Portrait of Xander Johnstone
Cybersecurity

IT & Cybersecurity Professional|U.S. Navy Veteran

Securing identities, endpoints, and networks for municipal government and small businesses, built on six years of Navy secure communications and hands-on GIAC-certified defense skills.

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IDENTITY_VERIFIED

WHOAMI

Xander Johnstone

IT & CYBERSECURITY · GRAYS HARBOR, WA

  • I'm an IT and cybersecurity professional with 8+ years of hands-on IT experience across U.S. Navy secure communications, healthcare, enterprise, and municipal government environments.
  • Today I'm the IT Technician for the City of Ocean Shores, where I administer Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) and Microsoft 365 identities for 10+ city departments, manage building access control in Genetec, and support and train city staff.
  • I also run Olympic Digital Solutions, a veteran-owned IT business serving residents and small businesses across Grays Harbor County.
  • Before that I served six years as a U.S. Navy Information Systems Technician (IT2/E5) aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), administering classified and unclassified networks and safeguarding COMSEC material.

EDUCATION_SNAPSHOT

SANS Technology InstituteApplied Cybersecurity Certificate
Full Sail UniversityM.S. Entertainment Business
Full Sail UniversityB.S. Music Production

Work Experience

From shipboard networks to city hall: my professional journey in IT and security

  1. IT Technician

    City of Ocean Shores · Ocean Shores, WA

    05/2025 – Present
    • Primary administrator for Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID) and Microsoft 365: user identities, access permissions, and secure onboarding/offboarding for 10+ city departments, enforcing least-privilege access.
    • Led the technical infrastructure migration for the city-owned golf course, resolving complex configuration issues while keeping services running for staff and the public.
    • Administer the city's building access control and security systems in the Genetec platform.
    • Provide technical support and training to city personnel, focused on productivity tools and security awareness.
    • Develop and maintain documentation for systems, procedures, IT policies, and regulatory compliance.
    Entra IDMicrosoft 365GenetecIAMDocumentation

  2. Owner / IT Consultant

    Olympic Digital Solutions (veteran-owned) · Grays Harbor County, WA

    05/2025 – Present
    • Founded and run a veteran-owned IT company providing technology services to residents and small businesses across Grays Harbor County.
    • Provide deskside IT support to residents, diagnosing and resolving end-user technology issues.
    • Engineer IT solutions for small-business clients, matching technology to each organization's needs.
    • Design and build client websites; special projects include the ProofStamp and Housekept iOS apps, the Bideroo auction platform, and the Toast the Harbor auction web app.
    Small-business ITNetwork securityWeb developmentiOS apps

  3. IT Engineer (IT System Administrator)

    FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers · Las Cruces, NM

    04/2020 – 11/2020
    • Sole IT administrator for a HIPAA-regulated healthcare practice, supporting about 70 clinical and administrative users and serving as on-site liaison for third-party IT vendors.
    • Migrated on-premises Active Directory to Azure AD with Microsoft 365, improving scalability, security, and HIPAA compliance.
    • Developed automation scripts for state-mandated COVID-19 compliance reporting, cutting related system downtime by 10%.
    • Established security standards, conducted IT security audits, and enforced access controls and endpoint protections.
    • Designed and delivered INFOSEC awareness training for 50+ employees on healthcare-specific attack vectors.
    Active DirectoryAzure ADHIPAAAutomationSecurity training

  4. IT Deskside Support (Global Technology Infrastructure Operations Specialist)

    Sutherland Global Services · Chesapeake, VA

    02/2016 – 10/2016
    • Resolved 100+ Tier 1–2 hardware, software, and network tickets each week for 500+ end users across 28 business verticals while meeting SLAs.
    • Administered Active Directory security groups and permissions in line with security and compliance standards.
    • Supported Citrix virtual desktop and server environments and helped maintain firewall, VPN, and intrusion-detection protections.
    • Managed procurement, deployment, and lifecycle of mobile devices to enable remote work.
    Active DirectoryCitrixFirewalls / VPNIDSService desk

  5. Information Systems Technician Second Class (IT2/E5)

    U.S. Navy · USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and shore commands, VA/WA

    08/2008 – 11/2014
    • Qualified Information Systems Administrator (NEC 2791, IAT II), Information Systems Technician (NEC 2790), and Transmission System Technician (NEC 2379).
    • Administered and secured classified and unclassified shipboard networks (SIPRNET/NIPRNET), including Windows Server, Active Directory, and Exchange.
    • Handled, accounted for, and controlled COMSEC cryptographic equipment and keying material in high-security environments.
    • Operated and maintained HF through EHF, line-of-sight, and SATCOM systems; maintained 50+ telecommunication circuits between ship and shore.
    • Led a team that improved UHF frequency-hopping configuration, revised 30+ technical publications, and trained 20+ personnel, contributing to zero equipment casualties during deployment.
    SIPRNET/NIPRNETCOMSECWindows ServerExchangeSATCOM / RF
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DEFENSE MATRIX

// tools and disciplines I use to keep systems secure

> skill_selected("security")

Security Operations

DOMAIN

TOOLKIT

USED_IN

    > _projects

    Real systems I've built, migrated, and secured.

    Veteran-ownedSmall-business ITGrays Harbor
    Active

    Olympic Digital Solutions

    My veteran-owned IT business: deskside support for residents, engineered IT solutions and network security for small businesses, and website design across Grays Harbor County.

    Help deskNetwork hardeningWeb design
    • Founded 05/2025 and run alongside my full-time city role.
    • Serves residential and commercial clients in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Cosmopolis, Montesano, Ocean Shores, and Westport.
    • Security-first approach with clear documentation and follow-up.
    olympicdigitalsolutions.com
    Blue teamHome labDetection
    Ongoing

    Home SOC Lab

    A home security operations lab on VMware, running a Windows Server 2025 Active Directory domain that's monitored with Wazuh (SIEM/XDR).

    VMwareWindows Server 2025Active DirectoryWazuhSIEMXDR
    ProofStamp app icon

    ProofStamp: Timestamp Camera

    iOS · iPhone + iPad

    Coming to the App Store

    A camera app that burns the date, time, and GPS location into photos and videos as you take them, with a live ticking clock on stamped video. It's built for contractors, inspectors, adjusters, and landlords who need proof that holds up.

    ExpoReact NativeSHA-256RFC 3161PDF reports
    • Every file gets a verification code and a SHA-256 fingerprint of both the original and the finished file.
    • Certified RFC 3161 timestamps from an independent timestamp authority, so capture times can't be backdated.
    • Organize captures into projects and export PDF reports.
    • Private by design: no account, no ads, no tracking, and data stays on the phone.
    ProofStamp App Store screenshot
    Housekept app icon

    Housekept

    iOS · by Olympic Digital Solutions

    iOS app

    A home maintenance assistant that reminds you when jobs are due, from seasonal tasks like gutters and winterizing (with a southern-hemisphere option), and keeps appliance records, model-label photos, receipts, manuals, and warranties in one place.

    ExpoReact NativeSQLiteHome-screen widgetIn-app purchases
    • "Up Next" home-screen widget in small, medium, and large sizes.
    • Export and restore backups; data stays on the iPhone.
    • Free tier plus Housekept Pro (unlimited appliances and warranty reminders 30 days before expiry) as a monthly, yearly, or lifetime purchase.
    PlatformNonprofitsReal-time
    In development

    Bideroo

    A silent auction platform for nonprofits and businesses, operated by Olympic Digital Solutions. Donors bid from their phones or on paper bid sheets, and each organization gets a branded site and a winners display.

    TypeScriptFastifyWebSocketReactPostgreSQLValkeyDocker
    • Checkout runs through each organization's own Stripe or Square account.
    • Free for verified nonprofits.
    • Fastify REST + WebSocket API, React front end, PostgreSQL, Valkey, S3-compatible storage, and pg-boss background workers.
    • Containerized with Docker; CI runs typecheck, unit, and integration tests.
    CharitySilent auctionAWS
    Live · annual event

    Toast the Harbor Auction Web App

    The silent auction web app I built to power the Toast the Harbor charity event, which raises about $14,000 per year. As technology committee chair, I designed it, deployed it, and support it every year.

    AWS EC2UbuntuApachePHPSQLJavaScript
    • Cloud-hosted web application and database with secure access controls, built on an AWS EC2 LAMP stack following cybersecurity best practices.
    • Helps the event raise about $14,000 per year for charity.
    toasttheharbor.com
    FlaskAWSHardening
    02/2025

    XPRatio.com

    A full-stack Flask resume-analysis web application I built and deployed on AWS EC2, hardened with SSL/TLS, Fail2ban, and a web application firewall.

    PythonFlaskAWS EC2SSL/TLSFail2banWAF
    CTFCompetition
    Fall 2024

    National Cyber League

    Ranked 483rd of 8,484 competitors (95th percentile) with a score of 2,075/3,000.

    OSINTEnumerationExploitationTraffic analysis
    • 100% completion in Open Source Intelligence: metadata, IP geolocation, and blockchain analysis.
    • 97th percentile in Enumeration & Exploitation: reversing code to bypass password authentication and decrypting XOR-encrypted passwords.
    • 95th percentile in Network Traffic Analysis: identifying malicious traffic patterns and decoding packet captures.

    Key Achievements

    Milestones and recognition

    95th percentile, National Cyber League

    Fall 2024

    483rd of 8,484 participants, with 100% completion in OSINT.

    Trained 20+ sailors, zero equipment casualties

    U.S. Navy

    Qualified personnel in system operation, maintenance (3M), and COMSEC procedures during deployment.

    Valedictorian honors

    Full Sail University

    Graduated valedictorian in the B.S. in Music Production and A.S. in Recording Arts programs.

    Licenses & Certifications

    Professional credentials and verified skills.

    GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT)

    GIAC · Jan 2025

    GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)

    GIAC · Nov 2024

    GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC)

    GIAC · Aug 2024

    GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT)

    GIAC · Jun 2024

    ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)

    ISC2 · Jan 2025

    CompTIA Security+

    CompTIA · Aug 2010

    Applied Cybersecurity Certificate

    SANS Technology Institute · Jan 2025

    ~/education

    Education & Training

    Formal degrees, cybersecurity coursework, and military technical schools.

    01/2025

    SANS Technology Institute

    Upper Division Undergraduate Certificate, Applied Cybersecurity

    10/2020

    Full Sail University

    A.S., Recording Arts

    09/2020

    Full Sail University

    M.S., Entertainment Business

    06/2019

    Full Sail University

    B.S., Music Production

    2009 – 2013

    U.S. Navy technical training

    IT "A" School (2009) · Journeyman Communications (2012) · IT System Administration course (2013): Active Directory, Windows Server, Exchange, Cisco routing, network security, and Security+.

    Get in Touch

    Hiring for IT or cybersecurity roles in Grays Harbor, Olympia, or remote? Let's connect.

    Let's work together

    I'm looking for IT and cybersecurity roles: security analysis, system administration, and identity and access management. I'm also happy to talk shop with fellow veterans and local businesses.

    Emailxanderjohnstone [at] gmail [dot] com
    LocationGrays Harbor, WA
    LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/xanderstone
     Open to new opportunities

    WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?

    Opens your email app, addressed to me.