About Me
I am a detail-oriented Cyber Security Analyst with a strong focus on Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows, threat detection, and incident response. With over 2 years of hands-on experience, I specialize in transforming complex security events into actionable intelligence and repeatable processes.
During my time as a Cloud Security Engineer at Datautics, I drove SOC efficiency by investigating and triaging security alerts, successfully reducing alert noise by 80% and cutting triage time from 3 hours down to 30 minutes. I also built comprehensive runbooks and SOPs to standardize remediation steps across the team.
Currently, I am expanding my operational expertise through a SOC Micro-Internship at the Cal Poly Pomona Student Data Center, where I actively assist with log reviews, conduct basic investigations, and escalate critical findings. I am passionate about cloud security, AI-enabled threat hunting, and building resilient enterprise environments.
Experience
SOC Micro-Internship
Student Data Center (SDC) Cal Poly Pomona | Pomona, CA
Jan 2026 – Present
- ▹Assisted with log review, basic investigations, and documentation updates in a volunteer SOC environment; followed procedures and escalated findings to student leadership.
Research Assistant
Cal Poly Pomona (AVL Lab) | Pomona, CA
Oct 2025 – Present
- ▹Implemented authenticated UDP control and CAN message integrity (MAC + anti-replay counters), blocking unauthorized injection/replay on throttle, brake, and steering; validated behavior using designed test cases and automated verification runs.
- ▹Built safety hardening layers (watchdog failsafe E-stop, rate-limited actuator updates, brake–throttle interlocks) and documented verification results to improve resilience against unsafe command spikes and network/CAN abuse.
- ▹Modeled and tested denial-of-service (DDoS) scenarios against the control/telemetry path (UDP/network layer) and implemented resilience measures (rate limit, basic filtering, and health monitor) to maintain safe operation under traffic spike.
- ▹Analyzed and mitigated man-in-the-middle (MITM) risks on the control channel by validating integrity/authentication assumptions and documenting recommended protections in the system design notes.
Cloud Security Engineer (SOC-Focused)
Datautics Solution Technology LLP | Chennai, India
Mar 2022 – Nov 2024
- ▹Identified and validated cloud security findings (misconfigurations, risky network paths, over-permissive access) and partnered with asset owners to drive remediation to closure, reducing repeat misconfigurations by 90%.
- ▹Supported IAM governance by enforcing least-privilege access patterns (role separation, MFA/credential hygiene) and validating high-risk access changes through audit logs and monitoring.
- ▹Investigated and triaged security alerts/logs to confirm true positives before escalation; tuned workflows to reduce alert noise by 80% and improve time-to-triage from 3 hours to 30 minutes.
- ▹Built repeatable SOPs/checklists/runbooks for remediation steps and evidence collection, improving consistency and reducing time-to-remediation across recurring issues.
Core SOC & Technical Skills
Incident Response & Investigations
Alert triage, root cause analysis, blast-radius scoping, containment support, incident reporting.
Threat Detection
Log correlation, anomaly/baseline analysis, detection tuning, threat hunting fundamentals, MITRE ATT&CK.
SIEM & Logging
SIEM concepts, query-based investigations, dashboards/alerting, CloudTrail/CloudWatch log analysis.
Cloud Security
AWS (IAM, CloudTrail, CloudWatch, GuardDuty, Security Hub, Inspector, WAF), security posture hardening.
Scripting & Data
Python, Bash, SQL.
Systems & Networking
Linux/Unix, TCP/IP basics, security groups/firewall concepts, VPN/access controls.
Frameworks & Standards
NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2 awareness (controls/documentation).
AppSec (Lab)
OWASP Top 10, Burp Suite, security reporting.
Key Projects
ML-Driven Phishing Email Detection System
Developed a phishing detection pipeline for SOC-style workflows; evaluated precision/recall tradeoff...
Web Application Security Lab (OWASP Juice Shop)
Tested OWASP Juice Shop with Burp Suite to identify OWASP Top 10 risks; produced a short pentest-sty...
Education
M.S. Computer Science
California State Polytechnic University
Pomona, CA
Jan 2025 – Present (Expected Dec 2026)
B.E. Computer Science
Easwari Engineering College
Chennai, India
Aug 2018 – Jun 2021
Certifications
IT Security Foundations: Network Security
LinkedIn Learning
Cybersecurity Analyst Job Simulation
TATA Forage
AWS Certified Solutions Architect
AWS
Get In Touch
I'm always open to new opportunities, collaborations, and interesting discussions. Feel free to reach out!
Email: aelumalai@cpp.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ajith-elumalai
GitHub: github.com/ajitheee
Phone: (661) 666-7766