James Wells

My name is James Wells. I am currently working at RBR Alliance in my first security job. The position, Information Technology Security Professional, was created after an incident and I am the first person to fill it. My responsibilities include managing two Microsoft 365 tenants and three Active Directory domains. My old position included maintaining, troubleshooting, and fixing all manner of devices, from phones to servers. My new position gives me responsibility for the security of the organization. My first projects are to create a centralized syslog server, upgrade older Cisco ASA firewalls to newer Cisco Meraki firewalls, and create more comprehensive asset documentation, including network maps and security documentation.

I am the father of three children. In the free time I have outside of work and family, I have become a home lab enthusiast — or as my children refer to me, “a tinkerer”. I have brought down our network enough times that they always look at me as the culprit when there is an internet outage. A few years ago, I began my homelab with an outdated HP computer and TrueNAS Scale. Since then I have spent more time and money than I like to admit on it. I found that eBay is a great place to buy testing equipment, but it is essential to buy at least hard drives new. When I started building my home lab, I had no Linux experience at all, but now I am more comfortable in a Linux terminal than I am in the Windows GUI. Sometimes I am working on a Windows computer and think I would already have this done if I was working in Linux terminal. Because of this I have been spending more time learning PowerShell, so that I am as proficient in Windows CLI as I am in Linux. I never thought that I would find it easier to create and modify a file in a terminal than in a GUI.

I also enjoy going on walks, basketball, and skateboarding, though I have found out that skateboarding hurts a lot worse than I remember. I have gotten past that recently though and am really enjoying being back on a board again. My youngest daughter skateboarding with me makes it so much better. I am not back to doing all of my old tricks yet, but I did land my first kickflip in a long time.

A few of the projects I’m proud of, with full write-ups elsewhere on the site:

• NVD Scanner — a JavaScript tool that queries the NVD API by keyword and returns CVE details, severity, proof-of-concept references, and CWE links.
• Machine Learning Network Traffic Analysis — ML-powered NetFlow collection and anomaly detection running on an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super.
• Proxmox Cyber Lab — an isolated Active Directory lab in Proxmox with Windows domain controllers, Tailscale VPN access, and PowerShell-driven management.
• Automated Site Deployments with Jenkins — a CI/CD pipeline that builds and deploys this site automatically from Forgejo webhooks.
• The Homelab — the multi-node Proxmox environment behind most of these write-ups, from the hardware to the self-hosted apps running on it.

These are the certifications I have earned over the last few years, sorted by certifying body. Each listing links to the certification on Credly or the certifying body’s website. I never planned on getting any certifications, but as I started trying to enter the cyber security job market, I realized that I was going to have to do everything I could to prove my knowledge and worth to a company. I ended up spending more money than I wanted to, but it helped me to get my first security job. In the end, I think it was worth it and would do it all again.

CompTIA

• CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Expert
• CompTIA Security Analytics Expert
• CompTIA Security Analytics Professional
• CompTIA Network Vulnerability Assessment Professional
• CompTIA Network Security Professional
• CompTIA SecurityX (formerly CASP+)
• CompTIA CySA+
• CompTIA PenTest+
• CompTIA Security+
• CompTIA Network+

Cisco

• Cisco Junior Cybersecurity Analyst Career Path
• Cisco Cyber Threat Management
• Cisco Introduction to Cybersecurity
• Cisco Networking Basics

Microsoft

• Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
• Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals

Other

• TCM Security — Practical Web Penetration Associate (PWPA)
• ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
• OPSWAT Introduction to Critical Infrastructure Protection (ICIP)
• FreeCodeCamp — Responsive Web Design
• FreeCodeCamp — JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures

I am aspiring to become a red team operator at a well known company. To be honest, my dream has always been to work at the NSA or the CIA in a technical capacity, but after having children at a young age and putting off pursuing my dreams for longer than I should have, I believe that ship has sailed. Now I am aiming towards getting a career at an industry leading company. I want to focus in on TrustedSec and BHIS, but I also want to keep my options open and not focus in on any one company too much.

One of my main goals right now is to show my children that your dreams are possible. You just have to be willing to put in the hours and chase them. I am more than willing to put in the time and money necessary to succeed. I have never had a company pay for any of my training, conferences, or certifications and I have always been willing to pay the price upfront for my dreams.