Resume

Jackson Stephens

Security Engineer & Researcher

jackson@stephens.sh GitHub | LinkedIn

Summary

Security Engineer and Researcher with deep experience in network defense, incident response, and vulnerability assessment. Proven track record in competitive cybersecurity environments including multiple first-place finishes at RMCCDC and strong performances at National CCDC and DOE CyberForce. Skilled at hardening infrastructure under pressure, identifying and remediating vulnerabilities, and building resilient security architectures.

Technical Skills

Network Defense Firewall Configuration, IDS/IPS, Network Monitoring, Traffic Analysis, Segmentation

Incident Response Threat Detection, Log Analysis, Forensics, Malware Triage, SIEM Operations

System Hardening Linux/Windows Hardening, Patch Management, Group Policy, Secure Baselines, CIS Benchmarks

Vulnerability Assessment Nmap, Nessus, Burp Suite, Vulnerability Scanning, Risk Prioritization

Infrastructure Security Active Directory, DNS, Web Servers, Database Security, Cloud Security Fundamentals

Tools & Platforms Python, Bash, PowerShell, Wireshark, Splunk, ELK Stack, Docker, Git

Featured Security Projects

RMCCDC Infrastructure Defense

Network Defense, System Hardening, Incident Response

Led defensive operations for regional CCDC competitions, securing mixed Windows/Linux environments against live red team attacks.

• Secured Active Directory, DNS, web servers, and database infrastructure under time pressure
• Developed rapid hardening scripts for automated baseline security deployment
• Coordinated team incident response workflows to detect and contain active intrusions
• Achieved multiple first-place finishes at Rocky Mountain CCDC regionals

Sandia Labs Hackathon

Vulnerability Research, Exploit Development

Competed in Sandia National Laboratories cybersecurity hackathons focused on offensive and defensive challenges.

• Identified and exploited vulnerabilities in simulated critical infrastructure environments
• Won top placements through systematic vulnerability enumeration and creative exploitation
• Applied reverse engineering techniques to analyze and defeat security mechanisms

CyberForce Competition

Infrastructure Security, Threat Detection

Participated in DOE CyberForce competition defending simulated energy sector infrastructure.

• Defended operational technology and IT networks against coordinated attack scenarios
• Implemented monitoring and alerting pipelines to detect anomalous activity in real time
• Balanced security hardening with service availability under competition constraints

Professional Experience

National CCDC Competitor

Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition 2023 – Present

• Competed at the national level defending enterprise infrastructure against professional red teams
• Managed cross-platform environments including Windows Server, Linux, and network appliances
• Built and executed incident response playbooks under live attack conditions
• Mentored team members on defensive techniques and competition strategy

Security Research

Independent & Academic 2022 – Present

• Conducted vulnerability assessments on web applications and network infrastructure
• Developed security tooling and automation scripts for reconnaissance and hardening
• Contributed to open-source security projects and community knowledge sharing
• Studied malware analysis, reverse engineering, and exploit development techniques