Aziz Khawaja
Frisco,TX
Summary
Experienced cybersecurity leader with a strong background in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), specializing in aligning security strategies with business objectives. Proven ability to lead risk assessments, manage compliance with regulatory frameworks (including NIST, HIPAA, and HITRUST), and build mature security programs. Adept at cross-functional collaboration, policy development, third-party risk management, and driving continuous improvement in security posture. Currently pursuing CISSP certification to further enhance strategic and technical capabilities.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Lead - Security Operations Engineer
Adtalem Global Education
09.2020 - Current
- Lead and manage the Security Operations team, ensuring continuous security monitoring, incident response, and risk management.
- Develop and implement security strategies to align with business objectives, ensuring protection against evolving cyber threats.
- Implemented and maintained security controls in alignment with industry standards such as NIST, HIPAA, and HITRUST, contributing to enhanced organizational compliance and reduced risk exposure.
- Conducted vulnerability assessments and collaborated with cross-functional teams to remediate findings, improving the organization’s security posture and reducing attack surface.
- Oversee vulnerability management programs, threat hunting activities, and proactive security analytics to enhance organizational security posture.
- Implement and optimize security tools, including Secureworks SIEM, Splunk Cloud, Qualys, Microsoft Defender ATP, Cisco Umbrella, and CrowdStrike Falcon.
- Conduct risk assessments, drive security compliance, and manage third-party vendor security evaluations.
- Establish and enforce security policies, ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements.
- Red Team activities, lab tests, penetration testing, and tabletop exercises.
- Mentor and train security analysts and engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development.
Lead AWS Cloud Security Consultant
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Austin, Texas
02.2020 - 08.2020
- Company Overview: (Contract)
- Designed and implemented AWS cloud security strategies for Texas Health & Human Services.
- Conducted cloud security assessments and audits, identifying vulnerabilities and developing risk mitigation plans.
- Managed AWS security services, including IAM, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, and Security Hub, to enhance threat detection and response capabilities.
- Ensured compliance with HIPAA and HITRUST regulations through policy development and enforcement.
Manager - Enterprise Applications Security & Governance
Cboe Global Markets (CBOE)
Chicago, Illinois
01.2011 - 01.2020
- Directed security governance and compliance efforts for enterprise applications at Cboe, ensuring regulatory adherence and risk mitigation.
- Led enterprise security initiatives, including threat management, incident response, and vulnerability remediation.
- Oversaw secure application development and deployment, integrating security best practices into the SDLC.
- Conducted risk assessments and security audits to enhance the organization's security posture.
- Provided mentorship and strategic guidance to teams on security standards and best practices.
Education
Project Management Certification -
Northwestern University
Chicago, ILBachelor of Science -
Purdue University
Hammond, INSkills
- Vulnerability and Remediation Management
- Security Operations Management
- Incident Response & Threat Intelligence
- Endpoint Detection & Response
- Risk Assessment & Mitigation
- Cloud Security (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Secure CI/CD Pipeline for Code Quality Assurance
- Cloud Infrastructure Security
- Security Compliance & Governance
- Data Analytics & Security Metrics
- Regulatory Compliance: HIPAA, NIST, HITRUST
- Leadership, Mentorship & Training
Highlights
- Proven track record of delivering results in complex and high-stakes cybersecurity environments.
- Manage and lead a Security Operations Center (SOC) team of nice security analysts and engineers, ensuring effective operations, risk assessments, incident response, and vulnerability management.
- Oversee daily SOC activities, including strategic planning, threat intelligence, risk mitigation, compliance monitoring, and security investigations.
- Expertise in vulnerability management, incident response, security monitoring, threat intelligence, governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks.
- Oversee security of cloud platforms such as Google, AWS and Azure.
- Identity management utilizing Microsoft Entra and Okta.
- Hands-on experience deploying and managing security technologies across AWS, GCP, and Azure, including Dell Secureworks (Sophos) SIEM, Splunk Cloud/Enterprise, Qualys, Microsoft Defender ATP, CrowdStrike Falcon, and risk mitigation via SecurityScoreCard and BitSight.
Affiliations
- ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association)
- OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project)
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Cybersecurity Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAMI)
- Information Security Forum (ISF)
Certification
- AWS Certified Security – Specialty (Amazon, June 2020)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (Amazon, June 2020)
- Microsoft Certified Azure Cloud Security Engineer Associate (Microsoft, January 2020)
- ITIL 4 Foundation Certified - IT Service Management (PeopleCert, January 2020)
- CISSP – Certified Information System Security Professional (In progress)
Timeline
Senior Lead - Security Operations Engineer
Adtalem Global Education
09.2020 - Current
Lead AWS Cloud Security Consultant
Deloitte Consulting LLP
02.2020 - 08.2020
Manager - Enterprise Applications Security & Governance
Cboe Global Markets (CBOE)
01.2011 - 01.2020
Project Management Certification -
Northwestern University
Bachelor of Science -
Purdue University
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