Michael McPhee is a Systems Engineer working for Cisco, based in Upstate NY, where he has worked for 4 years. Prior to joining Cisco, Michael spent 6 years in the U.S. Navy and another 10 working on communications systems, and has obtained the following certifications along the way: CCIE R&S, CCIE Security, CCIP, CCDP, ITILv3, and the Cisco Security White Belt. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
Michael's current role sees him consulting on security and network infrastructures. Before joining Cisco, Michael was a Network Operations Team Lead at a major regional insurance company. Prior to entering IT, he spent 11 years as a systems engineer and architect for defense contractors, where he helped propose, design, and develop command and control and electronic warfare systems for the US DoD and NATO allies. Michael’s diverse experience helps customers keep things in perspective and achieve their goals securely.
I want to thank my family, especially my wife Cathy for all of her unwavering love and support, and for always letting me tackle new things, and for helping me raise our funny, witty, and wonderfully nutty children, Liam and Claire. Go to bed, kids! I would also like to thank my teammates and shipmates, past and present - you all have helped to make me who I am as an engineer and more, and you’ve all set some pretty high bars for me to aspire to. To my Cisco mentors, folks like Dave Nentarz, Chad Hintz, Jason Vierra, and so many others – your generosity with your time, encouragement, and wisdom has been invaluable. Joey and Aamir, thank you for trusting us with this awesome project – we’ve learned a ton! Finally folks, Jason Beltrame is about the best teammate and friend a guy could take this journey with, and I appreciate all of his patience, positivity, and comradery.
Jason Beltrame is a Systems Engineer for Cisco, living in the Eastern Pennsylvania Area. He has worked in the Network and Security field for 18 years, with the last 2 years as a Systems Engineer, and the prior 16 years on the operational side as a Network Engineer. During that time, Jason has achieved the following certifications: CISSP, CCNP, CCNP Security, CCDP, CCSP, CISA, ITILv2, and VCP5. He is a graduate from DeSales University in BS in Computer Science. He has a passion for security and loves learning.
In his current role at Cisco, Jason focuses on Security and Enterprise Networks, but as a generalist SE, he covers all aspects of technology. Jason works with commercial territory customers, helping them achieve their technology goals based on their individual business requirements. His 16 years of real-world experience allows him to relate with his customers and understand both their challenges and desired outcomes.
I would like to thank my wife, Becky, for putting up with my late night writing sessions, as well as giving me the support needed to write this book. I would also like to thank both my children, Josh and Ryan, for keeping me active and giving me the strength to stay up late writing and researching. Without this strong support system that I have, none of this would have been possible. Follow colleagues/mentors such as Michael McPhee, Joseph Muniz and Aamir Lakhani for pushing me to do my best and believing in me.