Mr. Birnbaum began his Information Technology (IT) career in 1994. Since that time, he has made systems and security the focal points of his work and interests as an IT professional.
These interests also extend to open source software development, the result of which is ifchk (Interface Check), a computer and network security tool, written and maintained by Mr. Birnbaum.

Australian born, Mr. Birnbaum grew up in Asia, after which time he moved to Europe. He arrived in New York in 1993, where he has resided since.