Sr. Security Engineer at The Virginian-Pilot
Norfolk, Virginia Area
- Current
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- Sr. Security Engineer at Landmark Communications
- Past
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- Applications Solutions Analyst at The Virginian-Pilot
- Sr Knowledge Engineer at Greatbridge
- Database Programmer/Analyst at Jefferson Lab
- Information Systems Consultant at Metro Information Services
- Network Administrator / Programmer at Raytheon Service Company
- Education
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- Old Dominion University
- Recommended
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3 people have recommended Randy - Connections
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74
connections
- Industry
- Information Technology and Services
- Websites
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Summary
Corporate-friendly self-proclaimed computer geek. I yearn for highly complex system automation between diverse components that approaches magic. I like pushing the theoretical as far as I can while still keeping it within the bounds of reality so that I can build it. I prefer an open source Linux world but feel just as at home in a Microsoft environment. I place a high value on corporate ethics and have always strived to be a good steward of any resource placed under my control.
If it works with 1's and 0's and I find it interesting, I can do it.
I'm not a big fan of certifications. I thought that the RHCE was one of the easiest tests I ever passed. The CISSP was easier. When they are easy, what do they prove?
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Specialties:
Security, Networking, Linux, Computer Forensics, Solaris, Sun Ray, Policies, Firewalls, Diagnostics, Troubleshooting, Systems Engineering, Microsoft SMS, Ironport, Symantec, Websense, Cisco PIX/ASA.
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Experience
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Sr. Security Engineer
Landmark Communications
(Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Media Production industry)
March 2004 — Present (4 years 3 months)
Working for the Pilot Media Companies division of Landmark, I get to do a lot of fun stuff. I'm responsible for penetration testing of new acquisitions, managing desktop security for 1000+ nodes with Websense, SMS and Symantec, and contributing to policies & procedures. I also get to do forensic analysis from time to time for the HR or legal department. I have my finger on all remote access in one way or another leveraging RSA, CiscoSecure, Cisco PIX & ASA and blackberries. Because of my breadth of knowledge, not just my depth, I serve on the team that does new startups where we have to go from an empty building to publication in two weeks. I use Linux, Windows, Solaris, VMWare, Xen and Virtual Server on a daily basis and love the diversity. I am the company champion for using strong encryption everywhere it is appropriate and perform PCI audits to verify compliance.
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Applications Solutions Analyst
The Virginian-Pilot
(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Media Production industry)
November 2001 — March 2004 (2 years 5 months)
I supported the output of the newspaper from the moment the postscript file was generated by DTI to the moment the image was burned onto plates for the press. It's a complex system that really does seem like magic when it works as designed. I was also involved in disaster planning for business continuity. I designed and implemented an off site warm standby location where the newspaper could still be produced if we lost our primary facility. One of my long lasting contributions here are numerous Perl scripts scattered on dozens of systems that act as the glue for the newspaper production process. I feel that I now know more that any human should have to know about postscript, PDFs and fonts.
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Sr Knowledge Engineer
Greatbridge
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
October 2000 — September 2001 (1 year)
This is where my career really took off. I was given the opportunity to contribute to a brand new startup in the world of open source software. During my consulting as a PostgreSQL database expert, I learned how small the IT world really is and how important networking is. This was also the smartest group of people in one small organization I had ever worked with. As as startup, I worked many projects. Writing documentation, writing code, providing telephone technical support, working as a presales engineer, managing a team of engineers, serving as a consultant, creating software distributions. It was the best experience of my career and would loved for the company to have survived.
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Database Programmer/Analyst
Jefferson Lab
(Government Agency; 201-500 employees; Research industry)
September 1998 — October 2000 (2 years 2 months)
Started here as a contractor from Metro Information services (now Keene). Worked for a year as a contractor then was hired on full time. I used my problem solving skills to provide elegant solutions to unique problems. I did a lot of dBase and Novell here but since it was a national research center, I got a chance to get even deeper into Linux and networking. Along the way, I also did cold fusion web development of internal applications. My fascination with firewalls and security was born here even though I had no direct security responsibilities. I came to the realization that open source was going to be big.
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Information Systems Consultant
Metro Information Services
(Public Company; Information Technology and Services industry)
June 1997 — September 1998 (1 year 4 months)
This was a contract to hire for Jefferson Lab. Well, not really. But Jefferson Lab wanted me there so bad they bought out my contract with Metro. Details are in that position description.
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Network Administrator / Programmer
Raytheon Service Company
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; RTN; Aviation & Aerospace industry)
July 1991 — June 1997 (6 years)
First job out of the gate from college. Cannot say it was too terribly exciting but it did pay the bills and provide professional growth. I spent most of my time writing reports in dBase. I did however get my feet wet with networking. First with Novell then with Linux. Other than the networking and Linux, my resume from this job looks like a list of all the technology that has been forgotten about over the years.
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Education
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Old Dominion University
BS, Computer Science, 1997 — 2000
Additional Information
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Websites:
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Interests:
Just about anything that pops up on the front pages of digg or slashdot is going to interest me. Freeing consumer devices like TiVos and XBoxs from their manufacture's design and releasing their full potential. I like building things at home that would normally be reserved only for the enterprise. I run my own Sun Ray Thin client server and implemented an Asterisk PBX in my house. And what home network would be complete without Active Directory.
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Groups:
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP),
Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE),
Tidewater Unix Users Group (TWUUG)
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SecurityJobs member -
Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP) member -
Security Crew member -
Vonage Users member -
Ethical Hackers Community member
Randy Hall, CISSP’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
