Anne-Marie O'Donnell
Summary
Trusted Cyber Security Consultant with 6 years experience protecting companies against both internal and external threats. Talented at pre-emptively detecting unidentified threat vectors and applying preventive measures to mitigate security flaws. Employs technological solutions and personnel training to harden both people and machines against malicious actors. I am passionate about cyber security, having volunteered my time to help with the organisation and operation of the annual ZeroDays Capture the Flag competition. The competition has events for both college students and as well as the Cyber Schools initiative, which introduces cyber security to young people still in secondary school. I was also nominated for both the Rising Star Award at the Unsung Heroes Awards in 2022 & 2024 and Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Award 2022 .
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Network and Security Specialist
Tailte Eireann
Dublin, Ireland
03.2025 - Current
- Creating Vulnerability Management Program to monitor external perimeters as well as the cloud environment.
- Trained new team members, improving overall department performance.
- Trained staff on best practices in cybersecurity awareness, promoted safe online behaviour.
- Configured VPNs for secure remote access provision for the department
- Managing the Cisco Email Security Appliance to control the email security for the Department.
- Harnessed software tools to combat malware through comprehensive internet and email security.
- Project Management - Secure Integrated Network, Remote Device Management and Enhanced Secure Infrastructure.
Part-Time Assistant Lecturer
Chevron College
Wexford, Wexford
06.2023 - Current
- Delivered lectures and professional labs for postgraduate learners, contributing to the academic direction and high-quality delivery of the programme.
- Taught and developed content for the Cyber Resilience & Incident Response module, including hands-on labs focused on incident handling, threat detection, and organisational response strategies.
- Delivered teaching and practical exercises for Technology Management for Organisations, covering digital transformation, ICT governance, and technology-driven decision-making.
- Designed and taught content for Cybersecurity and User Experience Design, integrating secure-by-design principles with usability, accessibility, and human-centred security practices.
- Project managed and mentored students undertaking their final projects, providing academic supervision, guidance, progress oversight, and constructive feedback to support successful research and practical outcomes.
- Supported assessment activities through the preparation, evaluation, and grading of coursework, labs, and project submissions.
- Provided academic support to students, addressing queries, facilitating learning, and enabling effective engagement with module content.
- Contributed to programme quality by updating teaching materials, enhancing lab exercises, and ensuring alignment with emerging trends in cybersecurity and ICT management.
CYBER SECURITY CONSULTANT
BH IT Consulting Ltd
Dublin
07.2019 - 03.2025
- Vulnerability Assessments for clients on both a quarterly and yearly basis
- Security Awareness phishing campaigns for clients run on both a quarterly and yearly basis
- Taking technical findings from Vulnerability Assessments, Security Awareness Phishing Campaigns and Penetration Tests and creating reports that can be read and understood by both technical and non-technical staff members.
- Assist client IT support in remediating vulnerabilities that were reported.
- Conducted Security Awareness Training Sessions with clients.
- Internal projects to assess tool offerings for Vulnerability Assessments and Phishing Simulations.
- Partnered with security professionals on Security Review Projects to assess and identify security issues with implementations of new software into established networks and provide recommendations to mitigate these issues before deployment.
- Microsoft 365 Assessments
- Security Maturity Assessments
- Writing monthly newsletters for clients on a range of topics relating to Cybersecurity e.g. Incident Respons Plan, Insider Threats, Supply Chain Attacks, Gift Card Attacks on Department Stores and more.
Part Time Volunteer Event Organiser
ZeroDays Cybersecurity Ltd
Ratoath, Meath
04.2023 - 03.2024
- Assisted with promoting the annual ZeroDays Cybersecurity Challenge event each year.
- Assisted with the promoting of the annual ZeroDays Cyber Schools Challenge.
- Create and develop challenges for the event.
- Contact and organise supporters/sponsors for the event.
- Organise printing of posters, badges and other items needed for the event.
- Provide online support for competitors on the day.
- Assist with the online registration of competitors and the sending out of documentation needed for teams prior to the event.
- Assist with other Capture the Flag events run for companies, schools or colleges.
Education
Master of Science - Applied Cyber Security
TU Dublin Blanchardstown
Dublin, Ireland 09.2019 - 05.2022
Bachelor of Science (Honors) - Computing with Computer Security & Digital Forensics
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Letterkenny, Donegal 09.2018 - 05.2019
Bachelor of Science - Computing with Computer Security & Digital Forensics
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Letterkenny, Donegal 09.2015 - 05.2018
Skills
- Proficient in running Phishing Campaigns and Security Awareness Training for clients globally, using Lucy Security Tool
- Experience in delivering online Phishing Awareness Training sessions with clients
- Proficient in use of Nessus Vulnerability Scanner, Qualys Cloud Platform and OpenVAS for vulnerability analysis
- Experience with Security Tools (Burp Suite, Metasploit, Nmap)
- Experience with Java & Python
- SQL
- Experience with Wireshark
- IDE's (Eclipse, IntelliJ, RStudio)
- Experience with Linux (Centos, Kali, Ubuntu)
- Virtualisation (VMWare, Virtualbox)
- Team player
- CCNA Networking
- Customer-oriented
- Excellent problem-solving abilities
- Team leadership
- Interpersonal and written communication
- Strong verbal communication
- Strong Organisational Skills
- Microsoft Office skills
Certification
- Cisco CCNA Routing & Switching Industry Certification - 2017
- ISC2 Conducting Practical Risk Analysis Certificate - April 2023
- ISC2 Exploring Risk Standards Ceritificate - April 2023
- ISC2 Practical Risk Methods Certificate - April 2023
- Certification Europe ISO27001:2022 Advance Risk and Implementation Certificate - May 2023
- Athena Women in Leadership Training - June 2023
Referees
Zoe Rose
Zoe@rosesec.com
Phone: +31 615 90 7679
****************************
Craig Balding
Former Group Security CTO
for Barclays Bank
craig.balding@bhconsulting.ie
Phone: +44 7393 479157
****************************
Mark Cummins
ZeroDays Co-Founder
Mark.Cummins@setu.ie
(087) 972 4858
Speaking Engagements
19th September 2023, From Likes to Leaks: Understanding the Security Risks of Social Media, BSides Belfast 2023
19th September 2023, Social Engineering: How Phishing Attacks Are Getting Better, and What to Do About It, #Risk Digital Conference Panel
Timeline
Network and Security Specialist
Tailte Eireann
03.2025 - Current
Part-Time Assistant Lecturer
Chevron College
06.2023 - Current
Part Time Volunteer Event Organiser
ZeroDays Cybersecurity Ltd
04.2023 - 03.2024
Master of Science - Applied Cyber Security
TU Dublin Blanchardstown
09.2019 - 05.2022
CYBER SECURITY CONSULTANT
BH IT Consulting Ltd
07.2019 - 03.2025
Bachelor of Science (Honors) - Computing with Computer Security & Digital Forensics
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
09.2018 - 05.2019
Bachelor of Science - Computing with Computer Security & Digital Forensics
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
09.2015 - 05.2018