Kaela Dorsey

About Kaela Dorsey

Security Operations Analyst specializing in identity-first security within SaaS-first, cloud-native environments. I focus on detecting and containing identity-driven threats across Okta, Google Workspace, GitHub, and AWS, with an emphasis on authentication anomalies, MFA abuse, OAuth/token misuse, and human-access risk.I lead Tier 2 investigations end-to-end — scoping blast radius, executing containment at the identity layer, and contributing to post-incident analysis to strengthen detection quality and operational maturity. My work centers on reducing risk at the access layer while improving signal clarity across the SOC.Beyond incident response, I support governance and risk efforts through vendor security reviews and audit readiness initiatives. This includes evaluating SOC 2 reports, ISO certifications, and penetration test summaries during procurement, collecting and validating control evidence in Drata, and assisting with risk acceptance documentation and remediation tracking. I operate at the intersection of operational security and compliance, ensuring security controls are both effective and defensible.Focused on building scalable, identity-centric security operations that align incident response with business risk.

Experience

1. Associate Security Operations Analyst

   Upside

   Feb 2025 — Present · Washington, DC, US

   Lead Tier 2 identity-driven investigations across Okta, SaaS platforms, endpoint, and phishing alertsAnalyze authentication anomalies, MFA abuse patterns, OAuth/token misuse, and suspicious SaaS access behaviorScope blast radius and execute containment at the identity layer (session revocation, credential reset, access restriction)Monitor AWS IAM activity, CloudTrail events, and GuardDuty findings to detect anomalous human accessCorrelate phishing reports with identity and endpoint telemetry to validate compromise and reduce false positivesConduct vendor security reviews during procurement, evaluating SOC 2 reports, ISO certifications, and penetration test findingsCollect and validate audit artifacts in Drata to support SOC 2 and ISO 27001 readinessAssist in documenting risk acceptance decisions and remediation trackingContribute to detection tuning and alert quality improvements to strengthen SOC signal fidelity

Education

• Allegany College of Maryland

  Associates , General Studies

• Northern Virginia Community College

  Cybersecurity

• Per Scholas

  Cybersecurity