Nick Chavez

About Nick Chavez

As a cybersecurity professional, I lead incident response, firewall hardening, and endpoint security initiatives that boost organizational resilience and defense. Over the past year, I’ve worked hands-on with FortiGate, SentinelOne, Graylog, and Microsoft 365—detecting, containing, and remediating threats while keeping security operations closely aligned with ISO 27001/27002 standards.​I thrive on taking a proactive approach: reducing attack surfaces, sharpening detection through SIEM tuning, and reacting decisively to incidents. My strengths combine deep technical knowledge, clear communication, and a calm, analytical presence under pressure—all critical in high-stakes situations.​Currently pursuing a B.S. in Cybersecurity & Information Assurance at WGU and holding certifications like CompTIA Security+ and ISC² Certified in Cybersecurity, I’m dedicated to growing as a Security Analyst or Security Engineer. My focus is on leading operational improvements in detection, response, and protection, and on mentoring teams to advance organizational security posture.​

Experience

1. IT Technician

   Ultramain Systems, Inc

   Aug 2024 — Present · Albuquerque, NM, US

   Directed critical ransomware recovery efforts by identifying and preserving the last viable snapshot during an active attack, coordinating with vendors under tight deadlines — a decision that enabled complete system restoration.Resolved global SSL-VPN outage impacting 50 + employees by diagnosing FortiGate IP block automation; scripted a CLI-based mitigation that restored service within minutes while maintaining secure LDAP-over-SSL connections.Led enterprise firewall hardening initiative, implementing rate-limiting, idle-timeouts, and malicious-IP blocking policies — reducing brute-force attempts by ~90 % and improving network visibility.Deployed and tuned endpoint and log-management platforms across mixed Windows / Linux environments, enhancing detection and response capabilities through SIEM (Graylog) and EDR integrations.Authored and maintained ISO 27001/27002-aligned policies for access control, incident response, and asset management; supported risk assessments and evidence collection for audits.Contributed to the organization’s successful ISO 27001 certification by developing security documentation, coordinating control implementation, and driving audit readiness across departments.Implemented process improvements for vulnerability and CVE monitoring, leveraging Tenable, FortiCloud, and SentinelOne to strengthen continuous-improvement efforts.Documented and reported security incidents to leadership, providing actionable remediation guidance and lessons learned to prevent recurrence.

Education

• Western Governors University

  Bachelor of Science, Cyber Security and Information Assurance

• Grand Canyon University

  Applied Management, Business Administration, Management and Operations

  2017 — 2018

• University of Phoenix

  IT Cyber Security

  2014 — 2015