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Wilmington, NC Security-forward operations Built for real environments

Built for clarity, calm response, and measurable control.

VanguardGatehouse exists to close a common gap: organizations want strong security, but they also need systems that are supportable, documented, and operationally stable. Our model pairs cybersecurity engineering with runbook-driven IT operations so controls stay in place.

What you can expect
  • Clear ownership boundaries and change control.
  • Identity-first baseline that reduces account risk quickly.
  • Operational cadence: patching, monitoring, monthly reporting.
  • Evidence-ready documentation: snapshots, runbooks, and artifacts.
We optimize for supportability: if a control can’t be maintained, it’s not a control.

Operating principles

Security you can sustain

The same engineering discipline should apply to both security and operations.

Identity-first security

Modern access control with MFA, device trust, conditional access, and least privilege.

Operational resilience

Backups, patching, monitoring, and incident response built for continuity.

Practical governance

Security that maps to your risk tolerance and compliance obligations.

Documentation as a control

We treat documentation as part of the security posture: configurations, rationale, ownership, escalation paths, and evidence artifacts. This creates continuity across staff changes and vendor transitions.

Change-minimizing delivery

Hardening is staged: quick wins first, then measured rollout. Each change is scoped, reversible when possible, and tied to an outcome you can verify.

Team

Meet the people behind the runbooks

Specialized roles with shared operating standards and a single delivery model.

Alex Hartley portrait
Alex Hartley
Principal Consultant • Security Architecture • Wilmington, NC

Leads engagements end-to-end: discovery, risk modeling, secure design reviews, and executive-ready remediation roadmaps. Focus areas include Microsoft 365 security, identity hardening, and practical controls that hold up under audit.

Security architecture
M365 security
Risk & control mapping
Secure design reviews
  • Security roadmap
  • Control validation
  • Executive reporting
Jordan Price portrait
Jordan Price
Engineering Lead • Cloud & Identity • Topsail Beach, NC

Owns identity and access patterns across hybrid environments—conditional access strategy, privileged access workflows, and secure automation. Emphasizes least-privilege, measurable baselines, and resilient recovery paths.

Entra ID / IAM
Conditional Access
Privileged access
Automation & hardening
  • Zero trust access
  • Privileged workflows
  • Policy-as-code
Kendall Brooks portrait
Kendall Brooks
Threat Response Lead • Incident Readiness • Wilmington, NC

Builds incident response playbooks, tabletop exercises, and detection tuning that reduce mean-time-to-contain. Known for calm, methodical triage and clear comms when pressure is high.

Incident response
Runbooks & playbooks
Detection tuning
Tabletop exercises
  • IR readiness
  • Detection improvements
  • After-action reports
Maya Serrano portrait
Maya Serrano
Operations Manager • Service Delivery • Topsail Beach, NC

Keeps delivery disciplined: scope control, change management, documentation standards, and client-facing status reporting. Makes sure outcomes are repeatable and supportable after handoff.

Service delivery
Change control
Documentation
Client communications
  • Predictable delivery
  • Clean documentation
  • Supportable outcomes
Noah Kim portrait
Noah Kim
Security Analyst • Vulnerability & Endpoint • Wilmington, NC

Drives vulnerability assessment cycles and endpoint hardening with a bias toward fixes that are low-impact and high-leverage. Produces clean evidence packages for audits and leadership updates.

Vulnerability management
Endpoint security
Evidence packages
Remediation tracking
  • Patch acceleration
  • Hardening baselines
  • Audit evidence

Where we work

Coastal North Carolina coverage

Coastal towns across North Carolina—from the Cape Fear region through the Crystal Coast.

Primary service area

Based in Wilmington, NC. We support multi-site organizations and distributed teams, with standardized onboarding and documentation to keep environments consistent.

Wilmington
Wrightsville Beach
Carolina Beach
Kure Beach
Southport
Oak Island
Surf City
Topsail Island
Jacksonville
Swansboro
New Bern
Morehead City
Beaufort
Emerald Isle
Need coverage outside this region? We can support select engagements remotely when the operating model fits.
Engagement fit

Best for organizations that value standardized baselines, documented ownership, and leadership-visible reporting.

Organizations with 10–250 endpoints
Multi-site operations needing consistent standards
Teams moving into Microsoft 365 / cloud identity
Leaders who want measurable risk reduction