Network & Perimeter Security Engineer - 4+ yrs Experience

PREETHI PAKALA

Network & Perimeter Security Engineer

+1-475-***-**** *******@*****.*** Hartford, Connecticut, USA

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Cyber Security Engineer with 4+ years of experience in enterprise network security, perimeter defense, and cloud security. Hands-on expertise with Palo Alto and Checkpoint firewall administration, Zscaler (ZIA, ZPA, Client Connector), Cisco VPN technologies, and NIST Cybersecurity Framework compliance. Proven ability to design and enforce least-privilege firewall policies, analyze threat prevention logs, and troubleshoot complex network security issues across enterprise environments. Experience spanning Fortune 500 energy, banking, and healthcare sectors.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Checkpoint Firewall (R81/R82)

• Zscaler ZIA / ZPA / ZDX

• Cisco AnyConnect / FTD / FMC

• Firewall Policy Design & Rulebase

• Zero-Trust Network Architecture

• IDS/IPS Operations

• TCP/IP, DNS, NAT, VPN, Routing

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework

• SIEM: QRadar, Splunk

• Cloud: Azure, AWS, GCP

• Log Analysis & Threat Prevention

• SOP & Security Documentation

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Cyber Security Engineer Eversource Energy Aug 2024 – Present Hartford, CT

Fortune 500 energy utility. Responsible for enterprise perimeter security, cloud security operations, and compliance across hybrid infrastructure.

•Administered and managed Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Panorama to enforce least-privilege access, segmentation, and secure traffic flows across enterprise perimeter and internal networks.

•Led production deployment of Zscaler, replacing legacy Checkpoint VPN and BlueCoat proxy; configured and supported Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) as the enterprise web proxy and content filtering platform.

•Supported Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) for zero-trust remote connectivity and assisted with Zscaler Client Connector enterprise deployment and end-user troubleshooting.

•Analyzed firewall logs, traffic patterns, and threat prevention events to support security incident response; troubleshot complex issues involving firewall policy behavior, NAT, and routing.

•Operated and maintained IPS protections, ensuring rules were enabled and aligned with organizational security standards.

•Led NIST Cybersecurity Framework compliance initiatives; maintained accurate security documentation, SOPs, and network/security diagrams.

•Administered Azure E5 security suite including Defender ATP, Azure Sentinel, and Defender for Identity and Endpoint across cloud infrastructure.

•Conducted threat hunting using SIEM and EDR telemetry; investigated and responded to security incidents involving endpoint, network, and cloud-based threats.

Cyber Security Engineer Indian Overseas Bank Apr 2021 – Aug 2022 Chennai, India

Public sector bank. Managed network security infrastructure, SIEM operations, and vulnerability management for a complex financial environment.

•Monitored and maintained Palo Alto Networks firewalls, Panorama, routers, and proxies to protect banking infrastructure; maintained local and remote network security configurations.

•Researched and analyzed log sources from security and networking devices including firewalls, routers, anti-virus products, and proxies for security monitoring purposes.

•Coordinated SIEM operations via IBM QRadar: event collection, log management, compliance automation, and identity monitoring.

•Conducted DAST assessments and vulnerability scans using Qualys, Burp Suite, ZAP, Tenable, Nmap, and Wireshark; developed and managed threat and vulnerability management policies.

•Developed and maintained metrics and reports on vulnerability findings and remediation compliance; updated security standards for all network devices, databases, and operating systems.

Security Engineer Amrutanjan Healthcare Nov 2019 – Mar 2021 Chennai, India

Pharmaceutical company. Installed and managed full network security stack including firewalls, VPN, and AWS cloud security controls.

•Installed, configured, and managed network security devices including web application firewalls, network firewalls, Checkpoint firewall, BlueCoat proxy, switches, and routers.

•Maintained and monitored network and host-based intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS); implemented and enforced security controls across the enterprise.

•Deployed and secured AWS cloud infrastructure using EC2, RDS, S3, VPC, IAM, CloudWatch, and KMS; ensured best-practice cloud security across production systems.

•Managed privileged account access, two-factor authentication, web filtering, WAF controls, and encryption-at-rest and in-transit policies.

•Led security incident investigations including forensic analysis and reporting; maintained security configuration and audit documentation for Windows servers and network devices.

EDUCATION

Master of Science, Computer Science University of Bridgeport, USA May 2024

CERTIFICATIONS

CompTIA Security+ Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) GIAC

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Firewalls & Network Security: Checkpoint Firewall, Palo Alto Networks / Panorama, Cisco FTD / FMC, Cisco AnyConnect, BlueCoat Proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS

Zero-Trust & Remote Access: Zscaler ZIA, ZPA, Client Connector, ZDX; Cisco AnyConnect VPN, IPSec, SSL VPN

Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, NAT, VPN, Routing, NetBIOS, SNMP, SSH, ARP, BGP fundamentals

Cloud & Security Tools: Azure (Sentinel, Defender ATP, E5), AWS (EC2, S3, IAM, KMS), GCP, QRadar, Splunk, Qualys, Tenable, Burp Suite, CyberArk

Frameworks & Compliance: NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-53, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, MITRE ATT&CK

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