From Paramedic to Packet Sniffer

I’m Adam Gardner, a cybersecurity professional with a passion for defending networks, unraveling adversary behavior, and making threat intelligence actionable. I most recently worked as a Research Analyst at Fortress Information Security, where I supported AI-driven monitoring, data enrichment validation, and threat intelligence initiatives that helped safeguard critical infrastructure and enterprise environments. During my time there, I executed approximately 75% of my team’s workload while being transparent about my career goals to grow into a Security Analyst role. I actively pursued certifications to support that transition, and although the position was later eliminated during a broader departmental restructuring, I carried that momentum forward into public research and skill development.

My path into cybersecurity wasn’t traditional. I began my career as a licensed paramedic, where I learned to operate under pressure, assess rapidly evolving situations, and prioritize critical decisions. That mindset now drives how I approach cybersecurity: calm, focused, and triage-oriented in the face of digital threats.

🔐 Certifications & Technical Foundations

I hold the CompTIA Security+, CySA+, and Security Analytics Professional (CSAP) certifications. I also completed a Cybersecurity Bootcamp through the University of Michigan, gaining hands-on experience with key defensive tools and technologies, including:

• Splunk – SIEM queries, custom correlation searches, and alert analysis
• Snort – Signature-based intrusion detection and rule tuning
• Wireshark – Packet analysis and anomaly investigation
• pfSense – Firewall implementation and segmentation strategies
• Nessus – Vulnerability assessment and exposure reporting

This training gave me both the technical foundation and real-world context to support enterprise-scale defense operations.

🔎 Focus Areas: Threat Intelligence, SOC, DFIR & Malware Analysis

My professional focus centers around SOC operations, digital forensics and incident response (DFIR), and threat intelligence. I’m especially interested in identifying and mapping adversary tactics using MITRE ATT&CK, helping analysts triage more effectively, and uncovering deeper insights from noisy datasets.

I have a strong passion for reverse engineering malware, including both static and dynamic analysis, and I’m committed to building these skills as my career progresses. While I’m not actively performing malware analysis in my current role, I’m continuously learning and exploring this area to better understand attacker behaviors, persistence techniques, and evasion methods.

I’m also working to expand my skills in scripting and automation, not as a core specialty, but as a way to reduce alert fatigue in SOC environments and streamline repetitive workflows that distract analysts from high-impact work.

✍️ Why I Write: Field Notes from a Security Mindset

A good portion of what I write starts with something I notice in real life — an expired login link, a redirect that shouldn’t be there, a weird behavior in a PDF, or a login flow that just feels off. It’s not about jumping to conclusions — it’s about thinking like an analyst.

I pause and ask:
“Is this just bad UX… or is this a security flaw hiding in plain sight?”

That spark sets off a familiar process: I check references, test behaviors, dig through documentation, and look for patterns that attackers might exploit — or defenders might miss. If I find something worth surfacing, I turn it into a post.

Honestly, I think it’s kind of funny how often this happens. Probably half my blog posts start this way: me going, “hmmm… this feels like a problem,” then taking it apart piece by piece until I know whether it’s just friction — or a full-blown risk.

Before launching deeper into public research, I worked at Fortress Information Security, where I handled roughly 75% of my team’s workload in AI-powered threat monitoring and enrichment validation. I was open with leadership about wanting to grow into a Security Analyst role and was actively building certifications to match. That role ended during a department-wide restructuring — but the momentum didn’t stop.

In fact, after being laid off with severance during that restructuring, I decided to lean even harder into my passion for research, writing, and community knowledge sharing. Rather than rush into the next role blindly, I’m using this time to document real-world risks, refine my technical skills, and contribute meaningfully to the defender community.

If you see more posts than usual — that’s why. I’m making the most of the space I’ve been given, and I’m not wasting it.

🎯 Mission & Mindset

Cybersecurity to me is about vigilance, adaptability, and curiosity. I approach each engagement with the mindset of a responder: prioritize, act, reflect, and improve. Whether I’m hunting for IOCs, analyzing suspicious behavior, or supporting an active investigation, I see each incident as a puzzle that often begins with vague indicators, scattered signals, and incomplete data.

Just like diagnosing a patient in the field, incident response requires connecting seemingly unrelated clues, applying pattern recognition, and using both intuition and experience to identify root causes. That same diagnostic mindset fuels how I investigate threats: methodical, focused, and always aimed at delivering actionable insights that reduce risk and improve response.

My mission is to bring clarity to chaos, protect systems from harm, and help organizations become more resilient against evolving threats.

📍 Open to Opportunities

I’m currently open to roles involving:

• SOC and security operations
• Cyber threat intelligence
• Incident response and forensics
• Hands-on malware analysis (entry-level or apprentice opportunities)

I’m particularly interested in remote roles or positions based in Chicago, IL, with room to grow my capabilities in blue team operations, detection strategy, and malware research alongside experienced professionals.

🌐 Let’s Connect

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adam-gardner022695
• Email: gardner.adamw@gmail.com
• Phone: 810-348-1332

Whether you’re part of a security team looking for someone with both composure and technical depth, or a fellow defender passionate about SOC, DFIR, and malware research, I’d love to connect.