Science: Computer Science

    Oct 2020 — Mar 2024

    Munich University of Applied Sciences

    Munich (BY), Germany

  4. IHK Logo Apprenticeship: Mathematical‑Technical Softwaredeveloper (MaTSe)

    Sep 2019 — Nov 2022

    IHK für München und Oberbayern

    Munich (BY), Germany

  5. GIK Logo Higher Education Entrace Qualification

    Jun 2013 — Jun 2019

    Gymnasium im Kannenbäckerland

    Höhr-Grenzhausen (RLP), Germany

Experience

  1. genua Logo Dual Study Program: M.Sc. IT-Security

    Mar 2024 — now

    genua GmbH

    Student Software Developer for BSD Kernel, system daemons, firewall and VPN-related programs and other security related applications.

    Kirchheim near Munich (BY), Germany

  2. genua Logo Dual Apprenticeship: B.Sc. Computer Science & MaTSE

    Sep 2019 — Mar 2024

    genua GmbH

    • Student Software Developer, working in various development teams with technologies such as C, C++, Perl, git, shell and ssh on OpenBSD and Linux; responsibilities included testing, bug fixing, code reviews using Gerrit, as well as contributing to the development of L4-products, firewall and VPN-appliances.
    • Student Researcher and Software Developer for a BMBF-funded project on business process-driven network policy models, contributing to policy compiler, CI infrastructure, and SMT-based rule verification, submitted to PRDC 2024.
    Kirchheim near Munich (BY), Germany

  3. genua Logo Internship

    Apr 2018

    genua GmbH

    Internship about IT security practices, network security and Python programming.

    Kirchheim near Munich (BY), Germany

Publications

  1. Optimal Deployment of High-Level Access Control Policies in Heterogeneous Enforcement Infrastructures

    Nov 2024

    Authors: Marco Thomas, Claas Lorenz, Alf Zugenmaier

    29th IEEE Pacific Rim International Symposium on Dependable Computing (PRDC 2024)

    Osaka, Japan

Skills

  • 🌍 Languages

    German (Native)
    English (Fluent)
    Japanese (N4-ish, UNIcert® Basis)
    French (School)

  • 🧑‍💻 Programming

    Very incomplete list, but (somewhat?) sorted by preference and skill:
    Rust, Python, C, Haskell, Bash, JavaScript, Java, x86/x64/RISC-V ASM

  • 🖥️ Technologies

    Linux and BSD-based systems with all of the basic tools (shell, git, ssh, vim, fzf, ...). Additionally all of the state-of-the-art stuff, like Docker, traefik, ZFS, etc.

  • 📜 Typesetting

    I typeset all of my documents using Typst or LaTeX (except this website >.<). For presentations, I also go for Typst or presenterm.

Photography

To be written!

Keyboards

  • Anne Pro 2

    My first pre-built Keyboard, where I tried lots of different keycaps, but finally settled with DROP PBT Blank Gradient keycaps. The beginning of my journey.

    Anne2 Anne2 Anne2

  • DZ60

    A classical DZ60 board with tactile AKKO Lavendar Purple switches, lubed with Trybosys 2303 and topped with GMK Noel. This is my to-go board, which I usually bring to any place, where I will work for an extended time, like at the office or my parents home!

    DZ Noel DZ Noel DZ Noel

  • Blade60

    A heavy Blade60 case with Trybosys 2303 lubed tactile AKKO Lavendar switches and beautiful AKKO Neon Caps. My main board for programming and typing... eternal love <3

    Blade60 Blade60 Blade60 Blade60 Blade60 Blade60

  • KBDLite67 R2 Tiffany

    My gaming board with fast and lubed linear Gateron Yellow Milky switches and ePBT Green & White caps. Previosly, I used linear AKKO Matcha, but they were a tad too heavy, so back to being generic...

    KBDLite KBDLite KBDLite

  • GMMK Pro

    My first try on a larger board with linear AKKO Matcha switches and ZDA Matcha Keyboards, to cope with my matcha addiction. Sadly the board and ZDA caps didn't quite fit my typing preferences, so I sold it 2 years after buying it. It seems that I'm doomed to be a cherry profile snob.

    GMMK GMMK GMMK

  • Gallery

    A collection of photos, which show multiple keyboards and don't fit any of the previous sections.

    Family Family Family

Japan Travel

This is a map of Japan showing all of the beautiful prefectures, provided by mapchart.
Each prefecture that I have visited is shown in green. Hover - long press on mobile - over the map to see my favourite photo I took there so far! It's rather to track my progress of visiting all of Japan, rather than presenting all of my favourite images. You can find those in the Photography tab!