Aaron Tharp Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

- Provides technical and strategic advice to C-suite leadership on cybersecurity, guiding the integration of security processes supporting strategic plans and aligning cybersecurity risk mitigation efforts with business unit needs.- Developed and implemented cybersecurity policies and risk management strategies for high-criticality networks, emphasizing compliance with legal and regulatory standards, and implementing Zero-Trust architecture standards.- Managed a risk management framework project for conferencing systems, conducted risk assessments, and developed strategies to mitigate identified risks, enhancing cybersecurity resilience across multiple networks.- Spearheaded policy research and risk analysis for cloud service modernization projects, informing senior leadership decisions and initiating a $6M modernization effort to strengthen organizational cybersecurity posture.

- Led a 15-member team of cybersecurity experts in a 24/7 Security and Network Operations Center SOC/NOC, overseeing system connectivity, effectively handling outages and security incidents, and delivering high-level IT support to executive management.- Addressed 475 cybersecurity and network outage incidents, offering crucial incident response, outage triage, network monitoring, and recovery services that supported the Department of Defense's response to missile and space activities.- Successfully conducted five comprehensive disaster recovery drills, maintaining uninterrupted enterprise system availability through the development of a Communications Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), guaranteed seamless executive leadership connectivity through crises.- Provided technical guidance on cybersecurity, communications security, and infrastructure security policy, aligned organizational policy to DOD Instructions and NIST 800 series Special Publications.

Ft Belvoir, Va

- Directed a 120-person team of IT professionals and facility support staff in delivering 24/7 network operations and incident response services to high-profile customers including the President, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and over 100 Federal Agencies. Managed operations, resourcing, and upkeep for communications assets valued over $45 million.- Enhanced maintenance efficiency by refining outage triage processes, reducing downtime by 5% and fulfilling Tier 4 data center facility standards for 3,300 communications circuits along with five vital satellite and wide-band radio communications terminals.- Spearheaded the design and execution of security controls within a technical control facility, satellite communications watch floor, and operational technology network, aligning with Zero Trust architecture principles.- Project managed a $43 million infrastructure project, saved $1 million while meeting project scope by identifying a discrepancy in Army data center redundancy requirements, coordinated with contractor to reallocate resources.

Pyongtaek, South Korea

- Administered unclassified and classified networks supporting helicopter operations as the Information Assurance Manager and Technician (IATII, IAMI). - Reduced ticket response times by 70%, improved customer engagement, and eliminated accidental ticket closure completely through the implementation of a support ticket tracking system and improved response triage criteria. - Provided network design and engineering for SATCOM, RF and HF assemblages; connecting tactical users in austere environments to strategic networks in support of the defense of the Republic of Korea. - Improved access to navigational data and Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs) for 74 pilots by designing and implementing an automated wireless Mobile Device Management (MDM) system for aviator digital flight books. - Designed and built a Beyond Line Of Sight (BLOS) HF network enabling long distance communications in a SATCOM degraded environment.

Baumholder, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

- Managed a team of 15 geographically dispersed personnel supporting tactical and operational SATCOM and radio connectivity to customers in the European Area of Operations.- Installed, operated, and maintained Command Post Nodes in support of logistics operations across Europe; provided routing, switching, call manager, classified and unclassified network connectivity, and exchange services to over 300 multinational and joint users in austere locations.- Planned and enacted an equipment accountability program identifying and transferring 7 million dollars in unusable or excess equipment, resulting in a 10% decrease in maintenance costs and doubling available maintenance space.- Planned and implemented an organizational training tracking system that allowed for improved visibility of essential tasks, enabling training improvements that resulted in 15% higher qualification rates.

Master'S Degree, Cybersecurity Risk Management

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Global Studies