About

I’m Matt James, Director of Product Security at ID.me, where I lead a team of security engineers and stay hands-on with penetration testing, red teaming, and threat modeling. My current focus is AI-first security: helping a fast-moving company adopt AI without taking on risk it doesn’t understand.

I’ve spent more than 20 years in security. I’ve led red teams at Frontier Communications, run security programs at Apple and ID.me, done offensive work at ManTech, and engineered security for U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the State Department, and the Pentagon. I also ran my own security consultancy, ODND LLC, serving federal and private-sector clients.

I started out as a U.S. Army signal soldier with the 327th Signal Battalion (Airborne) and served in Iraq, where I was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Today I hold the CISSP, CISM, CCSK, and CEH certifications.

odnd.com is where I write field notes on AI, cryptography, and defending real systems. It’s practical advice for practitioners, consultants, and the business leaders who depend on them.