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mahimakulkarnii/README.md

Hi, I’m Mahima 👋

Exploring cybersecurity across SOC operations, cloud, networks, applications, embedded systems, OT, hardware, and digital forensics 🔐

LinkedInMediumFeatured Project

About Me

I’m a cybersecurity professional interested in understanding how systems operate, how security weaknesses emerge, and how technical findings can be translated into practical risk-reduction decisions.

My interests span SOC operations and incident response, cloud identity and monitoring, network defense, web and API security, digital forensics, embedded and IoT security, OT security fundamentals, hardware security, and governance.

  • 🎓 M.S. in Technology, Cybersecurity & Policy
  • 🔐 Interested in technical security and risk-based decision-making
  • 📚 Currently strengthening my Splunk, cloud, SOC, and incident-response skills
  • ✍️ Writing about cloud security, privacy, third-party risk, and data breaches
  • 🎤 Outside cybersecurity, I enjoy Bollywood singing

Cybersecurity Focus

Area Current Focus
🔍 SOC & Incident Response Splunk, log analysis, alert triage, MITRE ATT&CK, YARA, security monitoring
🕵️ Digital Forensics FTK Imager, Autopsy, Volatility, disk imaging, file carving, timeline analysis
☁️ Cloud Security & IAM Azure, Entra ID, RBAC, managed identities, Key Vault, Log Analytics, KQL
🌐 Network Security pfSense, VLANs, Snort, Wireshark, firewalls, routing, switching
🛡️ Web, Application & API Security Burp Suite, Postman, OWASP ZAP, OAuth, SAST/DAST, OWASP Top 10
📡 Embedded, IoT & OT Security BLE, ESP32-C3, firmware security, SPI/UART, SCADA, Modbus, IEC 62443
🖥️ Hardware & Systems PC assembly, BIOS/UEFI, Secure Boot, TPM, system hardening, Active Directory
📋 GRC & Privacy NIST CSF, NIST Privacy Framework, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2

Featured Project

A digital-forensics case study demonstrating:

  • Acquisition of an approximately 256 GB physical storage device
  • Creation of 76 segmented E01 evidence files
  • MD5 and SHA-1 integrity verification
  • Analysis of allocated, unallocated, and slack-space entries
  • File carving, keyword searching, and timeline reconstruction
  • FTK Imager, Autopsy, PhotoRec, Plaso, YARA, and Linux imaging workflows

Project Portfolio

Repository links will be added as additional project documentation becomes available.

🔍 SOC Operations, Detection & Incident Response

SOC Investigation & Monitoring Labs

Investigated authentication activity, system events, network traffic, endpoint behaviors, and access-control issues to practice structured alert triage and root-cause analysis.

Tools and concepts: Splunk, Windows Event Logs, Wireshark, YARA, MITRE ATT&CK, alert triage, escalation, incident documentation

Splunk Security Analysis

Used Splunk searches, dashboards, and data analysis to identify patterns in security and customer activity and support simulated fraud and incident investigations.

Tools and concepts: Splunk, SPL, dashboards, log analysis, event correlation, security monitoring

Security Incident-Response Simulation

Practiced incident notification, information gathering, containment, escalation, recovery, and security-awareness communication in a simulated enterprise environment.

Focus: Incident handling, communication, documentation, containment, recovery

🕵️ Digital Forensics

Created and verified segmented forensic images, examined filesystem artifacts in Autopsy, reviewed unallocated and slack-space entries, and generated a filesystem activity timeline.

Tools: FTK Imager, Autopsy, PhotoRec, Plaso, YARA, Kali Linux, dd

Forensic Keyword Search & Office Document Recovery

Analyzed a forensic disk image in Autopsy, searched for sensitive keywords, tagged relevant Office and email files, and identified evidence in carved files, unallocated space, and file slack.

Tools: Autopsy, keyword search, file carving, metadata analysis, hash reporting

Memory and Artifact Analysis

Explored memory-forensics and incident-reconstruction techniques for identifying processes, system artifacts, and suspicious activity.

Tools: Volatility, timeline analysis, process examination

☁️ Cloud Security, IAM & Monitoring

Azure IAM & Monitoring Lab

Built an Azure environment with a Linux VM, Storage Account, and Key Vault. Implemented least-privilege RBAC, Entra ID groups, managed identities, secure data-transfer settings, and KQL monitoring for privilege and secret-access activity.

Tools: Microsoft Azure, Entra ID, Key Vault, RBAC, Managed Identities, Log Analytics, KQL

Securing the Cloud: Access Controls in Microsoft Azure

Researched and demonstrated user and group management, role assignments, policy enforcement, monitoring, auditing, and access-control testing in Microsoft Azure.

Focus: IAM, RBAC, cloud governance, least privilege, access-control risk

🌐 Network Security & Monitoring

Network Segmentation & Monitoring Home Lab

Built a pfSense lab with separate user, server, and management VLANs. Applied default-deny inter-VLAN policies, validated permitted and blocked traffic with Wireshark, and configured Snort IDS monitoring.

Tools: pfSense, VLANs, Wireshark, Snort, managed switching, firewall rules

Router & Switch Configuration Lab

Configured routers and switches with VLANs, DHCP, NAT, WPA2, static and dynamic addressing, and controlled network access. Used packet analysis and simulation to identify connectivity and configuration issues.

Tools: Cisco Packet Tracer, Wireshark, routers, switches, DHCP, DNS, NAT

Secure Link-State Routing Protocol

Developed a Java-based link-state routing project using sockets, threading, neighbor communication, routing-database exchange, and shortest-path calculation.

Tools: Java, sockets, threading, authentication, encryption, routing protocols

🛡️ Web, Application & API Security

Web & API Vulnerability Assessment

Built vulnerable application environments and tested web and API endpoints for SQL injection, cross-site scripting, authentication weaknesses, authorization flaws, and insecure data exposure.

Tools: Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, Postman, Nmap, Docker, DVWA, OWASP Top 10

Third-Party API Security Assessment

Assessed third-party APIs for authentication weaknesses, authorization flaws, token-handling risks, and insecure data exposure. Researched OAuth attack techniques and mapped findings to the OWASP API Security Top 10.

Tools and concepts: Burp Suite, Postman, OAuth, API authorization, OWASP API Security Top 10

Linux & Web Penetration Testing Lab

Conducted reconnaissance and controlled exploitation against exposed FTP, SSH, Telnet, HTTP, and database services. Documented attack paths and applied firewall and authentication improvements.

Tools: Kali Linux, Nmap, Metasploit, UFW, service enumeration

📡 Embedded, IoT & OT Security

Bluetooth Device Threat Modeling

Assessed the security of a BLE-connected ESP32-C3 device, examining pairing, encryption, firmware behavior, and low-level communication interfaces.

Created data-flow diagrams, reviewed software components, scored vulnerabilities, and explored fuzzing approaches for memory-corruption and denial-of-service risks.

Tools and concepts: BLE, ESP32-C3, IDA Pro, SPI, UART, DFDs, SBOM, CVSS, fuzzing

Embedded Hardware & Firmware Security

Explored secure boot, firmware security, hardware interfaces, low-level communication protocols, and risks affecting connected and embedded devices.

Focus: Secure Boot, BIOS/UEFI, firmware updates, SPI, I2C, UART, BLE, Zigbee

OT Security Foundations

Studying the security considerations of industrial environments, including network segmentation, legacy protocols, asset availability, safety requirements, and the differences between enterprise IT and operational technology.

Focus: SCADA, PLCs, HMIs, Modbus, DNP3, industrial segmentation, IEC 62443 fundamentals

🖥️ Hardware, Systems & Security Baselines

PC Assembly & BIOS/UEFI Security

Assembled and troubleshot computer systems, configured Secure Boot, TPM, boot order, firmware settings, and POST behavior, and resolved component-detection and startup issues.

macOS Hardening & Baseline

Created a repeatable macOS security baseline covering FileVault, Gatekeeper, firewall and stealth mode, automatic updates, login security, privacy controls, validation, and rollback guidance.

Linux System Troubleshooting

Investigated simulated service failures, permission errors, disk-utilization problems, and resource exhaustion using Linux logs, processes, and administrative utilities.

Structured Cabling & Network Connectivity

Built and tested Ethernet cables using the TIA-568B standard and diagnosed physical-layer faults involving pinouts, crimping, continuity, and damaged conductors.

📋 Governance, Risk, Compliance & Privacy

Evaluation of the NIST Privacy Framework

Evaluated privacy-policy options using the NIST Privacy Framework, GDPR, and CCPA. Compared regulatory, operational, cost, and innovation considerations to develop risk-based recommendations.

Focus: Privacy risk, data classification, policy evaluation, GDPR, CCPA

Security Awareness Simulation

Evaluated phishing and social-engineering risk, identified departments requiring targeted support, and designed security-awareness recommendations and procedural improvements.

Focus: Phishing, security awareness, risk communication, mitigation planning

Research & Writing

Cloud Security and Privacy Research

A hands-on exploration of Microsoft Azure access controls covering IAM, user and group management, RBAC, policy configuration, monitoring, auditing, and least-privilege security.

A policy-focused analysis of the NIST Privacy Framework, GDPR, CCPA, adoption challenges, privacy impact assessments, and risk-based approaches to protecting personal data.

Published Security Blogs

An analysis of a reported data breach involving sensitive corporate information, third-party exposure, regulatory obligations, and the organizational consequences of inadequate data protection.

An examination of third-party cloud risk, breach response, continuous monitoring, API security, access governance, encryption, and practical recommendations for affected customers and organizations.

Certifications

Education

University of Colorado Boulder M.S. in Technology, Cybersecurity & Policy GPA: 3.9/4.0

Visvesvaraya Technological University B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering

What I’m Working On

  • Strengthening Splunk search, detection, and SOC investigation workflows
  • Expanding cloud identity, access-control, and monitoring labs
  • Practicing digital-forensics and incident-response techniques
  • Developing network monitoring and segmentation scenarios
  • Exploring embedded, firmware, IoT, and OT security
  • Connecting technical security findings to practical business risk

Let’s Connect

I’m interested in connecting with cybersecurity professionals across SOC operations, cloud security, network defense, application security, digital forensics, embedded security, OT, and governance.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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  1. deleted-data-recovery-dfir deleted-data-recovery-dfir Public

    Digital forensics case study demonstrating evidence acquisition, integrity verification, deleted-data recovery, and artifact analysis.