ASHWAN RICHARDS

• Enterprise SIEM Migration & Engineering: Spearheaded the successful technical migration and upgrade of the Splunk environment to multiple versions, (latest 10.2.3) ensuring zero downtime and full compatibility with existing security stacks.
• Architectural Oversight: Administering the full Splunk infrastructure, including Search Head Clusters, Indexer Clusters, and Universal/Heavy Forwarder (UF/HF) deployments; managed RBAC and retention policies to maintain strict security standards.
• Data Normalization & Integration: Expertly onboarded and normalized logs from Active Directory, Windows/Linux servers, Cisco Firepower (FTD)/ISE, ACAS, and HBSS, ensuring all data is CIM-compliant for effective analysis.
• High-Fidelity Dashboard Engineering: Designed and maintained 10+ mission-critical dashboards (authentication activity, compliance, and network traffic) that provide real-time Cyber Navy–compliant visibility for executive leadership and audits.
• Security Orchestration & Reporting: Developing a systematic Daily Network Security Reporting process to identify and mitigate anomalous traffic spikes and unauthorized authentication attempts across the enterprise.
• Advanced Threat Hunting: Created and tuned 15+ correlation searches and actionable alerts to detect malicious patterns, significantly reducing the "mean time to detect" (MTTD) for critical vulnerabilities.
• Supported incident response, investigations, and threat hunting through multi-source log correlation.
• Standardized Continuity (SOPs): Authoring comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and technical documentation for dashboards, alerts, and data sources to ensure seamless operational continuity.

• Cyber Mission Support & Analytics: Collected and analyzed over 100 TB of PCAP data utilizing Splunk and ELK stacks to visualize and mitigate high-priority security threats across enterprise environments.
• Infrastructure Hardening & Defense: Installed and secured 73+ Cisco ASA firewalls and enterprise switches, establishing a robust defense posture for mission-critical network segments.
• Network Resilience & Optimization: Engineered and rebuilt legacy network architectures to achieve 99.9% uptime with zero deficiencies, significantly improving operational reliability.
• Strategic Asset Management: Directed the accountability and technical readiness of 742+ network assets valued at over $16M, ensuring 100% inventory compliance.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Served as Operations Lead Petty Officer (LPO), mentoring 30+ personnel in cyber defense workflows and qualifying 10 Network Technicians and 7 CCNA candidates.

• Systems Administration & Interoperability: Administered complex maritime systems including CANES, GCCS-M, NTCSS, TBMCS, and CENTRIX, ensuring 24/7 operational readiness and cross-platform communication.
• Full-Stack Network Operations: Orchestrated the resolution of 4,173+ technical incidents involving routing, switching, next-generation firewalls, Active Directory, Exchange, SQL, and VMware environments.
• Personnel Leadership & Mission Continuity: Supervised a high-tempo team of 16 personnel managing 500+ enterprise network assets, consistently maintaining a 99.97% system uptime rate.
• Endpoint Security & Malware Mitigation: Leveraged HBSS to proactively detect and eradicate malicious activity, leading the successful remediation of 17 confirmed malware incidents.
• Advanced Infrastructure Engineering: Managed robust network configurations including Cisco ISE, VLAN segmentation, ACL implementation, and enterprise routing protocols (OSPF, BGP, and GRE tunneling).
• Automation & Process Optimization: Engineered custom scripts using PowerShell and Bash to automate repetitive tasks, significantly increasing team efficiency and reducing configuration errors.
• Disaster Recovery Planning: Developed and validated comprehensive Disaster Recovery (DR) and Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans to safeguard mission-critical communication channels.

• System Deployment & Administration: Managed the installation and lifecycle maintenance of 54+ high-performance workstations and 48+ enterprise user accounts, ensuring hardware readiness and resource availability
• Tiered Technical Support: Delivered high-impact Tier 1 and Tier 2 technical support for a diverse user base of 75+, resolving complex hardware, software, and connectivity issues to minimize operational downtime.
• Security & Access Compliance: Conducted systematic audits of Active Directory objects and user permissions, ensuring 100% alignment with strict Navy security protocols and compliance standards.
• Network Infrastructure Support: Supported mission-critical LAN operations and structured cabling projects while managing high-volume ticket queues to maintain superior service level agreements (SLAs).

Expected Graduation: November 2026