About Percy Reyes

PhD Candidate in Computer Science (Cryptography) at Loughborough University, England, UK 

Systems Engineer & Computer Scientist
Owner/Founder at SQLEngineers

"As within so without..."

Research Areas: Cryptographic Boolean functions, planar functions, APN functions, number theory, finite fields, stream ciphers, algebraic aspects of cryptography. Also, database query processing, distributed database systems, database security, database performance, database reliability engineering. 

BRIEF: 

• PhD candidate in Computer Science (cryptography) at Loughborough University, England, UK.
• I am a DR Representative for Computer Science & the DR Representative Lead for School of Science at Loughborough University, UK (2020-2021).
• Master (with Distinction) in Advanced Computer Science at Loughborough University, England, UK (2018-2019).  I won the MSc project prize with the highest mark. 
• Bachelor degree (with Distinction) in Systems Engineering at National University of Trujillo, Peru (2003-2007). 
• I have been a senior Microsoft SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) for over 15+ years. I am the owner/founder of SQLEngineers, a company that provides 24x7 remote SQL DBA services, based in Lima, Peru. 
• I have been a Certified Database Professional since 2005. Have a look at my Microsoft Certification Official Transcript here (Transcript ID: 710696 - Access Code: 71069600). 
• I was three-time awarded Microsoft Data Platform MVP (January 2015 - July 2018). 
• I have been an International Speaker and Technical Writer of SQL Server Administration tips for over 12+ years. Also, a Contributor and Author at MSSQLTips.com.

I hold the following Microsoft certificates:

• MCSE Data Management and Analytics (Issued Aug 2018)
  
• MCSA SQL 2016 Database Administration (Issued Aug 2018)
• MCSA SQL 2016 Database Development (Issued Aug 2018)
• MCP Microsoft Certified Professional (Renewed 2012, Issued Apr 2012)
• MCITP Database Developer on SQL Server 2005 (Issued Oct 2008)
• MCTS SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance (Issued Jul 2008)
• MCITP Database Administrator on SQL Server 2005 (Issued Dec 2007)
• MCTS SQL Server 2005 (Issued Oct 2006)
• MCP Microsoft Certified Professional (Issued Sep 2005)

MY EXPERIENCE AS A  SR. DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR...

I am a Senior SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) with over 15+ years of extensive experience managing critical database servers running on SQL Server 6.5, 7.0, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Most importantly, I have an excellent command of all SQL Server Database Administration topics and, even more so, I am very passionate about SQL Server Internals. Furthermore, I am the owner of SQLEngineers, a company to provide 24x7 Remote SQL Server DBA services, which represents the best way to manage your databases proactively, cutting costs and improving the performance. 

I am used to working with all sizes of databases for many multinational companies. In fact, I will make your database run significantly better, and so your mission-critical business applications will also run much better. It all means your business will run much better. For more information in detail, you can have a look at DBA Services.  You may also want to have a look at my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/percyreyes/ 

My key skills as a database administrator are:

• In-depth knowledge and strong experience in Database Administration of SQL Server including installation and upgrade of the Database Engine and Client Tools, Allocation System Storage and planning future storage requirements for the database system, Backups/Restores operations, Indexing, Statistics, Integrity Checks, Database Maintenance, Database Reduction, Storage Engine, Replication, Monitoring, Optimization and Performance Tuning, In-Memory OLTP, Security and Compliance, Scalability, High Availability, Mirroring, Log Shipping, Always On, Failover Clustering, FileStream, Partitioning Very Large Tables, Disaster Recovery, Troubleshooting, and internals issues
• In-depth Knowledge of Database Theory and SQL Server Internals
• In-depth Knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL) and T-SQL
• Good understanding of Distributed Computing Architectures, e.g. Client/Server, Internet/Intranet.
• Good understanding of the underlying Windows Operating Systems 2000/2003/2008/2012/2016/2019.
• Good understanding of Storage Technologies, Memory Management, Disk Arrays, NAS/SAN, TCP/IP Networking
• Excellent communications skills. Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences
• Excellent teamwork skills. Ability to handle pressure and conflict. I always keep my opinions open.
• Experience leading and mentoring technical staff. Care about the quality of work
• Innate ability to take initiative, taking a proactive approach to work without close supervision
• High-performance working under the pressure of demanding deadlines
• Ability to simplify complex problems and resolve them quickly
• Good experience working with ITIL
• Good documentation skills

FOLLOWING MY NEW PASSION FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY...

Besides my passion for database systems, I am keen on cryptography, that's, algorithmic cryptanalysis, cryptographic Boolean functions, planar functions, APN functions, number theory, finite fields, stream cyphers, and algebraic aspects of cryptography. Nowadays, I am doing my PhD study in computer science (cryptography) at Loughborough University, UK; I am more interested in the mathematical side of cryptography.

 
I have been a cryptography researcher since 2018, more specifically, doing research on cryptographic Boolean functions to prevent algebraic attacks. My latest research was about constructing Boolean functions to prevent the cube attack at Loughborough University, UK. More precisely, block cyphers and stream cyphers have to face multiple types of attacks such as differential attacks and algebraic attacks, respectively. These attacks exploit vulnerabilities in some properties of Boolean functions, so my studies are intended to work out some solutions to make these properties resistant to these attacks. Ideally, I make massive use of C programming language for cryptography.

Boolean functions are used as components in the design of many symmetric cyphers (for example S-boxes for block cyphers like AES, or the non-linear component of stream cyphers). These functions have to satisfy certain properties to resist known cryptographic attacks. In this project, I consider a family of such properties, called PN (Perfect non-linear), APN (almost perfect non-linear) and GAPN (generalised APN).

There are some well-known functions with these properties, but recently new methods of constructing such functions have been proposed, involving a combination of theoretical results and computer search. I aim to further develop these methods and obtain new such functions.

To sum up, I am delighted to live in a magic world where x2=x, a freewheeling world of cryptography. Now I am on my own!

HOW I AM LIVING MY BEST LIFE...

To begin with, I am a very happy man, and I live my best life evolving and growing each day, feeling stronger than ever, developing myself from within. I am very spiritual but not religious... as within so without. I am a down-to-earth man with a great personality and youthful enthusiasm, a bit chatty every so often and happy-go-lucky as well. Above all, I have got principles, and my most important attributes are integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. On top of that, I can laugh at myself and always willing to do my best to achieve all my goals because I strongly believe in the beauty of my dreams. I have no fear of failure; I always try to go beyond fears as I believe better things are on the other side. Also, I am single-minded and sold on the idea of everything one can achieve depends on our determination and dedication. "Believe and you will find your own way" is my most inspiring quote.

Particularly, I am most comfortable in environments where things are constantly changing and evolving, and also personal freedom and achievement are emphasised. Likewise, my approach to work and life is driven by advancement, curiosity and solutions since I am an optimistic thinker who constantly adapts to new expectations. Thinking big, going global, questioning, and being open to change is part of my personality. 

I deeply love reading books, I spend most of my time on reading maths and computer science books, and therefore doing research. Also, I spend some time on doing home workouts, playing the electronic keyboard,  meditation. I am not very interested in movies but my favourite movies are The Lord of the Rings, and also Hobbit. I find enjoyment in travelling the world; my favourite place ever visited is England where I had unforgettable and life-changing experiences. I have been there twice, and I lived in Manchester, London, and Loughborough. I've been to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Colombia, and Brazil as well.

MY LOVE FOR BOOKS...

I have a special place in my heart for books. I cannot imagine living my life without reading books; it is just something I have always been doing almost every day. I can't help but reading! I hold a special pile of books on different topics, especially philosophy, mathematics, physics, and cryptography books. What's more, I hold almost a bit more than two hundred books in my personal library at home; I am sure this number will increase in the coming years. So, I am addicted to books. 

I started buying some of these books when I was in England in 2016, then I carried on buying the rest of them while studying at Loughborough University in 2018. You're not going to believe this! but I bought almost one hundred books at that time. I just got carried away buying lots of books, I do love having them and reading paper books and therefore being in England for me was a golden opportunity to let my passion fly! I cannot regret now, I have never done it, and I will undoubtedly buy more books in the foreseeable future. It is so exciting to live among lots of books!

My favourite book is "Alan Turing: The Enigma", and my favourite author is Bruce Schneier, whose books are completely engrossing. I did read them all which are highly recommendable for those of you interested in computer security, cryptography, code-breaking, and security issues.