MARKUS "FLAKE" SCHMALL

Hi, I'm Markus — most people online know me as Flake. I work in information security, where I spend my days thinking about how systems break and how to make them harder to break. Outside of the day job, I write code for fun — lots of it.

What I Do

My professional focus is on security management, vulnerability analysis, and risk assessment. I've built SecMan, a full-stack platform that helps organizations manage security requirements, track vulnerabilities, and maintain compliance. It's open source, and it's the kind of tool I wished existed years ago.

Beyond that, I've worked on honeypots, network scanners, and various security utilities that scratch itches I encounter in day-to-day work. If something annoys me twice, I'll probably write a tool for it.

Languages I Love

I'm a polyglot programmer, but I have clear favorites. Kotlin is where I feel most at home — it hits the sweet spot between expressiveness and JVM ecosystem maturity. Python is my go-to for quick scripts, prototypes, and anything involving data. Go is what I reach for when I need something fast, compiled, and deployable as a single binary. And Java is still there when the project calls for it — I've written enough of it to know its strengths and quirks intimately.

Beyond the Keyboard

I'm a long-time Amiga enthusiast — the machine that got me into computing in the first place. There's something about the Amiga's philosophy of doing more with less that still resonates with how I approach software today.

If you want to chat about security, programming, retro computing, or open source, you can find me on X (@flakedev) or connect on LinkedIn.