Kurtis A.

About Kurtis A.

Kurtis Ashton is an experienced Information Security and Technology professional with a multidisciplinary foundation developed through hands-on work across diverse industries. His expertise includes Business Continuity, Compliance, Disaster Recovery, Incident Response, Network Operations, Patch and Vulnerability Management, and Risk Management. He currently focuses on serving as a trusted security leader—strengthening organizational resilience while building and empowering dependable teams to provide trusted services for business continuity and enterprise security. His academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Purdue University Global and an associate’s degree in the same discipline from Ivy Tech Community College. He has also completed professional training through Per Scholas, concentrating on penetration testing as well as hardware and software support. In addition, he strengthened his leadership and interpersonal capabilities through formal training in Foundations of Leadership and Effective Communication courses at the Xavier University Leadership Center in Cincinnati. Prior to pursuing his long-term objective of completing a master’s degree, he plans to earn several industry-recognized certifications, including Microsoft SC‑401 and SC‑200, PMI PMP, and ISACA’s CISA and CISM credentials. This strategy is designed to both advance his technical and managerial expertise and support academic cross-credit opportunities, similar to his success at Purdue Global with certifications such as CISSP, CompTIA A+, Security+, CySA+, and SecurityX. Through this approach, he is passionately preparing for a future leadership role in professional management while optimizing costs and maximizing academic recognition. Recognition from his institutions and three academic fraternities represents only a small portion of the value he intends to bring to a professional career in his future. Beyond his professional and academic pursuits, he remains actively engaged in community service and mentorship. As a volunteer motivational speaker for organizations including the CityLink Center, Epilepsy Alliance, Per Scholas, and the University of Cincinnati, he supports individuals from diverse backgrounds in achieving their personal and professional goals. Collectively, these experiences reflect his commitment to passionate growth and developing of others—enabling him to give back by meaningfully securing organizations and helping to shape the leaders of tomorrow.

Experience

1. Information Security Analyst Ii

   General Electric Credit Union

   Sep 2023 — Present · Cincinnati, OH, US

   Administered executive-level FFIEC, GLBA, and NIST compliance and security reports• Assessed third-party risk before, during, and after annual company SOC2 reviews• Collaborated with cross-functional teams and executive leaders to maintain business continuity• Created a custom quarterly audit strategy that proactively aligned with the NCUA 748 requirements• Delivered engaging and professional orientations that highlighted security awareness and policies• Evaluated security policies and procedures consistently and made changes where necessary• Led enterprise risk and vulnerability management teams to a secured business architecture• Minimized the organizational vulnerability findings by over 75% within the first two years• Managed and secured Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies and Sensitive Information Types• Spearheaded proactive threat hunting techniques in KQL that effectively minimized risks• Trained users through KnowBe4, bringing the company Phish Prone Percentages below 3.3%• Unified company resource logs into comprehensible SIEM dashboards for reliable monitoring

Education

• Ivy Tech Community College

  Associate's degree, Cybersecurity & Information Assurance

• Per Scholas

  Completion Certificate, Graduate Program: Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing

• Purdue Global

  Bachelor's of Science, Cybersecurity

• Ivy Tech Community College

  Technical Degree, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance

• Per Scholas

  Information Technology Certificate of Completion, Information Technology

• Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center

  Clinical & Administrative Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy & EKG Diploma, Medical/Health Management and Clinical Assistant/Specialist