Cybersecurity Master s Candidate - Cloud, Threat Detection, Scripting

RATIDZAI C . TAKUNDWA

Jersey City, NJ ***** 929-***-**** **********@*****.*** LinkedIn

EDUCATION

Yeshiva University, Katz School of Science and Health New York, NY Master of Science in Cybersecurity, GPA: 3.8 December, 2026 Relevant Coursework: Cybersecurity Foundations, Data and Communication Security, Architecture of Secure Operating Systems, Applications and Devices, E-Discovery and Digital Forensics, Risk Management and Cybersecurity Lupane State University Harare, Zimbabwe

Bachelor of Science Special Honours in Monitoring and Evaluation, GPA: 3.7 December, 2024 CERTIFICATIONS

CompTia Security+ Scheduled: 05/20/2026

PROJECTS

SaaS API Abuse & Compromised Token Detection Framework Capstone Project May 2026

• Engineered a Python-based weighted heuristic risk engine to detect complex API abuse, successfully identifying botnet activity and compromised tokens by correlating geographic drift with volumetric traffic spikes (4.0x spike ratio).

• Architected a 5-phase telemetry pipeline for ingestion, normalization, and behavioral baselining of multi-tenant SaaS API logs, identifying critical threats characterized by 48.9% error rates and automated probing across 8+ countries.

• Built and containerized a full-stack threat hunting environment using Docker and Streamlit, delivering a real- time SOC dashboard to visualize IP diversity (1,200+ unique IPs) and transform raw telemetry into prioritized, risk-scored alerts.

Simulating Malware Persistence Using Windows Scheduled Tasks Fall 2025

• Simulated malware persistence on Windows endpoints by configuring Scheduled Tasks (MITRE ATT&CK T1053.005) to execute PowerShell scripts at user logon, leveraging native Windows living-off-the-land techniques to emulate real APT behavior

• Analyzed and triaged security events using Windows Event Logs and Task Scheduler artifacts, enabling effective threat detection and incident response workflows

• Identified persistence-related vulnerabilities and implemented remediation strategies, improving detection coverage and strengthening endpoint security posture Cloud Analysis of AWS & Azure Security Domains Spring 2025

• Evaluated Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure across four security domains: Security & Risk Management, Asset Security, Security Architecture, and Network Security aligned with NIST and ISO 27001

• Assessed identity and infrastructure security controls including IAM, EC2, S3, Azure Virtual Machines, and Azure Storage, with focus on access control, asset exposure, and shared responsibility model considerations

• Compared AWS GuardDuty and Microsoft Defender for Cloud, as well as AWS Shield and Azure DDoS Protection, to identify misconfiguration visibility and alerting coverage gaps across cloud environments WORK EXPERIENCE

Hydrogeologist Freelancer November 2023 – December 2024

• Increased water accessibility by an impressive 30% in Jerera Rural District through innovative survey methods, data analysis, and community engagement

SKILLS

Scripting & Automation: Python (Pandas, NumPy), PowerShell, Bash, Windows CMD Cloud & Infrastructure: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Docker, Docker Compose Cybersecurity & Detection: Behavioral Anomaly Detection, API Security, Threat Hunting, Risk Scoring, Log Analysis, Endpoint Security, Incident Detection, Windows Event Analysis Tools & Technologies: Streamlit, Git, VS Code

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