The last person a website hacker wants to encounter is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner riding a Harley. But if Dre Armeda has anything to do with the security of the targeted site, that’s exactly with whom the hacker will have to contend.

As the co-founder of Sucuri Inc., “the best website security company of today, and of the future,” Armeda is on a mission to make the Internet a safer place for all. And at Las Vegas WordCamp 2013, he’ll be teaching attendees what they can do to tighten up the security of their own WordPress websites.

We got a chance to talk to this taco-obsessed, tech startup enthusiast to learn more about him.

Dre Ameda
Website: http:dre.im
Twitter: @dremeda

WCLV: What do you love most about WordPress?

DA: As a platform for building applications, websites, blogs, and awesomeness, WordPress is beyond flexible. I love its extensibility! Beyond the software though is where my love starts though. The single thing I love most about WordPress is its beautiful community of users, developers, designers, and business folks. We live in the spirit of open source as WordPress community members, and there’s no better place to be!

WCLV: What are some of your favorite WordPress-built websites?

DA: One of my favorite uses for WordPress in recent history was that created by WebDevStudios for the YMCA. They created an application named Y-MVP that is a component of their successful Strong Kids Card program (http://www.ymcanyc.org/association/pages/y-mvp).

It is an all mobile application with a game-play component using BadeOS, a plugin also created by WedDevStudios: http://webdevstudios.com/wordpress/badgeos/.

There are many beautiful examples of WordPress-built websites, but what excites me are applications based on WordPress like Y-MVP.

WCLV: What are your favorite WordPress plugins?

DA: Sucuri Security – SiteCheck Malware Scanner:  http://wordpress.org/plugins/sucuri-scanner/ and Sucuri CloudProxy Web Firewall: http://wordpress.org/plugins/sucuri-cloudproxy-waf/.

WCLV: Favorite book and why.

DA: I recently read a book by Cal Newport named So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. Very cool book and I recommend it to anyone trying to figure out what direction to head in business and career.