🛡️ U.S. Navy Veteran | OT/ICS & Cloud Security | SCADA · Terraform · Linux · Embedded Firmware
🪣 Repos:
I'm a U.S. Navy veteran and former operations leader now working on the technical side of a live EV manufacturing floor, providing OT/MES support across Linux and Windows systems. I am actively targeting a transition into OT/ICS and cloud security operations.
My background in high-stakes operational environments (Navy navigation and force protection, emergency medicine, and manufacturing operations at scale) built the foundation for my security work: incident response, systems thinking, risk assessment, and process-driven troubleshooting. What makes my path unusual is that I know the plant floor from both sides — the physical operations and the engineering systems that keep them running.
This GitHub documents my hands-on builds, enterprise lab environments, and troubleshooting workflows. As a bonus, you can review the embedded/hardware projects I build end-to-end: from breadboard, to backend, to the custom 3D-printed enclosures.
AWS (EC2/VMs)🔹Terraform (IaC)🔹Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora)🔹Windows Server & Active Directory🔹Okta / IAM🔹Python🔹Bash Automation🔹SIEM (ELK/Wazuh)🔹OT/ICS & SCADA🔹Network Segmentation🔹Troubleshooting & Incident Response
- CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-003) - 3/2026 Verification
- CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) - 3/2026 Verification
- CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) - 3/2026 Verification
- CompTIA A+ (220-1101, 220-1102) - 2/2026 Verification
- ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) - 1/12/2026, expires 1/31/2029 Verification
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner - 12/31/2025, expires 12/31/2028 Verification
- Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900) - 12/22/2025 Verification
- Google Project Management Professional Certificate - 2/2025 Verification
- Certified Associate Python Programmer (PCAP) - WIP
- C++ Certified Associate Programmer - WIP
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
- Free CISA / Idaho National Lab ICS cybersecurity training
🖥️ Infrastructure:
- Primary System: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (8-core, 16-thread), 64GB DDR5 RAM, Radeon RX 9060 XT
- Network: 1Gbps fiber internet with enterprise-grade connectivity
- Operating-System Flexible: Primary workstation is Fedora KDE Plasma, 1x Windows 11 Pro Laptop, 1x Fedora Linux Laptop
- Homelab Network Stack:
- ♻️Repurposed Dell Optiplex > pfSense Security Gateway w/Intel X550-T2 10Gbps Network Adapter
- ♻️Repurposed Dell Optiplex > Network SIEM, IDS/IPS w/Intel X540-AT2 10Gbps Network Adapter
- ♻️Repurposed Dell Optiplex Tower > 13TB Personal Cloud and Network Drive via TrueNAS RAIDZ1 Storage Utilizing HBA SAS PCIe Card + 5 3TB SAS Drives
- ♻️Repurposed Dell Optiplex > Docker, Home Assistant, & additional network services.
- SBC Fleet:
Raspberry Pi 5 8GB + Hailo 8 26TOPs AI HAT - Intended for long-term AI/ML Project
- 🍊 Orange Pi 4 Pro 6GB - Because everybody needs a Cyberdeck
- Mobile Security: Secondary phone utilized to run Kali Nethunter
and GrapheneOS
for privacy/security testing and research
🛠️ Security & Analysis Tools:
- SIEM: Elastic Stack, Security Onion + Wazuh (network security monitoring, intrusion detection)
- Packet Analysis: Wireshark (deep packet inspection, protocol analysis)
- Network Scanning: Nmap (reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning)
- Penetration Testing: Kali Linux, Parrot Linux (offensive security toolkits)
- Virtualization: VMware Workstation Pro + Windows Hyper-V
- Privacy Suite: Proton Ultimate (VPN, encrypted email, secure storage)
💻 Active Virtual Machines:
- Windows Server (learning enterprise administration)
- Kali/Parrot Linux (penetration testing & security assessments)
- Ubuntu Server (Linux administration & services)
🚩Current Lab Projects:
- Segmented multi-VLAN network modeling IT/OT boundary isolation
- SIEM log analysis, detection tuning, and incident-response workflows
- Running CTF challenges and vulnerability assessments
- Documenting security tool configurations and use cases
- Repurposing NVIDIA RTX 4070ti SUPER GPU into a local LLM central server.
- Provide Tier 1/2 OT and manufacturing-IT support across mixed Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows systems to sustain uptime on a live EV manufacturing line.
- Engineered a production-safe Bash automation framework (remote SSH with timeout guardrails) that aggregates uptime, memory, disk health, and config drift across Rockwell MES/HMI systems.
- Run CLI and network diagnostics to isolate faults and trace connectivity to core MES application servers.
- Analyze PLC data tags and diagnose industrial edge-device connectivity to keep OT systems healthy and compliant.
- Work the IT–OT boundary with controls and operations teams to protect availability without disrupting safety-critical processes.
- Led waste management operations for 160+ personnel, reducing costs by 65% ($5.2M annual savings).
- Managed cross-functional projects with finance, engineering, and supply chain teams.
- Transferable to IT/Security: Incident response & escalation, SOP development, cross-team coordination under pressure, data-driven decisions, risk assessment.
- Senior ED Technician at Level 1 Trauma Center (Top 50 U.S. Hospital) managing high-stakes medical interventions where system reliability equals patient safety.
- Transferable to IT/Security: Healthcare IT & HIPAA compliance, communication under pressure, critical-system troubleshooting, strict procedural adherence.
- Navigation operations & visual communications in high-threat environments.
- Force protection/anti-terrorism training team instructor & Maritime interdiction operations (VBSS).
- Transferable to IT/Security: Security protocols & threat awareness, operational discipline in regulated environments, team leadership under stress.
OT / ICS
- Rockwell MES, HMIs, PLC data tags, industrial networks
- IT/OT boundary support, network segmentation concepts
- Studying: ISA/IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, Purdue Model, EtherNet/IP
Cloud & Security
- AWS (Cloud Practitioner certified), GCP hands-on, Azure (SC-900)
- Terraform / Infrastructure as Code, cloud provisioning & cost governance
- SIEM (ELK, Security Onion / Wazuh), threat detection, log analysis, incident response
Operating Systems & Infrastructure
- Linux (Fedora daily driver, Ubuntu, Kali, Parrot; strong CLI/Bash)
- Windows 11 Pro & Windows Server (Active Directory basics)
- pfSense, TrueNAS, VLAN segmentation, Proxmox, LXC
Networking & Tooling
- Wireshark, Nmap, Omada SDN
- Scripting: Bash, Python, PowerShell
- Ticketing/PM: Jira, Atlassian, Asana | ERP: SAP
Embedded / Hardware
- Microcontroller firmware (ESP32), firmware flashing, SPI/I2C breakout modules
- Breadboarding & prototyping, 3D printing / CAD, custom enclosures
- Eastern Illinois University | Expected May 2027 | Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences – Cybersecurity
- MyComputerCareer | Completed April 2026 | CyberWarrior Program – 4.0 GPA | World-Class IT Professional Award
- Heartland Community College | Completed December 2025 | Associate of Arts – Dean's List | 3.6 GPA
- Certifications: National Registry EMT-Basic, ITLS Advanced Provider, AHA BLS/ACLS, FEMA (ICS 100/200/700/800), Navy Security Reaction Force (Advanced).
Full-stack embedded build: an ultra-compact, network-level DNS sinkhole on a Seeed Xiao ESP32-S3 with a WIZ850io (W5500) wired-Ethernet module — hardware selection → firmware flashing → wiring diagram → custom 3D-printed enclosure → deployment. ➡ xiao-esp32-s3-dns-sinkhole
Managing a 10GbE multi-VLAN network utilizing a TP-Link Omada L2+ switch (SFP+) centrally managed via Proxmox LXC. Actively repurposing an NVIDIA RTX 4070ti SUPER GPU into a local LLM central server to drive self-hosted, AI-powered smart assistants and camera modules to replace proprietary cloud-based IoT devices.
Documented security-automation exercises and study notes — password-policy validation, structured data handling, and scripting fundamentals. ➡ python-learning-journey/security-learning
Near-Term: Land an OT/ICS security or cloud-security role that builds on my manufacturing-floor experience while publishing clean, documented flagship repos. Medium-Term: Graduate with a B.A.A.S. in Cybersecurity from EIU (May 2027) and deepen OT/ICS security knowledge (62443, NIST 800-82). Long-Term: Grow into remote security / detection engineering specializing in critical-infrastructure, and contribute to the open-source security community.
- Email: jmcall3883@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonmcallahan
- Location: Normal, Illinois (Open to remote, hybrid, and contract/consulting opportunities)
This README was last updated: August 5, 2026