Dr. Kundankumar Saraf

(Ph.D. in Cyber Security), CISM Certified

CEO of ‘I am Cyber Soldier’ | SOC Manager | Subject Matter Expert | Splunk Admin

A results-driven and detail-oriented SOC Manager with 14 years of expertise in the cybersecurity domain, including 6 years of leadership experience with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP). Committed to optimizing SOC performance, driving profitability, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality products and services. 

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Security Operations Center (SOC) Management with Incident Response
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
• Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT)
• International Cyber Security Trainer
• Splunk Admin/Developer/SME

EDUCATION

• Ph.d. in Cyber Security from D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune, India in Dec-2024
• Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (Specialization – VLSI and Embedded) from K.K. Wagh COE, Nasik, India in Sep-2013 with 7.83 CGPA
• Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Electronics Engineering, North Maharashtra University, India, Jun-2010 with 72.60%

TRAINING EXPERIENCE

Industry	College and Training Institute
1. IBM India Pvt. Ltd. Pune	12. National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Assam
2. HSBC Software Development, Hyderabad	13. Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ratnagiri
3. HCL Technologies, Noida	14. APG Learning Pvt Ltd, Pune
4. eVrat Technologies Pvt Ltd, Pune	15. NDMVP’s KBT COE, Nasik
5. String Head Technologies, Pune	16. Basaveshwar Engineering College (Autonomous), Bagalkot, Karnataka
6. i3 Concepts, Pune	17. Joytres Technology, Noida, U.P.
7. NobleProg, London	18. Skill Factory Learning Pvt Ltd, Pune
8. Besant Technologies Pvt Ltd, Chennai	19. D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune
9. Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Delhi	20. Dr. D.Y. Patil School of Engineering, Lohegaon, Pune
10. SVR Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh	21. Regenesys Institute of Management, Mumbai
11. Cyber Needle Solutions Pvt Ltd, Pune	22. Maxima IT Consulting Pvt Ltd, Pune

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)	Splunk Enterprise, AppDynamics, Dynatrace, Solarwinds, Splunk Enterprise Security
Data Engine for Cybr Security	Cribl
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)	Crowdstrike, Symantec
DLP (data security solutions)	Symantec Data Loss Prevention, CrypTool, Recuva
Threat Management	FireEye Threat Analytics Platform
Incident Response/Security Monitoring	SolarWinds, Splunk
Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT)	Acunetix, Burpsuite, Nessus, Wireshark, Beef OWASPZAP, Metasploit Framework, MSFVENOM
Operating Systems	Windows; Ubuntu, Red Hat, and Kali Linux
IT Service Management  (ITSM)	Jira Kanban Board, Service Now
Artificial Intelligence:	Open AI, ChatGPT

CERTIFICATIONS

Cyber Security / SOC Manager			Splunk
Security Operations Center		Cribl	Microsoft
Ethical Hacking	Artificial Intelligence		CrowdStrike

ACHIEVEMENTS

• “I am Cyber Soldier” is an MSME-registered company. We offer hands-on Cyber Security Training in RED and BLUE team operations providing real-world experience.
• Trained 618 students worldwide
• Conducted 50+ international training in Splunk, and Certified in Ethical Hacking.
• Alumni placed in top MNCs like IBM, Dell, Capgemini, Fortinet, Cisco, TCS, and more.
• Implemented an efficient use case management system, resulting in a 33% reduction in false positive SOC alerts.
• Spearheaded a company-wide cost optimization initiative by reducing Splunk license cost using log trimming that resulted in over $200K savings annually.
• Achieved 60+ global certifications in Splunk, Cyber Security, AI, Azure, and GCP.
• Worldwide publications: 20 papers, 4 book chapters, 1 copyright, & 2 patents.
• Second State University rank holder in Bachelor of Engineering.
• Qualified in Ph.D. Entrance Test (PET) of 4 state universities in India.
• Achieved with 90.63 percentile in GATE 2011.