# Charles Cassam — cassam.io

> Network engineer, homelab builder, and cybersecurity consultant based in York, UK.
> Transitioning into professional cybersecurity via the Open University and hands-on lab work.
> Operating as Wolds Cyber Security Ltd — fixed-price security audits for SMBs in York and East Riding.

## About

Charles Cassam is a self-taught infrastructure engineer and cybersecurity professional based in York, North Yorkshire, UK. He runs a full enterprise-grade homelab (UniFi full stack, Proxmox three-node cluster, TrueNAS NAS, eight-VLAN network segmentation) and documents his work publicly. He is studying Network Engineering with the Open University and has completed authorised penetration tests for real organisations.

Previous background: Bodyshop and Workshop Manager (SG Petch Ltd). Deliberate career change into IT, networking, and cybersecurity — not a hobby pivot, but a structured transition built on hands-on infrastructure work.

Handle: ca55owaryxnull. GitHub: https://github.com/CassamC

## Services (Wolds Cyber Security Ltd)

- Network security audits for small and medium businesses
- Web application penetration testing (OWASP methodology)
- VLAN architecture design and network segmentation
- Infrastructure hardening and threat modelling
- Fixed-price assessments, plain-English reporting

Area served: York, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (remote UK-wide available for external and web application assessments)

## Projects

- [Home Network Infrastructure](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Enterprise UniFi stack: UDM Pro, USW Pro Max 48 PoE, USW Pro Max 16 PoE, U7 Pro APs, UNVR with full camera array
- [Proxmox Cluster](https://cassam.io/proxmox-operation.html) — Three-node Proxmox VE on Dell OptiPlex 3000 Thin Clients (Pentium Silver N6005 / Celeron N5105, 8GB RAM, 256GB NVMe per node)
- [VLAN Architecture](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Eight-VLAN network with default-deny inter-VLAN firewall rules. VLANs: Management, AI Agent (7), Trusted (10), Isol8 Pentest (11), IoT (20), Guest (30), Lab (40), Honeypot/T-Pot (50)
- [Operation Isol8](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Parrot Security OS on isolated VLAN 11 with full offensive toolkit: Nmap, Burp Suite, Metasploit, Wireshark
- [Authorised Web Application Pentest](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — OWASP-methodology assessment with full written authorisation from the target organisation
- [IDS False Positive Investigation — ET 2064797](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Suricata signature analysis: Windows SSDP Discovery incorrectly triggering D-Link exploit detection rule, resolved via packet analysis and signature suppression
- [Conduit — Private AI Comms Platform](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Self-hosted encrypted communication platform: Python FastAPI backend, native Android Kotlin app, WebSocket real-time sync, AES-256-GCM encryption at rest, zero cloud dependency
- [AI Agent Stack](https://cassam.io/projects.html) — Project Claude: persistent Claude Code agent on dedicated VLAN 7 hardware, pgvector memory, autonomous daily reflection cycle, decision logging, and identity architecture

## Education

- Open University — Diploma in Network Engineering (in progress; CCNA module H2 2026)
- CompTIA Network+ (planned)

## Contact

https://cassam.io/#contact

## Full Project Documentation

https://cassam.io/projects.html