diniscruz.ai / writing
Writing
Every essay, research brief and project proposal by Dinis Cruz, newest first — 103 pieces on AI, cyber security, semantic knowledge graphs, the future of news and Europe. Browse by topic in the research hub, see the catalogue with tags, or subscribe to the RSS feed.
October 2025 3
- GenLegalAdvise Project PlanSmall businesses, freelancers, and independent consultants regularly encounter legal documents -- consulting agreements, NDAs, service terms, EULAs, data…
- Time as a Calibrator of Credibility and Trust in Information SystemsIn an era of information overload and rampant misinformation, time emerges as a critical factor in determining what information we trust. Traditional…
- Project Voice2SIEM: Turning Customer Support Audio Into Real-Time Security EventsPhone-based social engineering and vishing (voice phishing) attacks are on the rise, targeting customer support and help desk agents. Attackers impersonate…
September 2025 2
- Next-Generation API Security Platform: Semantic Graphs, GenAI Testing & Ephemeral Environments for 2025Modern API security requires going beyond traditional scanning -- it must blend into the API testing lifecycle and leverage cutting-edge AI to map and probe…
- Dinis Cruz's Research on API Security (2009-2025)API security has been a persistent theme in Dinis Cruz's work, spanning early insights in 2009--2010 through to innovative ideas in 2025. His contributions…
August 2025 4 month overview →
- LLM Workflows/Stateflow Service - Technical BriefThe LLM Workflows/Stateflow Service is a proposed stateless web service for executing AI-driven workflows with well-defined, deterministic steps. It acts as a…
- Personas Service - Technical LLM BriefThe Personas Service (to be deployed at personas.prod.mgraph.ai) is a stateless microservice that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to translate and…
- Surrogate Dependencies: Simulating Backends for Offline-First DevelopmentModern software development often relies on remote APIs and services, yet developers frequently need to work in environments where those backends are…
- Iterative Flow Development (IFD) Methodology: JavaScript Web Application ImplementationGenerative AI (GenAI) is rapidly transforming software development, enabling new coding paradigms where human developers collaborate with Large Language Models…
July 2025 12 month overview →
- Project VulnAI: AI-Powered Vulnerability Risk Management PlatformOrganizations continue to struggle with a deluge of security vulnerabilities and alerts, but traditional vulnerability management approaches have failed to…
- Semantic Knowledge Graphs, G³, and Sustainable AI: Aligning Innovations with ESG ObjectivesIn an era when organizations are increasingly accountable for the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts of their technology, innovative…
- Graph‑Based Cloud IAM in the GenAI Agentic WorldThe rapid rise of generative AI agents – autonomous software powered by large language models (LLMs) – is redefining how applications interact with cloud…
- From Large Language Models to Small Models and Code: The Evolution of AI SolutionsLarge Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-3 and GPT-4 have revolutionized what machines can do with human language. These massive models (with hundreds of billions…
- Finding the “Good Enough” Threshold: Optimizing Risk, Creativity, and Product DecisionsEvery decision in business, creativity, or engineering comes with a trade-off between striving for perfection and delivering “good enough” at the right time.…
- Usage-Based Billable Entities: Aligning SaaS Pricing with Customer UsageSoftware-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies have traditionally relied on fixed subscription plans – charging customers a monthly or annual fee for access to a…
- The Joy of Programming in the Age of AI-Assisted DevelopmentIn the software engineering community, the term “flow state” or being “in the zone” describes a peak experience of focus and creativity that makes programming…
- From Free Scraping to Fair Compensation: Cloudflare’s GenAI Crawler Charges and the Future of News MonetizationThe rise of generative AI has upended the traditional relationship between content creators and aggregators. AI web crawlers now scrape vast amounts of text…
- FAQ - Evolving Semantic Graphs and Ontologies with LLMs and MGraph-DBThis FAQ-style white paper addresses key technical questions about Dinis Cruz’s approach to building and evolving semantic knowledge graphs using Large…
- LLM-Driven GDPR Compliance Q&A Graph – Technical BriefThis project aims to build an interactive chatbot UI that guides a user through a series of questions about their organization’s GDPR practices, dynamically…
- Using Memory_FS to Build a File-Based Representation of the GDPR StandardThis white paper presents a method for converting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) text into a structured, file-based representation using the…
- Ephemeral GenAI SIEM: A Serverless, Graph-Driven Approach to Security Event ManagementSecurity Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools have long been central to enterprise defense, but traditional SIEMs struggle with scale, context, and…
June 2025 29 month overview →
- Using Ephemeral Neo4j Instances for a Cybersecurity Risk Graph ScenarioGraph thinkers – those who naturally conceptualize information as networks of nodes and relationships – can greatly benefit from on-demand graph analytics.…
- Ephemeral Neo4j Instances for On-Demand Graph AnalyticsOrganizations are increasingly seeking ways to perform complex graph data transformations and analytics without the overhead of maintaining long-running…
- Data Tests for Neo4j: Bringing Automated Testing to Graph DatabasesNeo4j’s flexible, schema-optional nature is a double-edged sword: it empowers rapid graph modeling but can lead to hidden data inconsistencies as the graph…
- Project Plan: High Street GenAI Learning HubIn many communities, there is a need for a "third space" – a place outside of home and work where people can gather, learn, and collaborate in a…
- FIST Meets the Semantic Knowledge Graph: Aligning Fast, Inexpensive, Simple, Tiny with Dinis Cruz's G³ ApproachModern engineering projects thrive on agility, thrift, and simplicity. These values are encapsulated in the FIST framework – Fast, Inexpensive, Simple, Tiny –…
- Using LLMs as Ephemeral Graph Databases: Empowering the Graph Thinkers in the Age of Generative AIGraph thinkers – those who naturally conceptualize information as networks of nodes and relationships – are poised to benefit immensely from advances in…
- Empowering Workshops with Custom GPTs for GenAI TrainingGenAI (Generative AI) has rapidly emerged as a transformative technology, yet many executives and professionals struggle to find practical entry points for its…
- No Code Development (NCD): A Paradigm Shift Beyond 'Vibe Coding'In recent years, advances in generative AI – especially large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4, Codex, and others – have ushered in a new style of software…
- Empowering the Graph Thinkers in the Age of Generative AIIn a world increasingly defined by complex interconnections, a unique set of individuals thrives on seeing relationships and patterns everywhere – the "graph…
- Comparing the EU FED Cloud vs. an Open-Source Federated Cloud ProposalThe EU FED Cloud is a European initiative to build a federated, sovereign cloud ecosystem with built-in compliance and security. It's not a single public cloud…
- Bridging Niklas Luhmann's Ideas with Semantic Knowledge Graphs and G³Niklas Luhmann (1927–1998) was a renowned German sociologist and systems theorist, famous not only for his influential theory of social systems but also for…
- Workshop Plan: User-Driven Semantic Persona Graphs Powered by GenAIThis workshop will demonstrate how to use Generative AI (GenAI) to build a personalized semantic knowledge graph for a user and then generate tailored outputs…
- The Hidden Cost of Ephemeral Testing and the Case for AutomationThe key insight is that lack of visible tests doesn't mean testing isn't happening – it means testing is happening inefficiently. Developers practicing…
- Personal Content Rights: Protecting Individuals in the Age of Deepfakes and AI CloningThe rise of generative AI has enabled anyone to clone voices, faces, and writing styles with startling realism. From fabricated videos of leaders to…
- User-Driven Semantic Persona Graphs Powered by GenAIModern organizations increasingly rely on knowledge graphs to model complex relationships between business entities, risks, and controls. However, building…
- Technical Briefing: Web Content Filtering ProjectThis technical briefing outlines the architecture and design of the Web Content Filtering Project, which aims to give users fine-grained control over the…
- Follow-Up Technical Vision: Optimizations, Deployment, and SecurityIn our initial briefing, we outlined a web content filtering platform that acts as a proxy to intercept web pages and filter out disallowed content before…
- Security Implications of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the Need for Robust InfrastructureThe Model Context Protocol (MCP) has emerged as a powerful open standard that enables Large Language Models (LLMs) to interface with external tools and data…
- Explorers, Villagers, and Town Planners: Understanding the Generative AI DivideIn the generative AI (GenAI) community of mid-2025, a puzzling divide has emerged. On one side stand the enthusiastic explorers – pioneers who see GenAI as a…
- Supercharging AppSec Threat Modeling Services with GenAI and Semantic GraphsApplication security (AppSec) consulting is on the cusp of a transformation driven by Generative AI (GenAI) and semantic knowledge graphs. By integrating these…
- Using Presentations Instead of CVs in HiringConventional resumes or CVs often provide a flat, one-dimensional snapshot of a candidate. They are typically static lists of past job titles, dates, and…
- Personalized Briefing: Semantic Knowledge Graphs – Intersection of Dinis Cruz & Kerstin Clessienne's WorkKerstin Clessienne is an internationally experienced advisor in applied marketing technology and organizational strategy, who explicitly brands herself as a…
- History and Analysis of OWASP In-Person SummitsThe OWASP in-person summits are intensive, collaborative gatherings of the Open Web Application Security Project’s community. These summits (distinct from…
- GenAI Legacy Code Refactoring – Business PlanGenAI Legacy Code Refactoring is a SaaS company dedicated to modernizing and refactoring legacy software codebases using generative AI (GenAI), human…
- Personalised Briefing for Dan Raywood on the Future of NewsThis executive briefing is a synthesis of hundreds of pages of research by Dinis Cruz (primarily from The Future of News and the Monetisation of Trust report…
- Proposal: Strategic AWS Partnership with Dinis Cruz’s GenAI and Graph InnovationsDinis Cruz is a seasoned cybersecurity technologist and researcher who has spent over six years building advanced solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS). He…
- Proposal for Neo4j Collaboration with Dinis CruzDinis Cruz is a seasoned cybersecurity expert and innovator with a long-standing relationship with Neo4j, marked by years of advocacy for graph technologies.…
- Jira as a Graph Database – Proposal for Atlassian ExecutivesDinis Cruz is a seasoned technology leader and Atlassian expert with over a decade of experience pushing Jira beyond traditional use cases. He has pioneered…
- Linking Threat Models with Semantic Business GraphsThreat modeling is traditionally a technical exercise: security architects enumerate assets, diagram data flows, identify threats/vulnerabilities, and…
May 2025 17
- Using Threat Modeling and Semantic Graphs to Secure the Digital Supply ChainModern organizations rely on complex digital supply chains comprising not only their own systems, but countless third-party components and service providers.…
- Scaling Supply Chain Security using Threat Modeling Semantic Knowledge Graphs and MapsIn today’s interconnected software ecosystem, digital supply chain security has become a critical challenge. Modern applications rely on countless third-party…
- Graphs of Graphs of Graphs (G3) in Threat ModelingModern cybersecurity architectures are highly complex, with myriad components, third-party services, and evolving threat landscapes. Traditional threat…
- Threat Models as Mandatory Disclosures: A Vision for Security TransparencyArgues that publishing threat models improves security transparency.
- Semantic Knowledge Graphs for LLM-Driven Source Code AnalysisUsing knowledge graphs and large language models for analyzing source code.
- Advancing Threat Modeling with Semantic Knowledge GraphsShows how semantic knowledge graphs enhance threat modeling practices.
- LETS (Load, Extract, Transform, Save): A Deterministic and Debuggable Data Pipeline ArchitectureOutline of a deterministic, debuggable data pipeline architecture.
- Technical Debrief: Evolution from Electron‑Based to Python‑Native Web Content Capture AppLessons learned migrating a web capture tool from Electron to Python.
- Project: Electron-Based Web Content Capture App (with Playwright & Python)Following the failed attempt to implement the Project: Web Content Capture Extension with Pyodide and Serverless Backend this version creates a desktop app
- Security Debrief: OpenAI’s ChatGPT Connector GitHub AppAnalyzes security implications of the ChatGPT Connector GitHub app.
- Project: Web Content Capture Extension with Pyodide and Serverless BackendPrototype browser extension leveraging Pyodide and a serverless backend to capture webpage content, including a debrief on why the initial approach failed.
- OAuth Security Concerns and Implications for the Model Context Protocol (MCP)Discusses OAuth risks in relation to the Model Context Protocol.
- Briefing on Canada’s New Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation (vs UK and PT)Canada has recently established a new cabinet position: Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. This unprecedented role signals a…
- Using GenAI to graph and map your company’s dataPresentation delivered at The Grafter meetup Chapter on the 7th Apr 2025
- Research - AI-Powered Customer Service Solutions for Multi-Property Airbnb HostsManaging multiple Airbnb properties means juggling constant guest inquiries across different channels. The goal is to respond quickly and accurately 24/7 –…
- Project GenBnB: Enhancing Airbnb Host Workflows with GenAIExplores using generative AI to automate property listings and customer interactions so Airbnb hosts can focus on high-value tasks.
- Project InsightFlow: GenAI-Powered Transformation of Regulatory and News FeedsDescribes a semantic knowledge graph pipeline that ingests regulations and news, using generative AI to deliver personalized client newsletters.
April 2025 15
- Fail Safe, Not Fail Big: Cyber-Security-Inspired Strategies to Prevent the Next Iberian Grid CrisisThis white paper was authored on April 29, 2025, one day after the Iberian power blackout incident. At the time of writing, no official root cause analysis or…
- Semantic OWASP: Leveraging GenAI and Graphs to Customise and Scale Security KnowledgePresentation delivered at the OWASP London Chapter meeting on the 23rd Apr 2025.
- Navigating the AI Revolution: A University Student’s Guide to Generative AI in EducationGenerative Artificial Intelligence (AI) – especially large language models (LLMs) like GPT-based tools – is transforming how we learn, research, and…
- Graph-Powered Legal Knowledge: An Open, Distributed, and GenAI-Assisted RoadmapLegal systems around the world are growing in complexity and volume, yet the data of law is often trapped in static documents and siloed systems. This paper…
- Strengthening Trust in News: Implementing Identity Graphs for Authors and SourcesWe propose a newsroom‑wide adoption of Identity Graphs: dynamic, data‑rich profiles that verify and continuously update the credentials, affiliations, and past…
- Project Cybersage: AI-Powered Risk Contextualization & Security ReportingProposal for an AI platform that contextualizes vulnerability data and generates clear, risk-based security reports for technical and executive audiences.
- Project Agenda: GenAI-Powered Transformation of Meetings and DocumentationIntroduces a GenAI-driven workflow that prepares meetings, generates personalized briefs and tracks action items to reduce wasted time.
- Scaling a Solo Cybersecurity Consulting Practice - Business Plan ResearchIn summary, current market conditions strongly favor cybersecurity consulting and training services. A confluence of factors – relentless cyberattacks, a…
- Think Different, Again: Reimagining Apple’s Role in the AI EraApple Inc. stands at a crossroads in the spring of 2025. The company that revolutionized personal computing, smartphones, and wearable technology now faces…
- Enhancing Cybersecurity Event Networking with Semantic Knowledge GraphsCybersecurity conferences and trade events thrive on the connections made between attendees, vendors, and presenters. Yet too often, who meets whom is left to…
- The Future of News Monetization: Embracing Micro and Nano PaymentsNews organizations worldwide face a dual challenge: sustaining revenue in the digital age while maintaining user engagement and trust. Traditional subscription…
- Semantic OWASP: Leveraging GenAI and Graphs to Customise and Scale Security KnowledgeSee also this slides and video presented at OWASP's London Chapter Meeting
- Maturity Models vs. Traditional Standards in Application SecurityEvery organization’s security capabilities are different. Traditional standards often assume a uniform set of controls for all teams or applications, which may…
- Intent-Based Feedback Loops in Cloud EnvironmentsToday, a successful deployment typically yields only a confirmation that resources were created or updated – it does not automatically verify that the user’s…
- Europe’s Strategic Opportunity in GenAI: A Deep Dive into Six Defining TrendsA convergence of trends is reshaping the GenAI landscape – models are becoming commoditised and open, systems are shifting from centralized GPU clusters to…
March 2025 6
- Scaling Europe’s Regulatory Superpower: From Static Cybersecurity Standards to Semantic GraphsWhite paper on using semantic graphs to manage EU cybersecurity standards.
- From Top-Down to Organic Evolving Graphs, Ontologies, and TaxonomiesDiscusses dynamic, community-driven approaches to building knowledge graphs.
- Journalists' Challenges with Digital Content Provenance and TrustExplores how semantic graphs build trust in AI-generated news.
- LinkedIn Vault: Professional Data Preservation ServiceAutomates regular backups of LinkedIn career data to user storage.
- Project StartLLM: UC-01: Pentesting Insights Acceleration (PIA)Explores how generative AI can streamline pentesting workflows by summarizing findings and highlighting priorities for faster remediation.
- Project StartLLM: Technical Proposal for 5x GenAI ProjectsStrategic proposal outlining five focused generative AI projects designed to deliver quick wins and accelerate organizational adoption.
February 2025 12
- My Journey Building a GenAI Startup: The Power of MVPs and CI Pipelines - PART 2Presentation delivered at the AI Security Collective meetup in London on the 26th Feb 2025 (Part 2)
- An Open-Source Sovereign Cloud for an Open Europe: The Case for a Federated, AI-Enabled, and Multilingual Digital InfrastructureThe European Union (EU) stands at a critical juncture in defining its digital sovereignty. As reliance on U.S.-based cloud providers like Amazon Web Services…
- Project SupplyShield: GenAI-Driven Supply Chain Risk Management and ComplianceIntroduces an AI-powered third-party risk platform that uses generative models and knowledge graphs to deliver continuous supply chain compliance.
- Scaling Kubernetes with One-Node Clusters: A Paradigm Shift in Cloud-Native OrchestrationKubernetes has revolutionized container orchestration, providing a powerful abstraction for managing workloads across distributed infrastructure.
- Project Lumos: Serverless JIRA-to-GraphDB XYZ ConnectorWorking Backwards plan for an open-source connector that streams JIRA data into GraphDB XYZ using a fully serverless architecture.
- Generative AI and the Future of LearningGenerative AI (GenAI) – think of tools like ChatGPT – is rapidly changing how people learn. Unlike traditional one-size-fits-all teaching, GenAI can tailor…
- Portuguese as a Programming Language in the AI EraAs the official language of nine countries and a working language in multiple international organizations, Portuguese wields significant cultural and…
- O2 Platform's MethodStreams (2010 Open Source SAST engine)The OWASP O2 Platform is an open-source toolkit created by Dinis Cruz as a “new paradigm” for performing and documenting web application security reviews…
- Second Stories: From Three Mile Island to CybersecurityThe concept of "second stories" originates from safety science and the analysis of accidents such as the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear incident. In the…
- Project JSync: JIRA Exporter and Synchronization SystemServerless pipeline that captures JIRA issue changes in real time and stores them in S3 and GitHub, exposing a FastAPI interface for querying the data.
- The Future of News: Building Trust Through Fact ProvenanceThese principles directly align with The Cyber Boardroom: Personalized News Feed Architecture, where fact provenance underpins the platform’s ability to…
- Monetising Trust and Knowledge: How News Providers can leverage Personalised Semantic GraphsThe rise of GenAI-driven content consumption is reshaping how news organisations deliver and monetise information. As platforms, search engines, and…
January 2025 1
- My Journey Building a GenAI Startup: The Power of MVPs and CI Pipelines - PART 1Presentation covering early lessons from building a GenAI startup.
June 2024 1
- Deterministic GenAI Outputs with Provenance (OWASP EU AppSec Lisbon)Presentation delivered at the Global OWASP AppSec in Lisbon in 28th June 2024
February 2024 1
- It’s 2024 and, with GenAI, we can finally make AppSec workPresentation delivered at the OWASP London Chapter meeting on the 22nd Feb 2024