Pallavi

I am an MS Cybersecurity student passionate about SOC operations, AI-driven threat detection, and digital forensics. I enjoy understanding how attacks happen, how they are detected, and how evidence from systems and networks can be used to reconstruct security incidents.

My learning journey started with security monitoring and SOC-style projects, where I built hands-on environments to analyze logs, create detection rules, and investigate suspicious activity. Along the way I became fascinated by the intersection of AI and security, which led me to build an AI-assisted alert triage system using Python and a local LLM to automatically classify SIEM alerts and generate investigation summaries.

I have hands-on experience with Splunk, ELK Stack, Security Onion, Zeek, AWS CloudTrail, and Azure DFIR environments. I enjoy breaking down complex security events step by step, identifying key indicators, and documenting findings clearly.

I learn cybersecurity by doing. I actively build projects, analyze logs, develop detections, and document everything. I believe strong security comes from curiosity, consistency, and the ability to explain complex issues in simple terms.

I am currently seeking a cybersecurity internship or entry level role in SOC analysis, threat detection, or security engineering.

Digital Forensics Incident Investigation Log Analysis AI-Driven Threat Detection Splunk (Cloud & SPL) ELK Stack Security Monitoring Incident Response Linux AWS Security SOC Operations

Community & Practice

I am an active member of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) and regularly engage in cybersecurity communities to learn, share, and grow.

I practice cybersecurity daily through TryHackMe, where I solve challenges, complete labs, and continuously strengthen my understanding of real-world attack and defense scenarios.

How I Learn

  • Hands-on labs and security challenges
  • Log analysis and detection writing
  • Building AI-assisted security tools
  • Breaking down attacks step by step
  • Documenting findings and lessons learned

Academic Focus & Training

I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science with a strong focus on cybersecurity. My coursework emphasizes defensive security, threat analysis, system-level understanding, and data-driven security decisions.

  • Cyber Security: Defense
  • Cyber Security: Forensics and Attack Analysis
  • Advanced Threat Analysis
  • Cyber Security and Information Assurance
  • Systems Programming
  • Machine Learning
  • Data Visualization

In parallel, I am enrolled in the CodePath Cybersecurity Intermediate program, where I work on hands-on security projects, collaborate in team-based environments, and gain experience simulating real-world security workflows.

How I Approach Security

  1. Understand systems, assets, and log sources
  2. Think like an attacker to identify realistic abuse scenarios
  3. Write detections and validate them with data
  4. Correlate signals across multiple tools
  5. Use AI to automate triage and surface high priority findings
  6. Document incidents clearly and thoughtfully

Beyond Cybersecurity

Outside of security, I enjoy reading books, cooking, and listening to music. These hobbies help me stay creative, balanced, and focused, skills that also influence how I approach problem-solving in cybersecurity.