From the Kernel Up: How I Built an AI-Native, Patent-Pending Security OS from My Bedroom to the USPTO

What does it take to build a production-ready, AI-native Linux operating system from scratch — as a solo developer, working professional, and UMGC alumnus? In this session, Steven Handy, M.S. '22, '24, shares the technical journey, setbacks, and breakthroughs behind AsanteOS — a security-hardened Linux OS featuring patent-pending kernel architecture, eBPF runtime threat detection, air-gapped AI inference, and Zero Trust access control built for federal, defense, and healthcare environments.

Steven will discuss how his UMGC education shaped his architectural thinking, what it means to protect systems at the hardware level, and how aspiring cybersecurity professionals can think bigger about what they build. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of kernel-level security, zero trust architecture, and what it looks like to take an original cybersecurity innovation from idea to USPTO provisional patent — while working full time. This session is for students, staff, and cybersecurity professionals who believe the field deserves more than incremental improvements — and that the next generation of defenders should be building, not just configuring.