Cybersecurity Professional · North/Central NJ
Rakeem Dawson
Security Analyst
IT professional with 8+ years of infrastructure and support experience, now specializing in cybersecurity. Actively pursuing Security Analyst roles while finishing a BS in Cybersecurity at WGU.
8+
Years experience
5
Certifications
15+
Homelab Services
BS
Cybersecurity (WGU)
About me
I bring 8+ years of hands-on IT infrastructure and support experience to cybersecurity, giving me a practical foundation that goes beyond certifications. I understand how systems break, how networks behave, and how attackers think. Currently finishing my BS in Cybersecurity at Western Governors University while running a self-hosted homelab stack that includes a SIEM, IDS, identity management, and monitoring platforms — all deployed and managed by me on Proxmox.
I hold Security+, CySA+, SSCP, and Linux LPI certifications and am targeting roles where I can apply threat detection, incident response, and identity management skills from day one.
Security Projects
Vulnerability Management Program
Designed and implemented an end-to-end vulnerability management program using industry frameworks. Covers asset discovery, scanning, risk prioritization, remediation tracking, and reporting — mirroring enterprise vulnerability management workflows.
Wazuh SIEM Deployment
Deployed and configured Wazuh SIEM for centralized log collection, threat detection, and security alerting. Integrated with TheHive for structured incident case management and Snort IDS for network-based threat detection.
SOC Automation Lab
Built automated alert triage and incident response workflows to reduce manual SOC analyst workload. Developed scripts for log parsing, IOC enrichment, and automated case creation in TheHive.
Homelab Infrastructure
My Homelab Infrastructure
A self-hosted, production-grade homelab running on Proxmox virtualization. Built to mirror enterprise security environments and serve as a hands-on learning and testing platform for real-world cybersecurity scenarios.
All services are self-hosted, self-managed, and documented — giving me direct experience with deployment, configuration, hardening, and troubleshooting across a full security stack.
Security
Identity & Access
Monitoring
Infrastructure
Skills & Tools
Security
Infrastructure
IAM & Automation
Get In Touch
I’m actively seeking SOC Analyst, IAM Specialist, and Security Analyst positions — remote or North/Central New Jersey. If you’re hiring or want to connect, I’d love to hear from you.