Security Operations Center Analyst

John (Jack)
Althausen

SOC analyst protecting federal infrastructure at Edgewater Federal Solutions. I deploy endpoint security tools, build detection rules, and monitor networks across a DOE environment in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Loudon, Tennessee Edgewater Federal Solutions CompTIA Security+
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About

I started in IT support — imaging workstations, troubleshooting hardware, and walking users through problems. That hands-on foundation taught me how systems break and how to keep them running. Today I work in a security operations center defending federal infrastructure, deploying zero trust frameworks to IoT devices, authoring detection rules in Elastic, and administering endpoint protection across CrowdStrike and Cortex XDR.

I also own Tracivex which is a early stage software development bussiness. Outside of work I spend my time on threat hunting, network forensics, and staying ahead of whatever the industry throws at us next.

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Experience

Jun 2024 — Present
Current
Security Operations Center Analyst
Edgewater Federal Solutions, Inc. — Oak Ridge, TN — Hybrid
  • Deploy and administer CrowdStrike, Cortex XDR, Tenable Nessus, Splunk, and Elastic across all company endpoints
  • Author detection rules and alerts in Elastic for AD account status changes, threat indicators, and log ingestion failures
  • Build operational dashboards in Elastic, Splunk, Nessus, CrowdStrike, and Cortex for security and web traffic visibility
  • Administer Entrust PKI certificates for encrypted email and compliance
  • Implement zero trust architecture on IoT devices and establish security baselines
  • Configure Juniper Networks and Ubiquiti equipment for VLAN-segmented deployments
  • Perform continuous network traffic monitoring to protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability
CrowdStrike Cortex XDR Elastic Splunk Nessus Zero Trust Juniper
Jul 2023 — Jun 2024
Help Desk Support
Edgewater Federal Solutions, Inc. — On-site
  • Resolved hardware and software issues across a federal user base
  • Created and deployed standardized Windows images for workstation rollouts
  • Administered Adobe software suite — licensing, updates, troubleshooting
  • Managed Proofpoint email security and smart card authentication systems
Windows Imaging Adobe Admin Proofpoint Smart Cards
May — Jun 2023
Information Science Specialist — Archivist / Help Desk
Edgewater Federal Solutions, Inc. — Oak Ridge, TN — Contract
Feb — Apr 2023
IT Support Specialist Intern
Edgewater Federal Solutions, Inc. — Tennessee
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Skills

SIEM & Endpoint Detection

  • Splunk
  • Elastic / ELK Stack
  • CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Palo Alto Cortex XDR
  • Tenable Nessus
  • EDR Administration

Networking

  • Juniper Networks
  • Ubiquiti
  • VLAN Configuration
  • Packet Analysis
  • Network Forensics

Security Operations

  • Zero Trust Architecture
  • Vulnerability Assessment
  • Threat Hunting
  • HSPD-12
  • IoT Security
  • Incident Response

Systems & Infrastructure

  • Windows Administration
  • Image Deployment
  • Proofpoint
  • Entrust PKI
  • Smart Cards
  • Data Destruction
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Certifications

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Education

2021
Roane State Community College
Cyber Defence
2018 — 2020
Mt. San Antonio College
Network and System Administration
National Cyber League Competition