Akhila Kadaparthi
Summary
Cybersecurity Analyst with a Master’s in Information, Network and Computer Security and CompTIA Security+ certified. I support secure application and infrastructure delivery at Scotiabank by assessing risks in CI/CD pipelines, validating security controls, and strengthening cloud and on-prem deployment practices. I collaborate with engineering, DevOps, and risk teams to analyze logs, review changes, support incident response, and ensure alignment with security and ITIL standards. With experience in secure release governance, cloud security fundamentals, vulnerability awareness, and automation using Jenkins, Octopus Deploy, and Azure DevOps, I’m actively expanding my expertise in SIEM/EDR analysis, threat detection, IAM, and vulnerability management. I bring a proactive, detail-oriented approach to reducing risk and enhancing the security posture of critical banking systems.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Cyber Security Analyst
Scotiabank
01.2023 - Current
- Led daily monitoring and analysis of security logs using Splunk and other SIEM tools, identifying and triaging potential threats to minimize risk to sensitive financial data.
- Investigated and responded to security incidents (phishing attempts, suspicious logins, malware alerts) using Zscaler and endpoint protection solutions, coordinating with IT and business units for rapid containment and remediation.
- Conducted regular vulnerability assessments and security audits across internal systems and network infrastructure, recommending and implementing mitigations to harden security posture.
- Collaborated with architecture and IT teams to enforce access controls, identity & access management (IAM), and least-privilege policies, aligning with compliance and internal security standards.
- Developed or contributed to incident-response playbooks and SOPs, reducing mean time to detection (MTTD) and response for security events.
- Participated in security awareness initiatives for employees — providing guidance on phishing, social engineering, and secure password practices — helping reduce user-triggered risks.
- Stayed current with emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and security trends (cloud, zero-trust, identity threats), proactively adapting monitoring and protection strategies.
- Analyzed security incidents to identify vulnerabilities and improve response protocols.
- Developed and maintained security policies to ensure compliance with industry standards.
Information Security Analyst
City of Ottawa
09.2021 - 12.2022
- Monitored and analyzed logs from network devices, servers, and endpoints to detect anomalous activity, suspicious access patterns, or policy violations.
- Performed regular vulnerability scans and risk assessments on infrastructure and applications, identifying security gaps and working with teams to remediate high-priority issues.
- Helped implement and enforce security policies, standards, and compliance controls (e.g., regulatory and municipal data-privacy requirements), ensuring IT environment meets governance requirements.
- Managed Active Directory for user account provisioning, de-provisioning, and role-based access control, ensuring least-privilege discipline and secure access across municipal systems.
- Coordinated incident response in the event of security alerts or breaches — investigating root cause, containing threats, liaising with stakeholders, and documenting incident reports for follow-up and audit.
- Assisted in managing security for hybrid environments (on-premises and cloud services), helping to ensure secure configuration, patching, and adherence to best practices for cloud-enabled services.
- Supported cross-functional teams (IT, DevOps, privacy/compliance) in integrating security controls into new system deployments or upgrades — enabling secure growth while minimizing risk.
IT Operations Support
Canada Drives
07.2019 - 08.2021
- Participated in software update cycles and ensured operational data accuracy following inventory system deployments.
- Applied SDP best practices to align Agile development and DevOps operations, enhancing release velocity and reliability.
- Coordinated with internal teams to prepare environments for regular data sync and platform updates.
- Assisted with reporting and process adjustments based on post-release findings and end-user input.
- Prepared and maintained environment configurations for data synchronization, platform updates, and regular maintenance windows.
- Utilized tools including GitHub, Azure DevOps, JIRA, AWS CodeArtifact and AWS resources to track release tasks, manage code repositories, and coordinate deployment activities.
- Worked with internal stakeholders to improve workflows, reporting, and process documentation based on end-user input and post-release observations.
- Ensured release documentation, checklist and approvals were complete prior to production rollout.
- Worked with DevOps team to maintain and monitor CI/CD pipelines for successful code deployments.
- Coordinated small-scale release activities, including scheduling, testing support, and status tracking to meet project timelines.
- Assisted in risk identification and mitigation planning, ensuring dependencies and impacts were considered before deployments.
- Participated in deployment activities, including smoke testing and verifying post-release stability.
- Collaborated with the change management team to align releases with business needs and compliance standards.
- Contributed to user training and support activities, helping teams adapt to new tools and updated processes following releases.
Web Intern-Developer
GROCEESWIFT
06.2018 - 07.2019
- Contributed to the development and maintenance of backend services, including database operations using Hive and server-side integrations for business logic execution.
- Ensured secure data handling, authentication flows, and seamless integration with frontend systems, focusing on performance and user data protection.
- Supported testing and minor rollouts of new web features; collaborated with QA to develop test cases, perform integration testing, and monitor deployments.
- Played an active role in the release process, coordinating with developers and testers during pre- and post-deployment activities.
- Engaged with business stakeholders to analyze requirements, translate them into technical specifications, and validate post-deployment results.
- Implemented form-level and server-level validations using JavaScript to improve user input accuracy and system stability.
- Integrated third-party and internal RESTful APIs with frontend teams using JSON/XML formats, ensuring proper data exchange and error handling.
- Connected and tested payment gateways such as Stripe for processing orders and managing transactions securely.
- Participated in early phases of CI/CD workflows, supporting code commits, version control, and deployment testing via tools like Git and Bitbucket Pipelines.
- Documented release-related learnings and lightweight runbooks for future feature rollouts and backend deployment updates.
Education
Master of Science - Information, Network and Computer Security
New York Institute of Technology
Vancouver, British ColumbiaBachelor of Technology - Computer Science Engineering
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
Hyderabad, IndiaSkills
- CompTIA Security
- JIRA project management
- Database querying
- ServiceNow administration
- Risk assessment
- Incident response
- Network security
- SIEM management
- Log analysis
- Identity and Access Management
- Data loss prevention
- Network monitoring
- SIEM tools
Certification
CompTIA Security+
Timeline
Cyber Security Analyst
Scotiabank
01.2023 - Current
Information Security Analyst
City of Ottawa
09.2021 - 12.2022
IT Operations Support
Canada Drives
07.2019 - 08.2021
Web Intern-Developer
GROCEESWIFT
06.2018 - 07.2019
Bachelor of Technology - Computer Science Engineering
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
Master of Science - Information, Network and Computer Security
New York Institute of Technology