Who Am I ?

Hi there!

I'm Paul McKeown a former Fire-Fighter of 21 years, now a Cyber Security Consultant with Vertical Structure.
I am a Volunteer Researcher for the Global Authentication Project at Bellingcat, and an Investigations Team Lead at The Cyber Helpline.
As the owner of Paulmckeown.io website I can hopefully help you to transition into Open Source Intelligence, boost your OSINT knowledge, learn new skills and connect with a great community which will help you succeed on your own journey.

My Journey

My Cyber Journey started when my firefighting career was cut short in 2021 due to an injury. Like many mature adults who find themselves in a similar crossroads, I found a company called CAPSLOCK who have a mission to re-skill adults and turn them into cybersecurity professionals, they offer instructor-led classes in a digital campus to get you cyber security ready for this vast and growing industry.

Thanks to a CAPSLOCK mentor, I secured a volunteer supervisor role with The Cyber Helpline, after only 4 weeks into my course. Crafting a CV after 21 years and facing interviews in the cybersecurity world was a whole new set of challenges for me, but just like the firefighting I faced it head on and have never looked back.
I am now the OSINT investigations team lead with The Cyber Helpline which I setup with the help of some wonderful people.

During this huge career change, I became involved with Trace Labs, a non-profit organisation focused on accelerating family reunification for missing persons worldwide. As part of an open-source intelligence (OSINT) group, I had the privilege of learning from some of the brightest minds in the OSINT field. I have taken part in their CTF's as a participant and now I help out as often as I can as a coach.

I have continued my research and OSINT journey this year, by becoming a volunteer with the Global Authentication Project at Bellingcat. This is a fantastic community that explores, verifies and sheds light on stories using open source data. At Bellingcat, we seek to democratise investigative work, fostering a collaborative environment for continuous learning and meaningful contributions.

Over the last 3 years I have done more studying and exams than I ever did at school. I have gained various qualifications which include: SANS SEC587, SANS SEC497, GIAC Cert, Intel Techniques OSIP Cert, Cyber Essentials Assessor, CompTIA S+, CompTIA A+ and CISMP..

Get in touch

So whether you're an intelligence professional, a journalist, interested in learning more about OSINT, or just someone at a crossroads like me, looking to break into OSINT or Cyber Security please get in touch and we can have a virtual coffee and chat, and see where your journey takes you.