Waqas Q.

About Waqas Q.

With 14+ years in IT, including 9+ years of hands-on experience in Security Operations (SecOps), Threat Hunting, Incident Response (IR), and Digital Forensics (DFIR), I specialize in building and enhancing security capabilities to detect and respond to cyber threats proactively. My expertise spans SIEM (Splunk), detection engineering, adversary simulations, Red/Blue/Purple Teaming, SOC design + automation, and cloud engineering & security. A proven track record of reducing SOC alert fatigue by 55%, Improving detection & response by 40%, saving my company $461K annually ($2.8 million to date) by eliminating reliance on an external MSSP vendor. Security Operations (SOC) Leadership & Program Development SIEM (Splunk) Administration & Content Management Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) & Advanced Threat Hunting Rapid Incident Response & Crisis Management Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) Dynamic & Static Malware Analysis Cloud Security Engineering & Cyber Ranges Development Red, Blue, & Purple Team Operations and Adversary Emulation Threat Detection Engineering & Validation Strategy Security Operations Center Architecture Development Executive Advisory, Reporting & Risk Communication Security Metrics, KPIs, SOC Audits, and SLA Oversight Regulatory Compliance: NIST 800, ISO, PCI, SOC2, GDPR Team Mentorship, Training & Talent Development Security Tools: Splunk, SOAR, Cribl, CrowdStrike, ProofPoint, ForcePoint, Netskope, Nessus, Sysinternals, Volexity, Volcano, Surge, Volatility, AXIOM, EnCase, Autopsy, ServiceNow, Palo Alto, Fortinet, PowerShell, Python, Cobalt Strike, Havoc, Covenant, Atomic Red Team, and Caldera. Passionate about continuous learning, earned a master\'s degrees and completed multiple SANS certifications training (FOR500, FOR508, FOR608, SEC565, SEC699) alongside Splunk, PCNSE, and CCNA Security. I thrive on mentoring teams, refining & designing SOC operations, and driving proactive security strategies to stay ahead of evolving threats.

Experience

1. Soc Programs Lead - Sr Cybersecurity Analyst

   Redacted

   Jan 2019 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Led incident response investigations by analyzing logs, Splunk, CrowdStrike (EDR), network traffic, firewalls, IDS/IPS, cloud, and endpoint telemetry to determine root cause and assess impact. Led digital forensic analysis (disk, memory), malware analysis (dynamic & static), and threat intelligence research to uncover sophisticated threats and enhanced security defenses. Led adversary simulations and Red/Blue/Purple team exercises using live malware and ransomware payloads to enhance SOC detection & response capabilities by 35%, Architected detection engineering frameworks and developed high-fidelity detections mapped to MITRE ATT & CK, validating them with adversarial simulations, Led threat hunting using IOCs, forensic artifacts, and host-based telemetry to identify stealthy threats. Designed, architected, and supported cloud-based Cyber Range and threat analysis environments on Azure and Google Cloud (GCP). Additionally, managed and maintained Azure and GCP cloud infrastructure, ensuring scalability, security, and optimal performance. Spearheaded Splunk content development and management, developed 990+ high-fidelity correlation rules aligned with the MITRE ATT & CK framework, boosting threat detection and response by 40%. Eliminated reliance on an external MSSP vendor, saving the company $2.8 million. Engineered 120+ dynamic & Investigative Splunk dashboards, streamlining incident triage and accelerating forensic investigations, empowering the security team with real-time, actionable insights. Conducted in-depth rule performance assessments audits and fine-tuned searches to improve detection accuracy and SOC efficiency, reducing false positives by 40%. Engineered SOC architecture by developing log ingestion strategies, configuring detection workflows, and streamlining alert processes, ensuring rapid threat identification and mitigation.

Education

• University of the Cumberlands

  Master of Science - MS, Digital Forenscis

  2023 — 2024