Open to opportunities

Richard Gicharu

@richardgicharu

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Cybersecurity professional specializing in threat intelligence, incident response, and ISO 27001-aligned security.

Kenya

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What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can apply threat intelligence and incident response skills, mentor teams, align practices to ISO/NIST, and bridge academia with operational security.

I am a cybersecurity professional with 7+ years' experience across ICT service management, systems security, and cyber threat intelligence. I deliver hands-on teaching and practical cybersecurity solutions, combining SOC operations, vulnerability management, incident response, and ISO 27001/NIST-aligned controls to reduce risk and improve security posture.

I hold ISC2 CC, CEH, and Cisco CyberOps certifications and have led curriculum development, technical training, and operational improvements that lowered incident resolution times and strengthened access governance. I bridge academia and industry by supervising projects, developing certification-aligned assessments, and mentoring the next generation of security practitioners.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Lecturer, Information Security

Current

USIU–Africa

Jan 2023 - Present (2 years 9 months)

Designs and delivers cybersecurity and digital forensics courses with hands-on labs using Wireshark, Autopsy and FTK Imager; supervises projects on enterprise risk management and aligns curriculum to ISO 27001 and NIST standards.

Digital Forensics Wireshark Autopsy FTK Imager ISO 27001 NIST CSF Threat Detection

Current

Instructor, CCNA & Cybersecurity

Current

KCA University

Jan 2017 - Present (8 years 9 months)

Delivers Cisco-aligned networking and SOC-focused labs, supports campus network/server security operations, and mentors students in penetration testing and defensive security configurations.

CCNA SOC Penetration Testing Network Security Curriculum Development Mentorship ISO 27001

ICT Support Technician

KCA University

Jan 2014 - Jan 2020 (6 years)

Coordinated user access reviews and endpoint protection, automated help desk workflows reducing incident resolution time by 30%, and assisted in network segmentation and patch management to improve uptime.

Access Management Endpoint Protection Segmentation Patch Management Troubleshooting

ICT Intern

Aga Khan University Hospital

Jan 2012 - Jan 2013 (1 year)

Supported ISO 27001-aligned security projects, VLAN segmentation and incident escalation while contributing to IT infrastructure security and network monitoring activities.

ISO 27001 VLAN IT Infrastructure Security Testing

ICT Intern

National Bank of Kenya

Jan 2010 - Jan 2010 (0 months)

Monitored ICT systems for anomalies and assisted in deploying endpoint and firewall controls while supporting reporting and escalation of potential security incidents.

System Monitoring Endpoint Security