Hello! I am Neil Acosta, Experienced Cloud Security professional with 7+ years of experience. Proven track record of designing, deploying and managing secure cloud solutions and IT systems infrastructures. As a Cloud Security Professional, I work closely with clients to design, develop, and implement customized cloud security solutions that meet their unique needs and challenges. This includes conducting comprehensive risk assessments, identifying vulnerabilities in their cloud environments, designing and implementing robust security architectures, and providing ongoing monitoring and support to ensure the continuous improvement of their security posture.
•Implemented automation of various security operations in DevSecOps CI/CD pipeline through automation of SCA, Secret, Container, SAST & DAST scans. Using Wiz, Aqua, JFrog, Prisma Cloud and Snyk. • Developed and maintained a robust artifact management system using JFrog and Wiz, ensuring secure storage and distribution of software components. Improved release efficiency by 40% through automated artifact versioning and dependency management. • Implemented cloud security best practices and designed secure architectures for multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical data and applications. • Conducted regular code analysis and vulnerability assessments using Snyk, leading to a 30% decrease in security vulnerabilities across applications deployed on AWS, Azure, and GCP. Implemented automated security checks within CI/CD pipelines to proactively identify and mitigate security risks. • Developed and maintained security automation scripts and templates for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation), enabling consistent and secure provisioning of cloud resources while reducing manual errors. • Successfully implemented automation of vulnerability management through AWS Systems Manager & Amazon Inspector. • Conducted regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing of cloud infrastructure and applications, identifying and remediating security weaknesses, and proactively addressing potential threats. Using Burp Suite. • Implemented secure secrets management using AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and GCP Secret Manager, ensuring proper encryption and access controls for sensitive information, resulting in a 25% reduction in security breaches. • Established and maintained cloud security monitoring and incident response processes, leveraging tools like CloudTrail, CloudWatch, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, to detect and respond to security events in real-time. • Deployed Web Application Firewall (WAF) into the cloud.
• Configured, implemented, design and managed cloud-native technologies and services, including virtual machines, web servers, tunnels, CDN, load balancer, Apache server, database server, SSL/TLS, cloud firewalls, and WAF (Web Application Firewall), Cisco/Juniper LAN/WAN technologies, using AWS, Azure and GCP for an extensive organization to achieve a high level of availability and uptime for the platform. Palo Alto Firewalls. • Improved the security posture of critical systems by implementing a Continuous Monitoring and Continuous Diagnostic program for the clients that reduced the number of vulnerabilities found by 200% and increased the overall security score by 80%. Using Wiz, Aqua, JFrog, Prisma Cloud and Snyk. • Increased cloud migration of company-owned applications by 60% introducing cloud-based solutions to customers, leveraging Cloud Computing. • Deployed Web Application Firewall (WAF) into the cloud, cloud security, to improve security by 91% of protecting against threats. • Deployed Cloud Security Solutions (Azure FW, Prisma Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and crowdstrike). • Improved delivery time of security metrics by 30% by automating the reporting process with CI/CD systems, reducing the time spent on manual reporting. Using Wiz, Aqua, JFrog, Prisma Cloud and Snyk. • Developed a system automation solution using Azure, Azure DevOps, and AWS, reducing the average time to restore service from 2 hours to 15 minutes. • Implemented modern Authentication methods, standards, and protocols such as OAuth/Open ID Connect, 2FA/MFA, adaptive/ contextual/ password-less authentication to improve the security of web applications and services, by adding additional layers of authentication. • Reduced the number of monthly outages by a factor of 3 and the number of security incidents by a factor of 5; working with the IT Infrastructure team and the company’s outsourcing provider to improve the company’s Systems, Network, and Security availability, reliability, and security. • Regularly performed vulnerability assessments and penetration testing on cloud infrastructure and applications, utilizing Burp Suite to identify and remediate security weaknesses and proactively address potential threats.
• Helped the server to increase its uptime from 90% to 99% by setting up a monitoring system for the server’s status, and maintain the server updated at the fastest time possible. AWS CloudWatch (AWS) - Azure Monitor (Azure) • Configured several cloud services to deliver a functional web application with a 99.999% SLA, including: Virtual Machines, Web Servers, Tunnels, CDN, HTTP Load Balancer, Apache Server, Database Server, SSL/TLS. Linux Administrator and some python. Working in Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Deployed Cloud Security Solutions, Fornitet and crowdstrike. • Implemented Cloud solutions using Azure and AWS and moved data from on-prem to the cloud to increase uptime, enhance customer experience and reduce costs by 40%. AWS Snowball/Snowball Edge, Azure Import/Export Service. • Implemented systems to improve performance and reliability, resulting in a decrease of system down time by 25%, and an increase in server response times by 50%. Leveraging AWS CloudWatch, Auto Scaling and RDS. • Automated the setup of new services and clusters, reducing the time to provision environment from weeks to hours. Using Terraform. • Automated infrastructure deployment and management using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools: AWS CloudFormation, Terraform and Azure Resource Manager (ARM templates) for efficient resource provisioning and configuration. • Developed and executed policies, Security Groups, Network Access Control Lists and Network Virtual Private Clouds to secure network traffic and provide a secure and reliable service to customers.
• Provided technical support to over 200 users, installing & configuring computer hardware, software, and networks. Windows and Linux Server. • Automated routine Linux administration tasks using shell scripting (Bash) and configuration management tools (e.g., Ansible) to improve efficiency and consistency. Proactively monitored system logs and performance metrics to identify and troubleshoot potential issues before they impacted users. • Improved network performance and reliability by installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting internal office network and phone system equipment, including servers, switches, routers, access points, VPNs, and firewalls. • Ensured data security and system uptime by installing and supporting a wide range of hardware and software, including Windows, Linux, and Mac servers, desktops, laptops, printers, and network devices. • Enhanced system performance and security for critical applications by administering a fleet of Linux servers utilizing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ubuntu distributions. Performed tasks like user and group management, package installation and configuration, system hardening, and routine maintenance.
Western Governors University - Utah, US