benjamin.grandy

Toronto, Ontario

Benjamin Grandy
IT support & networking

Computer Science graduate (BSc, Brock University) with a focus on system troubleshooting, end-user support, and network fundamentals. I diagnose problems methodically, communicate clearly, and stay calm when things break.

Open to work — Security+ certified  ·  CCNA in progress

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drag to orbit the lab · hover a device · watch for intrusions drag to orbit the lab · watch for intrusions

Skills

What I work with

bengrandy@homelab: ~
bengrandy@homelab:~$ whoami
benjamin.grandy — CS grad · IT support & networking
bengrandy@homelab:~$ tree ~/skills
~/skills
├── it-support
│ ├── break-fix-diagnostics
│ ├── issue-identification & resolution
│ ├── end-user-assistance
│ └── performance-diagnostics
├── systems
│ ├── windows-10-11
│ ├── linux
│ ├── desktop-setup & configuration
│ └── hardware & peripherals
├── networking
│ ├── fundamentals # ccna in progress
│ ├── proxmox
│ ├── pfsense
│ ├── vlans
│ └── dns-filtering
└── tooling
├── git · cli
├── python · bash
└── lttng · perf · trace-compass
4 directories, 16 files

Experience

Where I've worked

bengrandy@homelab:~$ traceroute career

hop 01 · most recent

Research Assistant

Jan 2023 – Nov 2024

Brock University

  • Diagnosed system issues by analyzing low-level Linux system behaviour and identifying abnormal activity patterns.
  • Developed Python and Bash scripts to simulate system issues and test hypotheses about abnormal behaviour.
  • Monitored system activity with diagnostic tooling (LTTng), improving visibility into performance and stability.
  • Documented findings, troubleshooting steps, and system behaviour to support repeatable solutions.
  • Wrote a peer-reviewed paper and presented novel findings at the CASCON 2024 conference.

hop 02

Course Coordinator

Sept 2022 – Dec 2022

Brock University

  • Coordinated course logistics, maintained documentation, and supported communication between instructors and students.

hop 03

Social Media Intern

May 2019 – Sept 2019

Signify (formerly Philips Lighting)

  • Analyzed engagement and performance metrics to evaluate communication strategies and campaign outcomes.

Projects

The home lab

PROXMOX VE HOST PHYSICAL LAN internet wan uplink pfSense firewall · router vswitch vlan trunk vlan 10 management vlan 20 services · dns filter vlan 30 lab clients pi-hole raspberry pi · dns suricata ids lan sensor · laptop attacker pc brute-force tests

hover or tap a node to inspect it

A live diagram of the lab I built and maintain: Proxmox for virtualization, pfSense for routing and firewalling, with VLAN segmentation and DNS filtering across multiple virtual systems. Recently I've pushed it toward the defensive side: Suricata IDS runs on a laptop watching LAN traffic, and I've run brute-force attacks from my own PC against it to study exactly how an attack surfaces in the alerts. A Pi-hole on the router now sinkholes ads and trackers network-wide. It's where I practice the day-to-day of IT work, and it's the hands-on backbone of my CCNA preparation.

$ git log lab/ --oneline

c7f3a12 feat: deploy suricata IDS on a LAN sensor laptop
8b21d90 test: brute-force PC → sensor, study the alerts
4e9ac03 feat: stand up pi-hole DNS sinkhole at the router
2d5f7b1 feat: VLAN segmentation + DNS filtering
9a01e64 init: build the proxmox + pfsense virtual lab

$ cat ROADMAP.md

[ ] ship suricata alerts into a SIEM (Wazuh / ELK) with dashboards
[ ] WireGuard VPN for secure remote access into the lab
[ ] Grafana + Prometheus monitoring with uptime alerting
[ ] Ansible playbooks to automate VM + config provisioning
[ ] broaden attack sims — nmap sweeps, hydra runs, published write-ups
[ ] Cisco routing labs (OSPF, inter-VLAN) toward the CCNA

Credentials

Education & certifications

EDU BSc, Computer Science — Brock University · 2023 · Dean's List (Year 4) COMPLETE
CERT CompTIA Security+ CERTIFIED
CERT Google Cybersecurity CERTIFIED
CERT Cisco CCNA IN PROGRESS

Contact

Let's talk

I'm actively looking for entry-level opportunities in IT support, networking, and technical operations. If you think I'd be a fit for your team, I'd be glad to hear from you.

# contact.conf
email=bengrandy98 [at] gmail [dot] com
phone=64seven · 239 · 8557
linkedin=linkedin.com/in/bengrandy
github=github.com/bgrandy
status=open_to_work
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