Cirriculum Vitae
Francis Alwyn Coomans
Cybersecurity Consultant (Offensive Security)
OSCP, CPTS, CWES | 25+ Years in IT & Security
Contact
🌐 https://fcoomans.com
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/frans-coomans
✉️ Contact via https://fcoomans.com/contact
Professional Summary
Results-driven Cybersecurity Consultant (Offensive Security) with 25+ years of IT experience and hands-on expertise in penetration testing, red teaming, and adversary simulation.
Ranked Top 1% (Pro Hacker) on Hack The Box and Top 1% on HTB Academy, demonstrating practical exploitation and professional reporting of real-world vulnerabilities.
Bridges the gap between enterprise IT operations and offensive security, delivering actionable insights and secure outcomes.
Currently seeking remote or international offensive security roles where deep technical skill and practical penetration experience can enhance an organisation’s security posture.
Key Achievements
- Earned Bachelor of Commerce in Business Informatics (Cum Laude) while working full-time.
- Ranked Top 1% globally on Hack The Box (“Pro Hacker”) and HTB Academy.
- Completed OSCP, CPTS, and CWES through intensive practical labs and exams.
- Successfully exploited 40+ complex AD, network, and web systems in simulated environments.
- Transitioned from enterprise IT leadership to full-time offensive security consulting.
Professional Experience
Cybersecurity Consultant | Self-Directed Training
Jun 2023 – Present
- Earned OSCP, CPTS, and CWES, completing 70+ labs and demanding practical exams (OSCP 24h, CPTS 10d, CWES 7d).
- Compromised 40+ machines across Active Directory, network, and web environments.
- Exploited real-world vulnerabilities: SQLi, XSS, CSRF, SSRF, Command Injection, Kerberoasting, Pivoting.
- Produced professional pentest-style reports using SysReptor.
- Ranked Pro Hacker (Top 1%) on Hack The Box and Top 1% on HTB Academy.
Group IT Administrator | ACTOM (Pty) Ltd – Gauteng, South Africa
ACTOM is a leading energy manufacturing and engineering group in South Africa with 500+ employees across 10+ sites.
Nov 1997 – Apr 2023
- Cybersecurity Leadership: Trained 500+ staff; mentored IT technicians.
- Risk Reduction: Vulnerability assessments (Greenbone/OpenVAS), RBAC enforcement, AD hardening.
- Network & Systems Security: Managed routers, switches, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs, endpoints across 10+ sites.
- Systems Administration: AD/GPOs, Microsoft 365, Domino, Linux; automation via PowerShell, Python, Bash.
- Key Projects: Head Office IT Infrastructure, Server Room Build, Virtualisation (Hyper-V/XenServer), O365 Migration.
- Compliance: Internal audits and vendor compliance checks (Microsoft, Autodesk).
Finance Clerk | Reumech/Reutech Head Office – Gauteng, South Africa
Reumech/Reutech was a South African defence manufacturer, part of a large holding company, prior to restructuring.
1997
- Compiled daily cash flow reports and prepared payment reconciliations.
Education
Bachelor of Commerce in Business Informatics (Cum Laude) | University of South Africa
2018–2021
- Graduated with 25 distinctions.
- Coursework: Databases, Networks, Programming, Project Management, Internal Auditing.
Certifications
- OSCP (Offensive Security, 2025)
- CPTS (Hack The Box, 2024)
- CWES (Hack The Box, 2023)
- CompTIA PenTest+ (2024)
- CompTIA Security+ (2023)
- MTCNA (Mikrotik, 2017, Expired, knowledge retained)
- RHCE (Red Hat, 2007, Expired, knowledge retained)
- LPIC-1 (LPI, 2007, Expired, knowledge retained)
Technical Skills
Offensive Security & Pentesting:
SQL Injection (SQLi), XSS, CSRF, SSRF, Command Injection, File Upload Bypass, Privilege Escalation, Lateral Movement, Pivoting, Enumeration, Web Fuzzing, Manual/Automated Exploitation, Burp Suite, Metasploit, Nmap, Wireshark, Ligolo-ng, SysReptor.
Cybersecurity & Risk Management:
Vulnerability Assessment, Red Teaming, Endpoint Protection, Patch Management, Compliance Audits (Microsoft, Autodesk).
Systems & Infrastructure:
Active Directory, GPOs, Windows Server, Linux Administration, Microsoft 365, Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer.
Networking & Security:
Routers, Switches, VLANs, Firewalls, VPNs.
Scripting & Automation:
Python, PowerShell, Bash.
References
Available upon request.