Abdullah
Bin Zarshaid
Contact

About & CV

Cybersecurity practice.
Built across domains.

Cybersecurity Manager and hands-on security practitioner spanning offensive security, financial services, GRC, SOC and incident response, cloud, corporate and university training, client advisory and applied research.

Security engineering.
Business-ready delivery.

Cybersecurity Manager and hands-on security practitioner: offensive security, GRC, SOC and incident response, cloud and infrastructure, client advisory, corporate and university training, and applied research.

Cybersecurity practitioner and manager with 10+ years across IT, telecommunications, networking and security. Hands-on work spans authorized web, API, mobile, network, infrastructure and cloud penetration testing; vulnerability assessment; SOC and incident response; GRC and assurance; client advisory; and corporate and university training. Experience includes client work across the Middle East, United States and United Kingdom, including fintech.

From web and API testing through SOC and GRC programmes, financial-sector awareness, university programmes and security research, I connect technical depth to decisions teams can act on.

CREDENTIALS & EDUCATION

Certifications, degrees
& issuer programmes.

CEH, two specialist degrees, 50+ vendor and framework credentials, and a broad programme of security learning across ISC2, IBM, Fortinet and InfoSec.

50+vendor & framework credentials
Explore the LinkedIn profile ↗
BSc

COMSATS University Islamabad · Bachelor's degree

BSc, Telecommunication and Networking

Awarded 2016

View LinkedIn profile ↗

CERTIFICATIONS & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

A broad security learning and practice ecosystem.

Issuer and framework names reflect professional credentials and selected course records across cybersecurity, networking, cloud, incident response and governance.

ISC2IBMFortinetInfoSec
ISC2, IBM, Fortinet & InfoSec learning records · professional courses and badges

ISC2

Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) course series

Five-course ISC2 curriculum covering security principles, access control, network security, security operations and incident response.

ISC2

CISSP domains and exam-preparation study series

Eight course modules covering CISSP domains and exam preparation.

ISC2

Access Control Concepts; Security Principles; Incident Response; Security Operations

Four ISC2 course completions in access control, security principles, incident response and security operations.

IBM

Cybersecurity Analyst and Cybersecurity Compliance Frameworks

IBM course completions in cybersecurity analysis and compliance frameworks.

IBM

IBM cybersecurity badge transcript: network security, threat intelligence, penetration testing, incident response, forensics, security tools, compliance, operating systems and breach case studies

IBM cybersecurity badges covering network security, threat intelligence, penetration testing, incident response, forensics, security tools, compliance, operating systems and breach case studies.

Fortinet

Introduction to the Threat Landscape 1.0

Fortinet security badge issued June 2023.

IBM and DeepLearning.AI

Introduction to Cloud Computing and AI For Everyone

IBM and DeepLearning.AI course completions.

InfoSec Institute

Cyber Incident Response and Stages of Incident Response

InfoSec Institute course completions in cyber incident response.

Infosec

CISSP exam-preparation specialization (Infosec)

LinkedIn-listed study specialization, issued October 2025.

Infosec

Blockchain Security

LinkedIn-listed credential, issued September 2024.

EC-Council

In the Trenches: Security Operations Center

LinkedIn-listed security operations learning credential, issued April 2024.

Fortinet

FortiGate Administrator

LinkedIn-listed learning credential, issued April 2024.

Red Hat

Fundamentals of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

LinkedIn-listed learning credential, issued March 2026.

Juniper Networks

Security Platforms, IPsec & Troubleshooting; Security Fundamentals specialization

LinkedIn-listed security learning credentials, issued July 2023.

Pohang University of Science and Technology; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Introduction and Programming with IoT Boards; IoT Networking (with Honors)

LinkedIn-listed learning credentials, issued in 2023.

Selected course completions and learning-series records.

CORPORATE & UNIVERSITY TRAINING

Capability building
for teams and campuses.

Technical workshops, security awareness, banking-sector AI and cybersecurity programmes, and invited seminars, conferences and panels.

SECURITY PRACTICE

Technical, operational
& governance depth.

Seven connected domains spanning ethical hacking, security operations, governance, cloud, AI, management and professional training.

Offensive security & assurance

  • Web application and API penetration testing
  • Mobile application, network, cloud and internal-infrastructure assessment
  • Vulnerability assessment and manual validation
  • Scoping, rules of engagement and client coordination
  • Evidence review, CVSS analysis, reporting, remediation and retesting

SOC, incident response & threat intelligence

  • SOC build-out and security operations
  • SIEM, EDR and XDR deployment and workflows
  • Incident response coordination and readiness
  • Threat hunting, IOC review and log analysis
  • OSINT, brand monitoring and exposure review

GRC, risk, compliance & audit

  • ISO 27001 and SOC 2 readiness
  • NIST and PCI DSS control mapping
  • Policies, risk registers and treatment plans
  • Audit preparation and evidence management
  • Security awareness and compliance-program improvement

Cloud, identity & infrastructure

  • Cloud security baselines and architecture review
  • Identity, IAM, Active Directory and MFA
  • Windows/Linux administration and hardening
  • Network design, segmentation and resilience
  • Secure infrastructure and modernization

AI, application & emerging-technology security

  • AI/ML security and risk review
  • LLM and agent security interests
  • Application security and business-logic testing
  • Authentication, authorization and session lifecycle
  • Security automation and reproducible testing

Security management, advisory & business delivery

  • Virtual CISO and security-roadmap advisory
  • Cybersecurity service delivery and programme improvement
  • Client advisory, stakeholder communication and executive reporting
  • Pre-sales, RFP/SOW response, solution design and client demonstrations
  • Managed security service development and business development

Corporate & university training

  • Corporate trainer for cybersecurity awareness and technical capability building
  • University cybersecurity, networking and practical lab training
  • Banking-sector AI, AI security and cybersecurity awareness
  • Seminars, conference sessions, workshops and tabletop exercises

CAREER & DELIVERY

From infrastructure
to cybersecurity management.

10+ years spanning IT operations, assessment delivery, security consulting and current cybersecurity management.

  1. May 2026 to present

    Cybersecurity Manager

    NKU Technologies LLC, USA

    • Lead cybersecurity service delivery spanning authorized penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, GRC, SOC/defensive security, incident response, threat intelligence and client advisory.
    • Oversee scope and rules of engagement, client coordination, evidence validation, remediation support, and executive and technical security reporting.
    • Support security solution design, pre-sales, RFP/SOW responses, client demonstrations and managed security service growth.
  2. September 2022 to April 2026

    Cybersecurity & Solutions Delivery Manager

    Elite IT Team

    • Led application and infrastructure assessment delivery, technical review and remediation planning.
    • Combined hands-on web/API testing with engineering leadership and coordination of security operations, incident response and compliance work.
  3. September 2020 to August 2022

    Cybersecurity Engineer / Consultant

    Elite IT Team

    • Tested web applications, APIs and infrastructure using manual HTTP analysis alongside assessment tools.
    • Supported identity and MFA reviews, Windows/Linux hardening, Active Directory, network segmentation and monitoring.
  4. March 2016 to August 2020

    Assistant Manager IT, then IT Manager

    Cadet College Karachi

    • Promoted to IT Manager in April 2018. Managed networks, Windows/Linux services, identity, backups, endpoint protection and infrastructure projects.

PUBLIC WORK & RESEARCH

Tools, methods
& original contributions.

Inspectable public tools and research, with clear scope and a focus on practical use.

Open-source security tool

PostureKit

Evidence-led Windows, Active Directory and network posture assessment with read-only collection, hashed evidence batches and transparent rules.

Scope: Posture observations require analyst review; they are not exploitability findings or overall assurance.

Open-source quality gate

EvidenceGate

Offline checks for evidence integrity, supplied CVSS vectors, HTTP capture structure, selected scope conditions and secret patterns.

Scope: A checks-passed state does not prove vulnerability, authorization, authenticity or analyst approval.

Open learning resource

Network Security Assessment Handbook

A 138-page, 19-part handbook connecting authorized network assessment methods to reporting and defensive decisions.

Scope: A learning resource, not authorization to test systems or a replacement for environment-specific procedures.

Authorized cybersecurity lab resource

Ethical Hacking Labs

Nineteen topic guides for authorized university cybersecurity labs with defensive and detection context.

Scope: Exercises belong only in explicitly authorized lab environments; credited student contributions remain attributed in source.

Original practical resources

GRC Working Templates

Six spreadsheet trackers for risk, evidence, remediation, supplier review, policy ownership and assessment scope.

Scope: Working aids, not complete framework checklists, audit opinions or certification evidence.

Public research contribution

CWE proposal: explicit session termination

A proposal concerning improper enforcement of explicit session termination, submitted through the public CWE content-development process.

Scope: Receipt acknowledged and evaluation pending; not an accepted CWE entry.

Explore the full work & evidence atlas

Degrees, thesis & technical foundation

Specialist preparation in telecommunications, computer networks and security, with project work that joined software, networking and applied security.

  1. 01
    Computing & programming foundations

    Software, systems, network architecture and the practical engineering foundations behind security work.

  2. 02
    BSc · Telecommunication and Networking

    COMSATS University Islamabad · completed 2016. Undergraduate project: network mapping and service enumeration, inspired by Nmap.

  3. 03
    MSc · Computer Networks and Security

    FAST-NUCES, Karachi · completed 2019. SDN-IoT routing-security thesis with a working FARIDA prototype and Contiki/Cooja; Best Thesis award.

  4. 04
    Applied security across the lifecycle

    Penetration testing, incident response, security operations, governance, risk, advisory, corporate training and research.

FAST-NUCES university markOfficial university site ↗

Completed 2019 · DEGREE AWARDED

Master of Science in Computer Networks and Security

National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences · FAST-NUCES, Karachi

A 16-year master's degree in Computer Networks and Security. Academic work covered advanced computer networks, network management, cyber and network security, applied information security, Internet of Things and research methodology. MSc thesis: controller-assisted routing-attack detection and mitigation in low-power SDN-IoT, using a FARIDA prototype and Contiki/Cooja; recognized with the Best Thesis award.

COMSATS University Islamabad sealOfficial university site ↗

Completed 2016 · DEGREE AWARDED

Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication and Networking

COMSATS University Islamabad

A 16-year bachelor's degree grounded in telecommunications and computer networking. Undergraduate project: a network-mapping and service-enumeration utility inspired by tools such as Nmap.

Hire, train, advise or collaborate.

Discuss a cybersecurity management role, hands-on assessment, vCISO engagement, corporate or university training programme, financial-services security review, hiring support, speaking invitation or research collaboration.

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