Portrait of Bechara Rizk

Bechara Rizk

IT Infrastructure Engineer - Cloud & Systems Administrator

Scaling and safeguarding infrastructure at Murex — 15,000+ Linux servers across on-prem and AWS, automated with Terraform and CI/CD, with a cybersecurity background from penetration testing.

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Linux AWS Terraform Jenkins / Rundeck VMware / vCenter Python SQL Security+

About

A Computer and Communications Engineer working as an IT Infrastructure Engineer at Murex, administering 15,000+ Linux servers across on-premises and AWS cloud environments with a 99% SLA compliance rate.

Experienced in infrastructure automation with Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring at scale, with a strong background in cybersecurity and penetration testing. CompTIA Security+ and AWS SysOps Administrator certified.

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  • Linux (+ bash scripting)
  • AWS (EC2, RDS, CloudWatch)
  • Terraform (IaC)
  • Jenkins / Rundeck (CI/CD)
  • VMware / vCenter
  • Active Directory (Windows)
  • Python
  • SQL (Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL)
  • Penetration Testing
  • Networking (GNS3)
  • Django
  • JavaScript - HTML - CSS

Experience

IT INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEER

MUREX - LEBANON, JULY 2024 - PRESENT

  • Administer and troubleshoot 15,000+ Linux servers (RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu) and databases (Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL), resolving outages, load failures, and performance issues with a 99% SLA compliance rate.
  • Build and maintain AWS cloud infrastructure for 10+ clients using Terraform (IaC), including EC2, RDS, Step Functions workflows, and CloudWatch monitoring with synthetic canaries.
  • Deployed highly available Rundeck instances on AWS for automation across 10+ clients, with zero-downtime upgrades and proactive monitoring.
  • Manage VMware vCenter environments, including ESXi host installation and VM provisioning on both virtual and physical infrastructure.
  • Maintain and extend Jenkins CI/CD pipelines, fixing issues and adding new features to support development workflows.

ETHICAL HACKING & PENETRATION TESTING INTERN

HIPERNATION - LEBANON, JUNE 2023 - AUGUST 2023

  • Conducted penetration tests for multiple clients, documented findings, and presented comprehensive reports and live demos to customers that enabled them to fortify their security.
  • Assessed identity management within client database systems, providing security improvement recommendations.
  • Enumerated machines on cloud environments (AWS) to help clients visualize their virtual infrastructure.

WEB EDITOR

AUB - LEBANON, JUNE 2022 - JUNE 2024

  • Managed and edited AUB MSFEAs website's content accessed by the students and faculty members.
  • Enhanced the responsiveness of multiple pages to ensure correct rendering on various screen sizes.

Certifications

CompTIA Security+ certification badge

CompTIA Security+

AWS SysOps Administrator - Associate certification badge

AWS SysOps Administrator - Associate

Projects

HealthDB project thumbnail
HealthDB

A database designed to be used by an insurance company to keep track of their assets and clients.

Encryption Tools project thumbnail
Encryption Tools

A collection of tools to encrypt and decrypt text, and more.

AAA Platform project thumbnail
AAA Platform

A custom implementation of an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting platform.

Adaptive MQTT/CoAP Switching project thumbnail
Adaptive MQTT/CoAP Switching

A research project about the implementation and evaluation of an adaptive communication protocol for IoT.

AUBCOVAX project thumbnail
AUBCOVAX

Web interface for vaccination management, central database, secure patient records, and medical personnel scheduling.

GPA Calculator project thumbnail
GPA Calculator

A webpage that helps students determine their overall GPA.

TCP Reset Attack & Detection project thumbnail
TCP Reset Attack & Detection

Developed Python algorithms to launch a TCP Reset attack from a device then detect from another device.

Capture The Flag project thumbnail
Capture The Flag

Participated in multiple capture the flag challenges both on local machines and on the cloud.

Peer to Peer Communication project thumbnail
Peer to Peer Communication

Implemented reliable peer to peer communication using UDP over an unreliable network.

Blackjack project thumbnail
Blackjack

A webpage that allows users to play blackjack against a computer.

Education

BACHELOR'S OF COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT, 2020 - 2024

  • GPA: 3.91 - Graduated with Distinction
  • Placed on Dean's Honor List For The Terms: Spring 2020-2021, Fall and Spring 2021-2022, Fall and Spring 2022-2023, Fall and Spring 2023-2024.

GENERAL SCIENCE BACCALAUREATE

GRAND LYCEE FRANCO LIBANAIS, 2007 - 2020

  • Graduated with a scientific baccalaureate.

Relevant Coursework

This course covers advanced topics in ethical hacking and penetration testing such as Microsoft Active Directory attacks & enumeration, lateral movement and pivoting, evasion of anti-viruses, Intrusion Detection/Prevention systems & firewalls, port redirection, SSH, HTTP/HTTPS & DNS tunneling for C2 traffic & bypassing deep packet inspection, advanced techniques in Windows and Linux privilege escalation.
AUB, EECE 503J
Final grade: A+

Practical course in database design, covering SQL, ER diagrams, and relational algebra, with hands-on application development and advanced query skills.
AUB, EECE 433
Final grade: A+

Covers Internet security with focus on threats, vulnerabilities, and preventive measures. Topics include email, web, IP security, intrusion detection, firewalls, VPNs, and attack source tracing.
AUB, EECE 655
Final grade: A

Fundamental course on ethical hacking and penetration testing, covering reconnaissance, exploitation, and countermeasures with hands-on labs and tools. Learnt to set up a hacking environment and practice penetration testing.
AUB, EECE 503G
Final grade: A+

This course delves into the fundamentals of Active Directory, covering essential aspects such as navigating Users and Computers, mastering Group Policy, and automating tasks using PowerShell. Through hands-on labs and practical tools, I explored creating test OUs, managing desktop configurations, securing network drives, and troubleshooting group policies.
Udemy, Paul Hill
Certificate

Lab course exploring Internet technologies: IP, ARP, ICMP, UDP, TCP, LAN switching, routing protocols (RIP, OSPF, BGP), NAT, DHCP, DNS, SNMP, and IP multicast.
AUB, EECE 451L
Final grade: A+

Course on mobile networking, emphasizing wireless technologies (Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi) and mobile computing applications. Covers standards like GSM, UMTS, LTE, and introduces emerging 5G networks.
AUB, EECE 451
Final grade: A

Covers Symmetric and Public-key Encryption, Hash functions, Network Security, and topics like Block Ciphers, AES, RSA, and Authentication Protocols.
AUB, EECE 455
Final grade: A+

Covers data communications, WANs, circuit/packet switching, routing, congestion control, LANs, communications architecture, protocols, and internetworking.
AUB, EECE 350
Final grade: A+