COLE WAISNER
Springfield,MO
Summary
Dynamic cybersecurity professional with extensive hands-on experience in SIEM operations, incident response, and penetration testing. Driven by a relentless curiosity and a comprehensive understanding of the security landscape, adept at navigating log analysis and offensive engagements. Renowned for effectively communicating complex security concepts to both technical teams and business stakeholders, facilitating informed operational decisions. CompTIA Security+ certified, with practical expertise gained at the Missouri Cyber Center of Excellence. Proven ability to lead teams and manage projects from inception to successful completion, positioning for growth in SOC leadership, threat intelligence, or specialized compliance roles.
Overview
3
3
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Associate Cybersecurity Support Technician
Missouri Cyber Center of Excellence (MCCOE)
Springfield, MO
10.2025 - Current
- Investigate and triage security events in Splunk and ELK—analyzing Windows event logs, network traffic, and suspicious patterns to distinguish false positives from genuine incidents.
- Conducted two penetration testing engagements: PCI compliance assessment with comprehensive external/internal reconnaissance, exploitation, and executive reporting; physical security and social engineering assessment combining OSINT, Quishing/phishing campaigns, and facility breach documentation.
- Served as Team Lead, coordinating daily tasks, managing competing deadlines, and holding team accountable to project milestones while maintaining hands-on technical work.
- Deployed new MDF infrastructure: cable runs, switch installation, physical network setup, and hardware commissioning during full environment replacement.
- Completed Hack the Box SOC Analyst Path: structured labs covering SIEM workflows, phishing investigation, Windows forensics, malware traffic analysis, and threat hunting.
- Tools: Splunk, ELK, Wireshark, Windows Event Viewer, Cisco switches
Information Technology Intern
Convoy of Hope
Springfield, MO
06.2025 - 08.2025
- Designed and executed phishing simulation campaign for 500+ person organization—coordinated awareness messaging, tracked reporting metrics, and improved employee security mindfulness.
- Resolved 5+ technical support tickets daily (hardware, software, network, user accounts) and documented solutions in knowledge base.
Customer Support & Marketing Intern
State Farm
Springfield, MO
05.2023 - 05.2025
- Managed sensitive client information under strict identity verification and data-handling procedures; developed understanding of data governance in regulated environments.
- Performed desktop builds, workstation configuration, and IT troubleshooting; communicated technical issues clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science (Cybersecurity Concentration)
Evangel University
Springfield, MO05-2024
Skills
- SIEM expertise in Splunk and ELK
- Network traffic analysis
- Proficient in Python
- Bash scripting
- Data manipulation with SQL
- Experience with Linux distributions
- Incident Response
- Nessus vulnerability assessment
- Alert Triage
- Malware Analysis
- YARA/Sigma Rules
- Windows Server
Certification
- Security+, CompTIA - March 31, 2026 - March 31, 2029
Interests
Collegiate tennis athlete, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor, CTF competitions, Continuous learning in security research and community engagement
Timeline
Associate Cybersecurity Support Technician
Missouri Cyber Center of Excellence (MCCOE)
10.2025 - Current
Information Technology Intern
Convoy of Hope
06.2025 - 08.2025
Customer Support & Marketing Intern
State Farm
05.2023 - 05.2025
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science (Cybersecurity Concentration)
Evangel University