JOHN DANKOjohn@danko:~/about
OPEN TO SOC ROLES
~ / about
ABOUT / BACKGROUND

About John.

DoD Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge competitor completing the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, with published security projects on GitHub.

NAMEJohn Danko
LOCATIONGreater Philadelphia
RELOCATIONOpen to relocation
FOCUSSOC & Incident Response
01

About Me

I've worked through security alerts, network traffic, vulnerabilities, and digital forensic evidence in university labs and the DoD Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge, and I investigated and contained a real malware infection on my own PC.

B.S.CIS · Cybersecurity
3.59GPA · Cum Laude
DoDCyber Sentinel 2025
6GitHub projects (incl. 3 cert labs)
02

Education

Fall 2024 · Gwynedd Valley, PA

Gwynedd Mercy University

B.S. Computer Information Science, Cybersecurity Specialization

  • GPA 3.59
  • Cum Laude
  • Dean's List

Coursework: Computer Forensics · Cybersecurity · Cybercrime · Networking Administration & Security · Operating Systems · Auditing IT · Algorithms and Data Structures

03

Skills

02 / SKILLS

Security Operations

  • Incident Response Lifecycle
  • Alert Triage
  • Malware Triage
  • Persistence Analysis
  • Phishing Response
  • Playbook Writing
  • Incident Documentation
  • Digital Forensics
  • Threat Intelligence
  • Vulnerability Assessment
  • MITRE ATT&CK

See it in: Malware IR, IR Playbooks

04 / SKILLS

Governance & Scripting

  • NIST SP 800-61
  • NIST CSF
  • CIA Triad
  • Security Auditing
  • Risk Assessment
  • Access Control/Least Privilege
  • Python
  • Bash
  • SQL
  • Linux
  • Windows

See it in: Internal Security Audit, IR Playbooks

04

Academic, Challenge & Lab Projects

Correlation One · Jun 2025

DoD Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge

Timed, real-world challenges investigating potential data exfiltration and credential exposure, threat-actor artifacts, and vulnerable web applications.

  • Memory Artifact Analysis
  • PCAP Analysis
  • Encrypted Traffic
  • IOC Identification
  • Web App Security
  • Network Recon
  • OSINT / Geolocation
  • Cryptanalysis
View challenge details
  • Analyzed memory artifacts, PCAPs, and encrypted network traffic to investigate potential data exfiltration and credential exposure.
  • Examined suspicious scripts and threat-actor artifacts to identify hidden payloads and indicators of compromise.
  • Assessed web applications for access-control, authentication, and server-side vulnerabilities using hands-on penetration-testing techniques.
  • Performed network reconnaissance, OSINT/image geolocation, and classical cryptanalysis across timed real-world challenges.
Gwynedd Mercy · Spring 2023

Digital Forensics Investigation

Research-team forensic analysis decrypting encrypted data and recovering concealed files.

  • FTK Imager
  • Autopsy
  • Hash Verification
Gwynedd Mercy · Spring 2023

Network Security Assessment & Pen Test

Assessed a network for vulnerabilities and threat vectors inside a simulated pen-test framework with IR protocols.

  • Wireshark
  • John the Ripper
  • Autopsy
Gwynedd Mercy · Fall 2023

Hyper-V Access Control Lab

Built a Hyper-V lab and simulated granting and revoking test-account access to show how permissions apply.

  • Hyper-V
  • Access Control
  • Network Admin
05

Experience

Fall 2022 – Present · King of Prussia, PA

Server, Revolution Chop House at Valley Forge Casino

  • Manage multiple tables and priorities at once in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
  • Communicate clearly with guests and teammates to resolve issues quickly and keep service running smoothly.
  • Handle payment transactions accurately and professionally.
06

Next

Planned · Not yet built

Home SOC Detection Lab

Next project: generate safe simulated activity, collect telemetry, detect, triage, map to ATT&CK, and write an incident report.

  1. Windows 11 Endpoint
  2. Endpoint Logging
  3. Log Collection
  4. SIEM
  5. Detection Rule
  6. Alert
  7. SOC Investigation
  8. Incident Report