Himashi Karunathilake
@himashikarunathilake
Information Security Analyst specializing in SOC operations, detection engineering, and cloud security.
Sri LankaWhat I'm looking for
I’m a results-driven cyber security professional with 5+ years of progressive experience across security operations, security engineering, cloud security, security data science, governance, risk management, and compliance. I focus on detection and response maturity, aligning security strategy with business objectives through data-driven engineering and automation.
In my current role as an Information Security Analyst (SOC and Security Engineering Teams) at Virtusa, I lead incident response from detection to eradication, continuously monitor the environment, and analyze logs to produce conclusive evidence for investigations. I also create runbooks and SOPs for SOC and Security Engineering, own and rebuild the Security Engineering function as a single-person team, and simultaneously support both teams by delivering 100% of responsibilities across both operations.
I administer, upgrade, and optimize core security tooling to improve reliability, visibility, and detection accuracy, including implementing least-privilege access models across security platforms. I’ve tuned alerts across ExtraHop, CrowdStrike, Splunk, and Proofpoint to reduce false positives, led tool integrations and modernizations, built dashboards and monitoring workflows for SOC visibility, and improved detection logic across email, endpoint, and network security platforms.
Earlier at Pearson Lanka, I tuned IPS/IDS and developed SOC automation using Splunk SOAR and Microsoft Power Automate, while also conducting penetration testing and building secure multi-cloud infrastructures and CI/CD security controls. As a trainee in the GRC team, I supported Cyber Essentials, IASME, and ISO 27001 assessments and helped clients achieve GDPR compliance by developing security policies, breach response plans, and privacy impact assessments.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Information Security Analyst
Virtusa Global Technology (Pvt) Ltd
Oct 2023 - Present (2 years 9 months)
Led incident response and conducted log-based investigations for the SOC and Security Engineering teams, including documentation of findings for stakeholders. Administered and tuned security tooling (e.g., EDR/SIEM/email/network) to improve detection accuracy and reduce false positives.
Associate Security Operations Specialist
Pearson Lanka (Pvt) Ltd
Jul 2022 - Jun 2023 (11 months)
Tuned IPS/IDS capabilities to improve threat detection and response and conducted penetration testing for clients. Automated and orchestrated SOC processes using Splunk SOAR and Microsoft Power Automate, and supported cloud security controls for a multi-cloud environment.
Intern – Information Security Analyst
Pearson Lanka (Pvt) Ltd
Sep 2021 - Jul 2022 (10 months)
Supported SOC activities focused on detecting and responding to the Log4j security vulnerability, including alert creation and continuous monitoring. Automated SOC processes and maintained IPS/IDS protections through orchestration tooling and network rule updates.
Trainee Security Consultant
Meta Defence Labs (Pvt) Ltd
Sep 2020 - Mar 2021 (6 months)
Performed GRC assessments using frameworks such as Cyber Essentials, IASME, and ISO 27001 to evaluate and improve clients' security practices. Assisted with GDPR compliance by developing GDPR-aligned policies, breach response plans, and privacy impact assessments.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Master of Science (MSc) in Information Technology (Cyber Security), Information Technology (Cyber Security)
Grade: Distinction
Completed an MSc in Information Technology (Cyber Security) at SLIIT with distinction (2026).
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS Certified AI Practitioner, Artificial Intelligence
Earned the AWS Certified AI Practitioner certification (2026).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900), Security, Compliance, and Identity
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900) certification (2022).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200), Security Operations
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200) certification (2022).
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Cloud Computing
Earned the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification (2022).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900), Power Platform
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900) certification (2022).
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Higher Diploma in Information Technology, Information Technology (Cyber Security)
2020 - 2021
Completed a Higher Diploma in Information Technology specializing in Cyber Security at SLIIT (2020–2021).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900), Artificial Intelligence
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification (2021).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), Cloud Computing
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification.
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Information Technology (Cyber Security), Information Technology (Cyber Security)
Grade: Distinction
Completed a PGDip in Information Technology (Cyber Security) at SLIIT with distinction (2025).
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500), Cloud Security
Earned the Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500) certification (2022).
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Information Technology, Information Technology (Cyber Security)
2018 - 2021
Grade: Second Class
Completed a BSc (Hons) in Information Technology specializing in Cyber Security at SLIIT (2018–2021), second class.
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Location
Sri LankaAuthorized to work in
Portfolio
github.com/Himashi-KarunathilakeSkills
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