Manikandan S

Security engineer who ships production infra, not just writeups.

Open to DFIR, SOC & Security Engineering roles GCCs & product companies
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Profile Snapshot

Role Track

Backend / Security Engineering

Current Focus

Production-grade systems and infra hardening

Availability

Open to GCC and product engineering teams

Stats
9.09CGPA/10 · VIT Chennai
1,500+Live UsersVISTA platform
90%Uptime12+ months
3CertificationsDFEv1 & more
Why This Matters

CGPA

/10 · VIT Chennai

Live Users

VISTA platform

Uptime

12+ months

Certifications

DFEv1 & more

About

Final-year B.Tech CSE student at VIT Chennai, specializing in cybersecurity. I architect production systems that don't just function they resist.

I've spent the last two years operating at the boundary between security and infrastructure engineering. My work on VISTA a live production system serving 1,500+ users taught me that real security isn't a checklist; it's a mindset baked into every architectural decision.

From SSH key-only authentication and IP whitelisting to automated threat monitoring and disaster recovery, I build systems that assume they're under attack and prove otherwise.

I'm drawn to environments where security is a first-class engineering concern GCCs, product companies, and security teams that treat infrastructure as a battleground, not a utility.

CGPA

9.09 / 10

Digital Forensics Essentials v1 (DFEv1)

EC-Council

Jul 2025 – Jul 2028
Experience

Production Security & Infrastructure Engineer

VIT Chennai (VISTA)

May 2024 – Present

Architected and maintained hardened production infrastructure for VISTA, a capstone project management system serving 1,500+ active users.

Implemented SSH key-only authentication, IP whitelisting, and encrypted communications achieving zero security incidents over 12+ months of live operation.

Built Python-based security automation for real-time threat monitoring, automated backups, and disaster recovery systems.

Maintained 90% uptime through proactive patch management and system hardening.

SSH HardeningInfra SecurityPythonLinuxDR
1,500+Users
90%Uptime
ZeroIncidents

Cybersecurity Intern

Genzeon

Summer 2024

Conducted penetration testing and vulnerability assessments on production web applications, delivering actionable remediation reports.

Configured Azure Sentinel SIEM with custom analytics rules for real-time threat detection across cloud infrastructure.

Improved Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) by implementing a centralized log aggregation strategy across distributed systems.

PentestingAzure SentinelSIEMLog Analysis
25+Findings
~40%MTTD Improv.
Flagship Project

VISTA

Production security ownership of a live 1,500+ user system

VISTA is VIT Chennai's capstone project management platform but treating it as just another academic project misses the point. What matters is that I owned the entire security and infrastructure posture of a live system serving over 1,500 active users for over a year.

This wasn't a lab exercise. Every decision had real consequences: a misconfigured firewall meant students couldn't submit work; a vulnerability meant their data was exposed. That pressure shaped every choice I made.

1,500+Active Users
90%Uptime
0Security Incidents
12+ monthsRun Duration
CTF & Research
DEFCON DCxTCTF 20265th Place
PicoCTF 2025Top 5%
HTB Cyber Apocalypse 2025Top 15%
DawgCTF 202684th Place
Research

Secure IoT Initialization and Encryption Framework Using Acoustic Signals and Criticality-Based Optimization

16th ICCCNT 2025·Accepted / Pending Publication
Live Stats

Live stats will appear once THM/HTB profile IDs are configured.

Skills
$security/
Penetration TestingDigital ForensicsIncident ResponseVulnerability AssessmentSIEM (Azure Sentinel)SSH HardeningAccess Control
$infrastructure/
Linux AdministrationLog AnalysisPatch ManagementDisaster RecoveryAutomated BackupsIP WhitelistingEncrypted Comms
$programming/
PythonBashC/C++JavaRustTypeScript
$tools/
WiresharkNmapBurp SuiteMetasploitGDBBinary NinjaGitKali Linux
Available DFIR / SOC / Security Engineering

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