Vanessa Atkinson
Hanover,MD
Summary
Entry-level cybersecurity professional with practical experience in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) initiatives and SOC 2 audits. Proven skills in device compliance, vendor risk assessment, and conducting security awareness training. Demonstrated ability to support enterprise security operations effectively.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior IT Admin
Dragos
Hanover, MD
09.2021 - Current
- Managed secure onboarding and offboarding processes to ensure compliance with access controls, MDM enrollment, and asset recovery.
- Lead IT/HR security sync meetings, coordinating onboarding and offboarding.
- Create and manage user accounts and permissions in Active Directory and Azure AD.
- Supported deployment of security tools, enhancing organizational security posture through YubiKeys, Zscaler, Jamf, and MDM solutions.
- Oversee laptop ordering, asset tracking, and inventory management, supporting audit readiness.
- Provided technical support to over 500 employees, resolving issues to minimize downtime and maintain workflow continuity.
- Maintain security documentation and ensure endpoints meet compliance standards.
IT Help Desk Associate
2U Inc.
Lanham, MD
01.2020 - 09.2021
- Provided technical assistance and support related to computer systems, hardware, and software to onsite and remote 2U employees.
- Achieved and maintained customer satisfaction rating of 90% or higher through effective technical support.
- Managed user accounts in Active Directory to ensure access control and security.
- Assisted in implementing upgrades and software updates to enhance system performance.
- Supports on-boarding and off-boarding of employees.
- Tracking/provisioning of software and hardware assets.
Contractor (Marketing Team)
TalentSpring- 2U Inc.
Lanham, MD
09.2019 - 11.2019
- Transformed and developed email templates using HTML and CSS.
- Facilitated migration of email content from Marketo to Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
- Constructed web pages to enhance digital presence.
- Provided administrative support to the marketing team.
Education
MASTER OF SCIENCE - Cybersecurity Technology
University of Maryland Global Campus
College Park, MD09.2024
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - Information Technology
Frostburg State University
Frostburg, MD12.2018
Skills
- GRC and compliance support
- SOC 2 audit readiness
- Vendor risk review
- Security awareness training
- Asset and inventory management
- Access provisioning and offboarding
- Technical troubleshooting
- Strong communication skills
- Excellent customer service
- Complaint Handling
- Multitasking and prioritization
- In-person/remote support
- Azure
- Jira and Confluence
Security Tools: Metasploit, Nmap, and Wireshark
Operating systems: Windows, macOS, Kali Linux
Projects
Collaborative Cybersecurity Training with Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) team (2024-2025)
• Supported ISO and SOC 2 audit preparation by gathering evidence, reviewing documentation, and validating security controls.
• Assisted with vendor SOC 2 report reviews to support third-party risk management.
• Edited and improved security workflows and forms in Confluence for the GRC team.
• Collected data for business impact analysis (BIA) across departments.
• Led the rollout of a company-wide security awareness training program.
Certification
CompTIA Security+ (In Progress)
Timeline
Senior IT Admin
Dragos
09.2021 - Current
IT Help Desk Associate
2U Inc.
01.2020 - 09.2021
Contractor (Marketing Team)
TalentSpring- 2U Inc.
09.2019 - 11.2019
MASTER OF SCIENCE - Cybersecurity Technology
University of Maryland Global Campus
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - Information Technology
Frostburg State University