Open to opportunities

Tolu Smith

@tolusmith1

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Detail-oriented Incident Response Analyst with 6+ years of experience.

Zimbabwe

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What I'm looking for

I am seeking a role that fosters collaboration and innovation in cybersecurity.

I am a detail-oriented and highly adaptable Incident Response Analyst with over 6 years of progressive experience in security operations, incident response, threat hunting, and SIEM analysis. My expertise lies in detecting, investigating, and neutralizing security threats across hybrid environments, including Azure and AWS. I have a proven track record of using tools such as Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, and QRadar to reduce incident dwell time and limit organizational risk.

Throughout my career, I have successfully led NCSC tabletop exercises and collaborated with various SOCs, MSPs, and vendors to enhance incident preparedness. My role at Meridian IT involves conducting daily security investigations, utilizing KQL to identify indicators of compromise, and executing containment strategies. I am passionate about improving security processes and creating runbooks for repeatable incident handling, ensuring that my team is always prepared for potential threats.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Security Analyst (SOC)

Current

Meridian IT (MSP)

Feb 2024 - Present (1 year 5 months)

Conducted daily security investigations within Microsoft Sentinel, utilising KQL to identify and analyse indicators of compromise (IOCs). Coordinated and executed incident response playbooks and led NCSC-aligned tabletop exercises to test and enhance incident preparedness.

Microsoft Defender Cisco Umbrella Incident Response Security Operations Threat Hunting

Security Analyst

UAL (University of The Arts London)

Apr 2023 - Feb 2024 (10 months)

Used QRadar daily to investigate offences, validating them before escalation to the resolver group. Responsible for running Risk Assessments on vendors being onboarded and escalating incidents to the CISO office.

QRadar Cisco Umbrella AWS Security Marval Azure Active Directory Forcepoint Security Processes

Security Analyst

Techno Beacon Consulting

Mar 2021 - Apr 2023 (2 years 1 month)

Monitored and investigated incidents on Microsoft Sentinel, isolating compromised devices using M365 Defender. Acted as a first responder in detecting and carrying out initial investigations on alerts from LogRhythm SIEM and Darktrace EDR.

Darktrace EDR ServiceNow Splunk Azure Active Directory

Security Analyst

Sunfish

Feb 2017 - Mar 2021 (4 years 1 month)

Acted as a first responder in detecting and carrying out initial investigations on alerts from Sentinel SIEM. Maintained accurate records and logs of Security Incidents, logging them in ServiceNow and following up from new to resolved status.

SIEM Security Monitoring Threat Assessment ServiceNow Security Operations Training

QA Analyst

Alzheimer’s Society

Dec 2015 - Feb 2017 (1 year 2 months)

Worked on Alzheimer's Mobile, Web and Salesforce CRM applications, reviewing design and functional specification documents. Managed projects from Test Plan preparation to Test stage sign-off activities, including integration testing between Progress databases.

Salesforce CRM UAT Regression Testing Functional Testing Integration Testing Spira Test Jira Mobile Testing

QA Analyst

Saffron Digital Limited

Aug 2013 - Dec 2015 (2 years 4 months)

Analysed flow charts and business process documentation to derive acceptance criteria and test scripts for security test execution. Created test plans and strategies for various projects across development teams utilizing agile methodologies.

Jira Functional Testing User Acceptance Testing Regression Testing Mobile Testing SDK

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Technical Training

Unknown, Cybersecurity

Completed technical training in Networking Essentials, Security+, Checkpoint, ONETRUST, Tanium, VIPRE (Email security), Cisco Umbrella, M365 Defender, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, QRadar, and ForcePoint. Currently studying for the SC 200 exam.