Nikita Balakin

Tier 2 SOC / Cybersecurity Analyst with nearly 4 years of hands-on experience in customer-facing SOC environments serving clients in Israel and abroad. Strong in security investigations, SIEM/XDR operations, phishing campaign analysis, malware triage, detection tuning, and ATT&CK-informed detection logic creation and tuning. Practical background includes threat intelligence enrichment, OSINT, SIEM-based threat hunting, initial IR support, case documentation and escalation.

Seeking a proactive, hands-on technical cybersecurity role focused on threat hunting, adversary behavior analysis, detection improvement and practical investigation workflows.

SOC Analyst Tier 2 - Israel Water Authority

(2024-12 - 2026-04)

Sectoral SOC (WSOC)

• Investigated cybersecurity incidents and escalated alerts, including targeted phishing, suspicious files, malware-related alerts, and abnormal security activity.
• Analyzed logs and telemetry from endpoints, security products, IT systems, and OT-related devices.
• Created and tuned SIEM correlation rules to improve detection quality, reduce false positives, and support more effective incident handling.
• Mapped detection logic and observed behaviors to MITRE ATT&CK techniques where relevant; performed SIEM-based threat hunting using indicators, anomalies, and threat intelligence enrichment.
• Analyzed CVEs and customer product exposure, prepared technical alerts/advisories, and supported patching or hardening recommendations.
• Supported initial incident response by reviewing evidence, confirming or dismissing suspected incidents, documenting findings, and recommending next actions.

SOC Analyst Tier 1 - Israel National Digital Agency

(2023-11 - 2024-12)

Government SOC (GSOC)

• Handled and investigated security alerts in SIEM and XDR platforms, including phishing investigations; documented findings and escalated cases requiring deeper analysis.
• Monitored customer assets using threat intelligence platforms, keywords, IP addresses, and other indicators.
• Assisted Tier 2 and integration teams with field parsing, SIEM rule creation, and rule tuning.
• Prepared weekly threat intelligence and cybersecurity reports covering vulnerabilities, data leaks, and major cyber incidents.

Junior SOC Analyst - Dell Technologies

(2022-09 - 2023-09)

MSSP SOC serving customers in Israel and abroad

• Performed first-line monitoring and triage of security alerts in SIEM and XDR platforms.
• Used threat intelligence sources and OSINT tools to validate suspicious activity, enrich findings, document incidents, classify results, and escalate cases when required.

Bachelor of Laws - Laws - Foreign academic institution (2012 - 2016)