[ Cybersecurity · Leadership · Service ]

Securing systems, built to last.

Mark MalinowskiMS, CISM

Cybersecurity leader and retired Navy Senior Chief. From writing the policy to closing the finding.

See the projects Contact

GitHub LinkedIn

[ Mark Malinowski, MS, CISM ]

CISM
Six Sigma Black Belt
Scrum Master
Upsilon Pi Epsilon

[ Degree ]M.S. in CybersecurityUpsilon Pi Epsilon honor society
[ Certification ]CISMCertified Information Security Manager
[ Service ]U.S. Navy, 20 years, retired Senior ChiefInformation Systems Technician
[ Planned ]Doctorate, planned start 2027DBA, Cybersecurity Operations

[ Latest updates ]

See all 9 updates

[ Projects ]

The work, in the open.

Five projects, shown in the open, mistakes included.

[ Project 01 ][ Lab ]Home lab · Oct 2026 to present

Ubuntu 24.04 STIG hardening lab

Took a fresh Ubuntu server from 51% to 75% against the DISA STIG, one rule at a time. Every change is weighed, reversible and verified.

178 of 214 rules pass[ In progress ]

Score at each rescan, oldest to newest. The first scan checked 119 rules, later ones 214.

The repo holds the runbook, the lab notes with my mistakes, and the scan summary. The notes mark which steps an AI assistant did and which calls were mine.

Open the repo on GitHub

[ Project 02 ][ Lab ]Open repo · Nov 2026

The Grok Bot team

A team of single-job AI assistants. Nothing goes out without my approval.

The front door hands each task to one specialist. Nothing goes out until I approve it.

It includes a one-page template for designing a bot: one job, hand-offs, voice, and a list of things it must never do.

[ Build your own ]: Four short steps and a design template.
[ Contents ]: README, template, MIT license.

[ Result ]A working team of single-job bots, published with a reusable design template.

Open the repo on GitHub

[ Project 03 ][ Writing ]Graduate capstone · Dec 2023

Password Versus Passwordless Authentication

Passwordless sign-in comes out ahead of passwords for most organizations. This capstone compares the two on security, ease of use, cost, and user adoption.

Password

SecurityThe weak link is human: reuse, weak choices, theft.
Ease of useFamiliar, but the average person juggles roughly 100.
CostCheap.
AdoptionOlder users tend to prefer familiar logins.

Passwordless

SecurityA hardware key leaves no password for a phisher to steal.
Ease of useHardware keys are strong and fast.
CostUpfront: keys, setup, replacing lost ones.
AdoptionYounger users are more open. Needs training.

Read the summary

[ Project 04 ][ Writing ]Graduate research · Mar 2025

Navigating Cybersecurity Governance in the Public Sector

Finds little objective data on whether public-sector cyber frameworks work. The review weighs ten scholarly and government sources on how organizations govern cyber risk.

Read the summary

[ Project 05 ][ Writing ]Navy heritage · 2022

The On-the-Roof Gang

A self-taught Navy chief radioman and his students trained on a Washington rooftop. They helped shape signals intelligence and the way the Navy trains its enlisted Sailors. Written at the Senior Enlisted Academy.

Read the essay

[ Background and skills ]

From Navy Information Technology to private-sector Cybersecurity.

Download resume

Colorado Springs
Iraq & Syria
Iraq
Tampa
Hawaii
Japan
Afghanistan
Djibouti
Korea
Other places served
Uzbekistan
Kuwait
Philippines
Greenland
England
Spain
Germany
Poland
Belgium
Gulfport, Mississippi
Norfolk, Virginia
San Diego, California

[ Where I’ve served ]

- Led joint teams through no-fail global communications missions for senior leaders.
- Ran a $1.5 million mobile communications package and a global travel budget.
- Graduated from the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy.
- Led Sailor fitness and enlisted leader development for the Navy element.
- Led about 30 joint communicators to roughly 36 outstations across five countries in support of a multinational coalition with 10 partner nations.
- Relocated a tactical operations center covering six networks, about 200 computers and eight video suites, with no drop in service.
- Mentored joint members into promotions and chaired a quarterly award board.
- Led 25 joint service members executing communications and network administration across five countries.
- Managed more than 100 pieces of communications equipment valued at $4.5 million.
- Built a technical and tactical training plan that put the team through cybersecurity workforce certification.
- Led 17 joint service members supporting combatant commanders, joint headquarters and partner agencies.
- As Future Operations Chief, planned two large deployments of four squadrons and about 150 people supporting two combatant commands in 12 countries.
- Coordinated four large exercises for more than 200 joint members and built expeditionary warfare study guides that produced six new qualifications in two months.
- Directed watch teams across regional communications stations supporting Pacific customers.
- Coordinated communications cutovers for two carrier strike groups and one amphibious group, serving more than 40 ships.
- Mentored sailors through cybersecurity workforce requirements.
- Led 11 sailors in the upkeep and administration of the ship’s IT networks.
- Oversaw the migration of eight servers and 300 workstations during a maintenance period.
- Qualified four system administrators and trained four Security+ and Network+ technicians. Earned the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification.
- Managed tracking and inventory of 277 pieces of controlled communications equipment valued at $2.8 million across three detachments, with zero security incidents.
- Troubleshot and repaired communications systems on more than 30 armored vehicles.
- Directed outfitting of 16 armored vehicles and radio procedures for 13 supply missions.
- Supported five detachment sites totaling 60 personnel across four countries in East Africa.
- Maintained accountability for communications gear and computers valued at more than $600,000.
- Guided six sailors toward Seabee Combat Warfare qualification.
- Led a three-sailor watch team responsible for voice and data circuits and message traffic supporting U.S. and allied forces in Korea.
- Built circuit diagrams and a message-tracking tool used in the team’s training program.