OCTAVIA AVILA-JOHNSON
Atlanta,GA
Summary
Cyber Threat Intelligence Engineer with 5+ years of experience investigating adversary behavior, supporting incident response, and identifying risks across enterprise environments. Focused on understanding how emerging technologies—especially AI tools—are used, misused, and potentially exploited. Experienced in analyzing real-world activity, building behavioral context, and translating findings into clear, actionable insights.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Cyber Threat Intelligence Engineer
Worldpay
03.2025 - Current
- Monitor global threat activity, including risks to enterprise systems and emerging AI usage
- Track adversary infrastructure, tooling, and TTPs to identify relevant threats
- Produce intelligence reporting for technical teams and leadership
- Support vulnerability and incident response efforts with threat context and indicator enrichment
- Conduct research into attacker behavior including reconnaissance and data exfiltration techniques
- Utilize CrowdStrike, ThreatQ, Recorded Future, and SpyCloud for threat tracking
- Led analysis of AI-related activity across endpoints, identifying patterns and anomalies
- Contributed to early AI detection and governance discussions around misuse and data exposure risks
IT Security Engineer
State of Georgia – Secretary of State
06.2024 - 03.2025
- Spearheaded the implementation of a full-scale security program, establishing policies and controls for robust system protection.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams, including IT operations, legal, and compliance, to achieve security objectives.
- Participated in contingency planning and disaster recovery exercises to ensure readiness for potential emergencies or cyber incidents.
- Led incident response efforts, conducting forensic analysis and investigations to mitigate security breaches.
- Developed disaster recovery and contingency plans to ensure resilience in the face of cyber threats.
- Managed vulnerability assessments and remediation strategies using tools such as Tenable and Cortex XDR.
IT Security Analyst
Suncoast Credit Union
04.2022 - 06.2024
- Managed endpoint security and enforced compliance across the organization's infrastructure.
- Acted as second-tier support for identity management, firewall management, and intrusion detection, resolving complex security incidents.
- Monitored security events via SIEM tools, triaged escalated incidents, and implemented remediation actions.
- Collaborated with internal teams to review and enhance security protocols and ensure compliance with industry standards.
Education
M.S. - Cybersecurity
Georgia Institute of Technology
05-2027
B.S. - Information Security
University of South Florida
05-2022
A.S. - Computer Science
Hillsborough Community College
08-2019
Skills
- Threat Intelligence: Recorded Future, ThreatQ, SpyCloud, OSINT
- Detection & Endpoint: CrowdStrike, Cortex XDR, Deep Instinct, Armis
- Security Platforms: Palo Alto, ForeScout
- Vulnerability: Tenable, Pentera
- Cloud: Microsoft 365, Azure, Cloudflare
Certification
CompTIA Security+ Certified
Timeline
Cyber Threat Intelligence Engineer
Worldpay
03.2025 - Current
IT Security Engineer
State of Georgia – Secretary of State
06.2024 - 03.2025
IT Security Analyst
Suncoast Credit Union
04.2022 - 06.2024
M.S. - Cybersecurity
Georgia Institute of Technology
B.S. - Information Security
University of South Florida
A.S. - Computer Science
Hillsborough Community College