About
The guy behind the keyboard
The Short Version
I’m Jerrad Dahlager - Cloud Security Architect, Marine Corps veteran, cat person, and firm believer that the best security is the kind that survives contact with reality.
I spend my days helping organizations implement Zero Trust architectures across Azure and AWS. I’ve seen systems fail in creative ways, watched “foolproof” configs get fooled, and learned that resilience isn’t about preventing every fall - it’s about always landing on your feet.
Why “Nine Lives, Zero Trust”?
Because security systems get knocked off the ledge constantly:
- Misconfigurations happen
- Credentials get compromised
- Vendors have bad days
- Humans click things they shouldn’t
The question isn’t if your system will take a hit. It’s whether you’ve built it to survive the fall.
Nine Lives = Design for resilience and recovery, not perfection.
Zero Trust = Verify everything, trust nothing, log it all.
Curiosity Verified = Question assumptions, test theories, show your work.
What I Actually Do
At Crayon US, I lead Zero Trust deployments that unify the Microsoft security stack (Entra ID, Defender XDR, Sentinel) with AWS security services. The work spans:
- Identity-first architecture - Conditional Access, PIM, phishing-resistant MFA
- Multi-cloud security - Azure and AWS, living in harmony (mostly)
- DevSecOps - Shift-left security that doesn’t slow down the dev team
- Threat detection - Sentinel, KQL, and actually useful alerts
- Compliance - NIST, CIS, FedRAMP, CMMC 2.0
I also teach as an Adjunct Instructor for the NSA Cybersecurity Pathways Coalition through the University of Louisville. Turns out explaining security concepts to students makes you better at explaining them to executives too.
Before the Cloud
I served in the United States Marine Corps as a Corporal Supervisor. The lessons stuck: attention to detail, planning for things to go wrong, and the value of a good checklist.
Education
Certifications
Off the Clock
Sports fan. Cat dad. Occasional PowerShell poet. I believe that security should be practical, documentation should be readable, and coffee should be strong.
Site Security
Let’s Connect
Find me on LinkedIn or check out my work on GitHub. If something I write here saves you time or helps you avoid a mistake I already made, that’s a win.