Cybersecurity case studies: incident response, security metrics, and secure engineering.
Nine projects by Sean Richard that apply recognized security frameworks to a concrete organization, incident, or operational problem. They cover incident reporting, a CIS Controls v8 attack-chain analysis, security KPIs such as MTTD and MTTR, secure development with NIST SSDF and BSIMM, and compliance work across CMMC, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Each page summarizes the project and links to the full report.
Detect & Respond
Incident reporting, attack-chain reconstruction, and the metrics that show whether detection and response are improving.
Incident response reporting · FERPA
Cybersecurity Incident Response Report
A formal incident response report on injection and broken access control findings in a student portal: scope, impact, data sensitivity, and phased remediation.
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CIS Controls v8 · CIS Implementation Groups (IG1, IG2)
CIS Controls v8 Gap Analysis — Luigi's Case Study
A 12-step attack-chain reconstruction of the Luigi's compromise mapped to 10 CIS Controls v8 and 27 IG1/IG2 safeguards, with remediation rationale.
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Security operations metrics · CIS Controls Assessment Specification
Security KPI & Metrics Analysis
Ten cybersecurity KPIs, including MTTD, MTTR, patching cadence and audit log coverage, each defined and applied to a publicly reported 2026 security incident.
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Build Securely
Secure development life cycle planning and software security maturity, from someone who ships production software.
NIST SSDF · Microsoft SDL
SnowBe Online Secure Software Development Life Cycle Plan
Why NIST SSDF was chosen over Microsoft SDL for a fast-growing online retailer, with a three-developer team design, Agile Scrum with DevSecOps, a 90-day plan.
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BSIMM · STRIDE threat modeling
BSIMM Software Security Maturity Assessment
A BSIMM software security maturity assessment across governance, intelligence, SSDL touchpoints and deployment, with current state, alignment and next steps.
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Govern & Comply
Maturity assessment, policy writing, and compliance scoping across CMMC, NIST SP 800-53, PCI DSS, and HIPAA.
CMMC · Simple Maturity Model
SnowBe Online Security Maturity Assessment
A CMMC-aligned security maturity assessment that rates 17 domains, ranks them by business risk, and maps four priorities to practices IR.2.093 through RE.2.137.
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Secure SDLC · Patch management
SnowBe Online Security Policy & Threat Modeling Portfolio
Three CISO-owned security policies for a fast-growing retailer (secure SDLC, patch management, maturity management) plus where threat modeling fits in each.
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PCI DSS · SAQ D
SnowBe Online PCI DSS Audit
A PCI DSS assessment that determines merchant level, cardholder data environment scope and the right SAQ for a retailer storing card data on AWS and WordPress.
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HIPAA Security Rule · HIPAA Privacy Rule
Electronic Health Records Security Controls Assessment
A healthcare case study applying HIPAA, HITECH, NIST CSF 2.0 and SP 800-53 to electronic health record controls, judging effectiveness and adding safeguards.
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Frameworks and standards applied
Each framework below links to the project where it was used.
Background
Sean Richard is a United States Army veteran completing a B.S. in Cyber/Computer Forensics & Counterterrorism at Full Sail University, graduating November 2026, after an A.S. in Information Technology. His hands-on background covers Windows and Linux administration, networking, DNS, server infrastructure, and application-layer security.
He also builds and runs production software: a multi-tenant CRM platform, an AI agent fleet, and contractor SaaS. That is the angle this portfolio brings to security work. The secure development, logging, access control, and incident questions in these case studies are the same ones that come up when operating live systems with real customer data.
See the full portfolio for shipped products and work history, or the about page for background.
Questions about this work
- Which security frameworks has Sean Richard applied?
- Across these nine projects: CIS Controls v8 with Implementation Groups 1 and 2, the NIST Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF), NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, NIST CSF 2.0, NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2, CMMC, BSIMM, PCI DSS including SAQ selection, and the HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules with HITECH.
- Is this professional client work or academic work?
- Academic. These are portfolio editions of coursework from the B.S. in Cyber/Computer Forensics & Counterterrorism at Full Sail University, graduating November 2026. The organizations are course case studies or fictional scenarios. Each page summarizes the full document, which is linked as a PDF.
- What kind of cybersecurity role is this work aimed at?
- Security analyst, SOC, and incident response roles, and engineering or technical leadership roles where security judgment matters. The incident response report, the CIS Controls attack-chain analysis, and the security KPI project are the closest match to analyst work.
- What does Sean Richard do outside of this coursework?
- He founded and operates Autom8ion Lab, Sitehues Media, and BuilderLync, and ships production software including a multi-tenant CRM platform and contractor SaaS. His hands-on background covers Windows and Linux administration, networking, DNS, server infrastructure, and application-layer security.
- Can I read the full reports?
- Yes. Every case study links to the full document as a PDF: a written report, a slide deck, or both.