INDEPENDENT INFRASTRUCTURE & SECURITY ENGINEERING

Build systems your team can operate with confidence.

No vague transformation programme. Each engagement has a decision, a deliverable, and a stopping point.

Open source gets you the code. I can help you decide what belongs in your environment, deploy it without hand-waving, and keep it operable after the first dashboard looks impressive.

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BUILT FROM OPERATING EXPERIENCE

Advice shaped by running the systems.

I have spent more than 20 years operating Linux systems and now build security automation for a software organisation with more than 1,000 repositories. The In a Box projects come from that work: understanding infrastructure, reducing security toil, and leaving teams with systems they can inspect and operate themselves.

20+ years operating Linux and self-hosted infrastructure
Security automation at large software-organisation scale
Creator and maintainer of the In a Box toolkit
Self-hosted, inspectable systems instead of proprietary black boxes
Documentation and knowledge transfer included with every engagement

THREE WAYS TO ENGAGE

Defined work. Visible output.

1–2 weeks

Architecture & risk review

For teams deciding what to build, replace, harden, or stop pretending is temporary.

What is included

Current-state and constraint review
Trust boundaries, failure paths, and operational risks
Tool and architecture decisions with rejected alternatives
Prioritised implementation sequence

You leave withWritten decision record, architecture diagrams, risk register, and an implementation estimate.

2–6 weeks

Hardened deployment

For teams that want an In a Box blueprint adapted to their real network, identity, data, and recovery requirements.

What is included

Scoped deployment of one or more blueprints
Secrets, TLS, identity, network, and least-privilege hardening
Monitoring, backup, restore, and failure-path verification
Operator handover and environment-specific runbook

You leave withA running, tested deployment; source-controlled configuration; evidence of recovery; and a clean handover.

Monthly · limited slots

Ongoing operations

For small teams that own the stack but need experienced review and operational depth without hiring another full-time role.

What is included

Upgrade, vulnerability, and configuration review
Backup and recovery evidence checks
Change review and architecture guidance
Incident support within an agreed response window

You getA named operator, a monthly evidence report, an ordered improvement queue, and fewer “we should probably check that” items.

GOOD FIT

Teams that want ownership, not outsourcing theatre.

Good fit

Small infrastructure, platform, or security teams
Self-hosted or hybrid environments
A real operational problem and access to decision-makers
Teams willing to maintain explicit runbooks and recovery paths

Not the offer

A staffed 24×7 SOC or generic help desk
Compliance certification sold as a checkbox
A black-box managed service you cannot inspect
An unpaid week of discovery disguised as a sales call

START WITH CONTEXT

Describe the environment, the failure you are avoiding, and the decision you need.

If the work is a fit, you will get a proposed scope, timeline, deliverables, and commercial terms. If it is not, I will say so.

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