Nathan Acks
Cybersecurity Red Team
About
Master's educated IT business professional with extensive experience providing the leadership and support needed to drive key organizational cybersecurity-related goals and objectives achievement. Able to analyze complex business environments, developing and implementing cybersecurity solutions designed to protect the company's hardware, software, and networks from threats and minimize risk. Proven strength building and maintaining long-term, professional relationships with strategic business partners and cybersecurity stakeholders based on the effectiveness of the solutions and support provided. Recognized for the ability to deliver impactful results while leading in fast-paced, dynamic technical business environments.
Work Experience
The Public Interest Network
Denver, CO
National Network of Nonprofits
June 2016 – Present
Director of IT
Founded and oversee the organization's IT & Security team, crafting organization-wide security policies in collaboration with the Legal team and the President's Office.
Write and maintain IT and security-related documentation and trainings.
Hold bottom-line responsibility for the roll-out, maintenance, security, and support of IT systems used by all staff, including email, user authentication, document management, and custom internal applications.
Serve as the technical point-of-contact for IT-related PCI DSS issues, investigate and remediate potential IT security incidents, and maintain IT and security-related documentation and trainings.
Highlights
- Developed and implemented a security tier system for offices and staff to rationalize existing IT and physical security policies.
- Created an internal system for the provisioning and management of the full lifecycle for accounts in services managed by the IT & Security team.
- Oversaw the successful migration from a legacy vendor email system to Google Workspace, and from a legacy LDAP system to Okta.
- Managed the successful roll-out of two-factor authentication to the staff, the transition to Microsoft 365, and the migration of multiple office-based phone systems nationwide.
- Upgraded and managed office networks nationwide.
The Public Interest Network
Denver, CO
National Network of Nonprofits
October 2009 – June 2016
Manager of Online Outreach Technology
Served as the key point on data analysis, database development, and IT vendor management for the organization's digital organizing program.
Evaluated and developed new organizing tools and reports for the Digital team and created a customer Perl script to generate constituent mass-mailings.
Managed multiple Ubuntu, CentOS, and Arch Linux servers running mission-critical applications, including LDAP/GOsa, MySQL, NFS, Git, Postfix, Apache, CiviCRM, WebGUI, and Tenable Security Center.
Responsible for contractor and vendor relations for all Digital team technology, as well as associated budgets.
Wrote/curated a large library of custom SQL and PL/SQL scripts for reporting and data import, export, and clean-up.
Provided wide-ranging support in the development of content and outreach strategies as part of a rapid response organizing team.
Managed the social media presence for the Recruitment team and served as the technical point-of-contact for PCI DSS and computer security issues.
Provided general technical support for the Denver office's staff and maintained the office's network.
Highlights
- Oversaw the successful migrations of an in-house constituent relationship management (CRM) and action system to Convio, followed next to Salsa and MySQL.
- Led a successful project that integrated vendor CRM databases with a separate system hosted by ROI Solutions.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
Boulder, CO
Drug Testing for Professional Sports
July 2009 – September 2009
Chaperon
Supported the work of doping control officers by handling paperwork, monitoring athletes during testing, and providing other services as needed.
Equity, LLP
Denver, CO
Real Estate Sales & Management
May 2007 – May 2009
Apartment Manager
Performed basic building maintenance and repair including yard work, gardening, and snow removal.
Responsible for on-site security and tenant-landlord relations, including rent collection.
Tattered Cover Book Store
Denver, CO
Bookstore
June 2008 – January 2009
Retail Manager
Handled customer complaints, hiring inquiries, and initial trouble-shooting for floor computer systems (Square One, POS, Linux terminals, VoIP telephones, printers, and other hardware).
Responsible for on-site security (including inventory and cash).
Managed teams of 3 - 12 book sellers.
Regular book seller duties such as customer queries, product stocking, and cash handling.
Floor Manager
Handled customer complaints, hiring inquiries, and initial trouble-shooting for floor computer systems (Square One, POS, Linux terminals, VoIP telephones, printers, and other hardware).
Responsible for on-site security (including inventory and cash).
Managed teams of 3 - 12 book sellers.
Regular book seller duties such as customer queries, product stocking, and cash handling.
Tattered Cover Book Store
Denver, CO
Bookstore
August 2007 – March 2008
Book Seller
Handled customer queries, product stocking, cash handling, and other aspects of floor book sales.
Awards
-
April 2022
CompTIA
Security+ (in progress)
Volunteer
Yakshaver
Maintained a static website for the organization using GitHub, Netlify, Cloudinary, and IFTTT.
Helped design and implement externally-facing project pages.
Helped set up and maintain a member database using Knack.
Part of the core team responsible for managing the organizational treasury using Colony and Gnosis Safe.
Worldchanging
December 2006 – January 2008
Contributing Writer
Covered stories on sustainable development and emerging social and technological trends in the Mountain and Southwestern states region.
Contact
Denver, CO US
(720) 806-0007
Education
-
2005 2009
-
1999 2003
Skills
Penetration Testing
Burp Suite
Kali Linux
Metasploit
Python
Raspberry Pi
Cybersecurity
Incident Response
PCI DSS
Security Policy
IT Operations
Bash
Cloud Computing
Computer Networking
Database Administration
Database Design
Documentation
Google Cloud Platform
Google Workspace
Linux System Administration
MySQL
Office 365 Administration
PL/SQL
SQL
Technical Support
Web Servers
Windows Server
Zoom