Help Desk Technician - IT & SOC Support

NKOSILATHI MATEMA

Seattle, WA 203-***-**** ***********@*****.*** linkedin.com/in/nkosilathi-matema

Authorized to work in the United States under F-1 OPT (STEM-eligible) - No employer sponsorship currently required

SUMMARY

IT and cybersecurity professional with a B.S. in Information Systems, an M.S. in Cybersecurity (3.92 GPA), and 2+ years of experience across IT support, systems administration, and security operations. Skilled in troubleshooting hardware, software, and network issues; managing Active Directory accounts, user access, and endpoint configurations; and SOC monitoring using Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender for threat detection, incident response, and vulnerability assessment across AWS cloud and on-premises environments. CompTIA Security+ and CySA+ certified.

SKILLS

IT Support & Administration: End-User Technical Support, Hardware/Software Troubleshooting, Network Issue Resolution, Active Directory, User Access Provisioning & Deprovisioning, Endpoint Configuration, System Patching & Updates, Root Cause Analysis, LAN/WAN Infrastructure Support, Help Desk Ticketing Systems

Security: SOC Monitoring, Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM), Microsoft Defender (EDR), Threat Detection & Triage, Indicators of Compromise (IOC), Vulnerability Assessment & Remediation, Incident Response, Patch Management, Endpoint Protection, IT Control Validation, Compliance, Risk Quantification & Modeling

Cloud Security (AWS): AWS IAM, AWS GuardDuty, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Misconfiguration Detection

Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/S, TLS/SSL, Network Traffic Analysis, Firewall Configuration

Programming & Automation: Python, PowerShell, C#, C++ & Security Automation

Certifications: CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+

EXPERIENCE

IT Security Analyst - Hallmark Risk & Financial Services Feb 2023 – Dec 2024

South Africa

●Monitored Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM) and Microsoft Defender (EDR) to triage security alerts, distinguishing false positives from genuine indicators of compromise (IOCs) and escalating confirmed threats.

●Conducted vulnerability scans across endpoints and systems, tracking remediation and verifying patch compliance to reduce the organization's attack surface.

●Automated recurring security workflows in Python and PowerShell, improving triage efficiency and reporting consistency.

●Managed the end-to-end user access lifecycle provisioning, permissions, and deprovisioning while maintaining secure endpoint and account configurations.

IT Systems Administrator / Help Desk Support - Sandcircle Management Consultant International Apr 2021 – Apr 2022

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

●Provided end-user technical support, troubleshooting hardware, software, and network issues to minimize downtime.

●Administered Active Directory accounts, including user provisioning, deprovisioning, and access permissions, standardizing troubleshooting procedures that improved first-contact resolution and cut repeat tickets.

●Managed endpoint configuration and patching to maintain security compliance across all systems.

●Supported LAN/WAN infrastructure, network setup, and peripheral management, maintaining reliable connectivity and operational continuity.

Food Service Worker (Part-Time) - Compass Group at Quinnipiac University Apr 2025 – May 2026

Hamden, CT

●Delivered consistent, high-quality service in a fast-paced, high-volume environment while maintaining professionalism and accuracy.

●Balanced part-time work with full-time graduate studies, demonstrating reliability and strong time management.

PROJECTS

Graduate Capstone: Quantifying Cloud Risk through Predictive Time-to-Compromise Modeling Jan 2026 – May 2026

●Built a real-time AWS security scanner that quantifies cloud risk through a dynamic Time-to-Compromise (TTC) metric rather than static CVSS scores.

●Modeled how chained misconfigurations, missing MFA, disabled GuardDuty, exposed storage buckets, excessive IAM permissions, compound to reduce time-to-compromise, then ranked resources by risk to prioritize remediation.

●Validated the model against the 2019 Capital One breach, accurately predicting a 33-minute compromise window.

EDUCATION

Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA Master of Science, Cybersecurity GPA: 3.92/4.0 May 2026

Midlands State University, Zimbabwe Bachelor of Commerce (Honors), Information Systems Dec 2022

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