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Robert Gonda

@robertgonda

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Senior Incident Specialist at Post Office, uplifting SOC operations and improving detection and incident response.

United Kingdom

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At Post Office, I’m leading a SOC uplift across investigations, detection, analyst development and operational processes. I’m refining incident response playbooks and investigating alerts across Microsoft Defender and related Microsoft security capabilities.

At Pepper Money, I owned the cybersecurity strategy and roadmap, presented risks and investment requirements to the Board and Risk Committee, and led ISO 27001 certification activity, achieving a zero-findings audit outcome. At Modsquad, I led a six-month SOC 2 programme and drove playbook automation that reduced average incident handling time from hours to under 20 minutes.

As a SOC Analyst / GRC Member at mSOC, I developed Microsoft Sentinel and Splunk use cases that improved alert efficacy by 40% and reduced response times by 50%. I also mentor professionals through Lateral Connect, guiding people into security roles.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Senior Incident Specialist

Current

Post Office

Nov 2025 - Present (11 months)

Leading SOC uplift across security operations, investigation quality, and detection improvement. Creating incident response playbooks and mentoring analysts on KQL-based investigation and threat analysis.

Microsoft Defender Microsoft 365 KQL Incident Response SOC Operations Threat Intelligence Playbooks Mentorship

Current

Cyber Mentor

Current

Lateral Connect

Apr 2024 - Present (2 years 6 months)

Guided 20+ professionals into security roles, with 8 securing permanent positions in threat detection and GRC. Facilitated training sessions on digital ethics, career resilience, and inclusive security cultures.

Mentorship Career Development Training Threat Detection GRC

SOC Analyst / GRC Member

mSOC

Jun 2023 - Feb 2026 (2 years 8 months)

Spearheaded SOC 2 Type 2 implementation and developed Microsoft Sentinel and Splunk use cases that improved alert efficacy by 40% and reduced response times by 50%. Authored policy packs, risk registers, and RACI models aligned to ISO 27001 and NIST.

SOC2 Microsoft Sentinel Splunk Use Case Development ISO 27001 NIST Policy Development Risk Register RACI

Senior Cyber Security Consultant / Architect

Nationwide

Jun 2024 - Nov 2025 (1 year 5 months)

Provided cybersecurity assurance across major transformation programmes, conducting security design reviews and threat modelling. Assessed controls against NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and internal banking requirements.

Security Architecture Threat Modeling NIST CSF ISO 27001 Risk Assessment Controls Assurance

Head of Cyber Security

Pepper Money

Jul 2023 - Jan 2024 (6 months)

Owned cybersecurity strategy and roadmap for a financial services organisation, aligning security priorities with business objectives. Led ISO 27001 certification achieving zero-findings audit outcome and supported SOC 2 readiness.

Cybersecurity Strategy ISO 27001 SOC2 Risk Management Board Reporting Team Leadership Security By Design

Cyber Specialist – Second in Command to CISO

Modsquad

Jun 2022 - Jul 2023 (1 year 1 month)

Partnered with the CISO to shape cybersecurity strategy and risk priorities. Led a six-month SOC 2 programme and drove security playbook automation that reduced incident handling time from hours to under 20 minutes.

SOC2 Security Automation Incident Response Risk Management Stakeholder Management Playbooks

Operational IT Cyber Specialist

University of East Anglia

Dec 2021 - Jun 2022 (6 months)

Defined cybersecurity objectives across IT and non-technical faculties, aligning with regulatory expectations. Delivered phishing simulations and security awareness initiatives that improved user reporting metrics by 70%.

Security Awareness Phishing Simulations SIEM ISO 27001 Risk Management

SOC Analyst

Grant Thornton

Jul 2021 - Dec 2021 (5 months)

Investigated security events and supported incident response within a professional services SOC. Mentored junior SOC analysts and provided clear incident reporting to C-level clients.

SOC Operations Incident Response Security Monitoring Mentorship Client Reporting