ABDULQADIR OLAYIWOLA
Birmingham
Summary
Cybersecurity professional with over 3 years of combined experience in IT support and security operations, delivering robust threat detection and incident response solutions across private, non-profit, and international governmental organisations. Proven expertise in SIEM operations, vulnerability management, identity and access controls, and integrating offensive security insights into defensive operations.
Showcased the ability to operate and administer security platforms, including Splunk, Elastic Stack, and the Microsoft Security suite across enterprise environments. Adept at monitoring security events, triaging alerts, remediating threats, and managing vulnerability lifecycles to maintain high compliance standards.
Leveraged technical knowledge spanning security operations, cloud security, and offensive security techniques, alongside strong communication skills to support activities such as promoting security awareness, reporting technical findings to non-technical staff, conducting security assessments and supporting penetration testing engagements. Passionate about applying adversarial thinking to strengthen defensive security operations, and utilising this skillset to optimise SOC processes, and contribute to a security-focused corporate ethic.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Trainee Red Team Operator
EncryptEdge Limited
London, United Kingdom
03.2023 - 05.2025
- Configured virtualised lab environments to simulate realistic attack scenarios for offensive security techniques.
- Executed reconnaissance and enumeration using OSINT, Nmap, and domain scanning tools to uncover vulnerabilities in simulated networks.
- Demonstrated exploitation and lateral movement techniques aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK framework using Metasploit and manual exploitation methods.
- Conducted Active Directory attack simulations to identify security weaknesses, privilege escalation paths, and common enterprise misconfigurations.
- Delivered a comprehensive capstone project, documenting external reconnaissance, phishing simulation, exploitation chain, and prioritised remediation recommendations in technical reports.
- Enhanced threat detection capabilities by studying attacker methodologies, malware behaviour, and security control bypass techniques to strengthen defensive security operations.
IT Security Operator
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
06.2023 - 08.2024
- Operated SIEM platforms (Splunk, Elastic Stack) for continuous network and endpoint monitoring, analysing security events to enforce policies and prevent intrusion attempts.
- Investigated and triaged security alerts, correlating event data across multiple sources to detect, contain, and document active threats within SLA targets.
- Developed PowerShell and Bash scripts to automate routine administrative and security tasks, improving SOC efficiency and reducing manual workload.
- Managed vulnerability remediation across 40+ endpoints, triaging penetration test findings to resolve eight high-risk vulnerabilities and achieve a 95% patch-compliance rate.
- Administered identity and access controls, including biometric systems and file permissions, achieving 100% compliance for timely account de-provisioning and reducing access-related risks.
- Engineered a robust backup and recovery strategy safeguarding 15 TB+ of critical data, successfully restoring operations during a system failure and ensuring business continuity.
- Supported security-awareness campaigns for 38 employees, contributing to a 73% reduction in phishing-simulation click rates over six months.
- Authored technical and executive-level reports documenting investigation findings, reproducible steps, business impact, and prioritised remediation recommendations.
Junior Security Analyst
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
01.2022 - 10.2022
- Shadowed senior analysts in Security Operations Centre (SOC) activities during incident detection and response procedures.
- Monitored Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Endpoint dashboards for alert triage and initial investigation.
- Identified anomalies by analysing network traffic, system logs, and firewall activity, escalating verified threats for review.
- Executed endpoint remediation tasks, including malware removal and host isolation to prevent lateral movement.
- Reviewed system performance and security logs to ensure compliance with established security policies.
- Supported vulnerability management efforts by confirming update deployment status and reporting outstanding items for remediation.
- Maintained comprehensive incident records and investigation notes to enhance SOC documentation and response accuracy.
- Contributed to security awareness initiatives, training employees to recognise phishing indicators and apply safe data-handling practices.
IT Support Technician
Araba Technologies LTD
06.2021 - 12.2021
- Delivered front-line technical support to users and clients, diagnosing and resolving hardware and software issues.
- Maintained servers and workstations by managing software updates and application installations.
- Administered user account permissions and file access controls to uphold security policies.
- Conducted network monitoring to identify anomalous traffic patterns and potential intrusions.
- Provided timely and professional support across hardware and software issues for 20+ end users.
Education
Mater of Science - Cyber Security
Birmingham City University
Birmingham, United Kingdom 01.2024 - 01.2024
Bachelor of Science - Cybersecurity
First Technical University
01.2018 - 01.2022
Skills
- SIEM Operations and Administration (Splunk, Elastic Stack, Microsoft Sentinel)
- Microsoft Defender Suite
- Incident Response and Threat Detection
- Vulnerability Assessment and Patch Management
- Identity and Access Management
- Web Application Security Testing
- Cloud Security (Azure, AWS)
- Scripting and Automation
- Security Frameworks and Compliance (NIST, ISO 27001, GDPR)
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Strategy
Technical Skills
- Active Directory Security and Attack Simulation
- Threat Hunting and Log Analysis
- Stakeholder Communication and Reporting
- Security Awareness Training Delivery
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Technical Documentation and Knowledge Sharing
- Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking
- Attention to Detail and Analytical Reasoning
- Team Collaboration and Mentoring
- Continuous Learning and Adaptability
Interpersonal Skills
Certification
- CompTIA Security+
- EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
- Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC 900)
- Google Cybersecurity specialization
- Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200) – ‘Pursuing'
References
References available upon request.
Technologies
Security Operations : Microsoft Security Suite, Splunk, Elastic Stack
Offensive Security : Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, OSINT, Hydra, Hashcat, Ghidra
Cloud & Infrastructure : Azure, AWS, GCP
Scripting & Programming : PowerShell, Bash, Python, JavaScript, SQL, KQL, SPL
Security Frameworks : NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, GDPR, Cyber Essentials, MITRE ATT&CK Framework
Timeline
Mater of Science - Cyber Security
Birmingham City University
01.2024 - 01.2024
IT Security Operator
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
06.2023 - 08.2024
Trainee Red Team Operator
EncryptEdge Limited
03.2023 - 05.2025
Junior Security Analyst
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
01.2022 - 10.2022
IT Support Technician
Araba Technologies LTD
06.2021 - 12.2021
Bachelor of Science - Cybersecurity
First Technical University
01.2018 - 01.2022