Heino Rätscher

About

Working in IT for decades, with a strong passion for travel and photography.

This website brings together personal photography, written articles, ideas, and observations — collected over time in one place.

Build as a personal space to document work, ideas and places over time.

Based in the U.S., originally from Germany.

Connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Below a brief overview of my professional background and current focus.

CV

IT Security Manager North America

Working for over 18 years in the energy sector, delivering security architectures at government and critical-infrastructure grade.

Driven by curiosity and a strong belief that good security must enable people — not slow them down.


I design clear, resilient, and human-centric security architectures, balancing enterprise-grade protection with practical usability.

What motivates me most is turning complex security concepts into clean, understandable solutions — aligned with business, compliance, and real-world usage.

Outside of work, I’m passionate about travel, photography, and building personal web applications — exploring where technology meets creativity.

Current Focus

Modernizing office infrastructure across North America — designing a dedicated Azure region and leading the migration from on-premise data centers to cloud platforms (US / Canada).

Core Expertise

  • Cloud & Zero Trust Security — Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Entra ID
  • Modern Workplace Security — Windows, Identity, Compliance, Insider Risk
  • Enterprise Infrastructure Modernization & Cloud Migration
  • Security Architecture & Governance
  • Enterprise Identity & Access Management (IAM)
  • PKI & Cryptography — x.509, HSMs, digital signatures, encryption

Qualifications

  • Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect — SC-100
  • Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies — AZ-300
  • Microsoft Azure Architect Design — AZ-301
  • Microsoft Azure Security Technologies — AZ-500
  • Several network & security infrastructure certifications — Cisco, Check Point
  • Several operating system administration certifications — Red Hat Linux, Sun Solaris

Personal Development

  • Leadership development & executive training
  • Time and self-management
  • Rhetoric and presentation skills
  • Personal awareness and professional impact

Technology & Platforms

Cloud & Security Platforms

Microsoft Azure · Microsoft 365 · Entra ID · Microsoft Defender · Microsoft Purview

Identity, IAM & Cryptography

Identity & Access Management · PKI (x.509) · MFA · Conditional Access · HSMs

Operating Systems & Platforms

Windows · Linux (RHEL, SLES) · Sun Solaris

Network & Infrastructure

Firewalls · Proxies · DNS / DHCP · IPAM · Secure Network Access

Coding & Programming

HTML · SQL · JavaScript · PHP · Perl

Security with clarity, resilience, and purpose.