Open to opportunities

Yaw Owusu

@yawowusu

US Navy veteran cybersecurity architect and consultant specializing in zero-trust security, E2EE, and vulnerability management for regulated environments.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking for a cybersecurity role where I can design Zero-Trust and encryption-first solutions, strengthen IAM and compliance, and lead vulnerability, monitoring (SIEM), and incident-focused work in regulated healthcare or government environments.

I’m a US Navy veteran and cybersecurity architect/consultant with an MS in Cybersecurity from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I build Zero-Trust architectures and implement End-to-End Encryption (E2EE), with a strong focus on identity and access security, cryptography, and enterprise-grade protection across healthcare and government environments. I’ve also driven vulnerability management and digital forensics work, including the identification and remediation of 130+ software vulnerabilities and the engineering of complex pfSense and IDS/IPS environments.

In my current roles, I serve as a first line of defense for login and identity verification under a Zero Trust model, improving helpdesk escalation accuracy and achieving 100% compliance in endpoint request verification by enforcing strict IAM and structured ticketing workflows. As a cybersecurity consultant, I use frameworks like NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27002, COBIT, HIPAA, and PCI DSS to create compliance roadmaps, harden enterprise systems, and strengthen operational resilience through encrypted backups and Splunk SIEM-based monitoring and log ingestion.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Information Security Architect

Current

ƆDO Connect

Nov 2025 - Present (8 months)

Designed and implemented zero-knowledge message storage using a hybrid E2EE architecture and enforced least-privilege access controls. Hardened APIs and privacy compliance by applying strict origin allowlisting, rate limiting, GDPR-aligned privacy-enhancing technologies, and an automated moderation pipeline with XSS sanitization.

AES 256 GCM RSA OAEP PBKDF2 SHA256 PostgreSQL Row Level Security (RLS)Least Privilege API Security Credential Stuffing Protection Rate Limits Wildcard CORS Removal GDPR Compliance Location Fuzzing Automated Moderation Pipelines Real Time Abuse Detection Database Level XSS Sanitization

Current

Security Monitor/Executive Assistant

Current

State of Maryland, Department of Human Services

Dec 2024 - Present (1 year 7 months)

Served as a first line of defense for login and identity verification issues, performing Tier 1 troubleshooting and coordinating secure access unlocks. Authored security intelligence reporting and enforced Zero Trust and centralized IAM controls to achieve 100% compliance in endpoint request verification.

Zero Trust Identity and Access Management (IAM)Identity Verification IT Ticketing (Tier 1)Access Control Compliance Security Liaison

Current

Cybersecurity Consultant

Current

Hampton Psych NPs, PLLC

Dec 2024 - Present (1 year 7 months)

Built a compliance roadmap aligned to NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27002, COBIT, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, and improved staff security proficiency through training and awareness sessions. Architected encrypted backups and implemented Splunk SIEM with firewall configuration and restoration testing for clinical data integrity and recovery.

NIST 800 53 ISO 27002 COBIT HIPAA PCI DSS CISO Assistant Verify Wise Security Awareness Training Splunk Functional Testing

Volunteer

Boys & Girls Club of America

Jan 2023 - Jan 2025 (2 years)

Mentored youth in digital content creation and podcast development.

Digital Content Creation Mentoring

Digital Marketing Specialist

Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)

Aug 2022 - Dec 2023 (1 year 4 months)

Conducted OSINT audits to identify and resolve crawl and indexing issues, improving site integrity and crawlability through redirect and metadata standardization. Monitored technical performance and traffic using Google tools and mapped anomalous behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

OSINT Screaming Frog SEMrush Moz 404 Error Fixes Google Search Console Google Tag Manager Domain Spoofing Hardening Indicators Of Compromise

Veteran

United States Navy

Jun 2012 - Aug 2015 (3 years 2 months)

Led and supervised a team of four airmen to support high-stakes aircraft arrival and departure operations. Managed a quality assurance lab by inspecting fuel samples to ensure safety and compliance, and earned a Naval Air Warfare certification within the first year.

Team Leadership Aircraft Servicing Operations Quality Assurance Safety and Compliance Operational Readiness Naval Air Warfare Certification

Computer and HomeLab Environment Build

Personal

Mar 2026 - Present (4 months)

Built a self-hosted security and privacy lab with DNS filtering, centralized log ingestion, and zero-knowledge encrypted services for personal credential and media protection. Engineered network routing and access controls to support high-volume DNS queries and private cloud storage.

Pi Hole DNS Sinkhole Real Time Log Ingestion Traffic Analysis Bitwarden NextCloud Self Hosted Security Lab DNS Query Routing Encrypted Credential Storage