Security Researcher & Engineer

Viknesh
Pathmarajah_

MS Information Security @ Carnegie Mellon University

Cybersecurity engineer specializing in digital forensics, network security, and deception-based defense systems. University Rank 1 graduate with a filed patent and hands-on experience building real-world security infrastructure.

CompTIA Security+ CEH v12 GPA 4.0 / 4.0 VIT University Rank 1 5 Patents Filed

By the Numbers

4.0
CMU GPA
#1
VIT University Rank
5
Patents Filed
3+
Certifications
33%
SOC Workload Reduction

Academic Background

Carnegie Mellon University
Master of Science in Information Security
Pittsburgh, PA  ·  Aug 2025 – Dec 2026
GPA 4.0 / 4.0
Computer Systems Information Security Network Security Host-based Forensics
Vellore Institute of Technology
B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering
Chennai, India  ·  Sep 2021 – Jun 2025  ·  Specialization: Cyber Physical Systems
GPA 9.54 / 10
★ University Rank 1
Cryptography Computer Networks Software Engineering Operating Systems

Experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA  ·  On-site
Jan 2026 – Present
  • Instructed 60 graduate students as TA for Fundamentals of Telecommunication Networks (14-740), delivering weekly guidance on OSI model, TCP/IP stack, and routing protocols (BGP, OSPF)
  • Facilitated hands-on Wireshark labs for 20+ students, delivering targeted feedback on packet structure, protocol analysis, and real-world traffic interpretation
TCP/IPWiresharkBGP/OSPFNetwork Security
Section Leader
Code in Place (Stanford)
Remote
Apr 2025 – May 2025  ·  May 2024 – Jun 2024
  • Taught foundational programming concepts using Python to a diverse group of international students across two cohorts
PythonTeaching
Campus Ambassador
Cisco
Chennai, India  ·  Hybrid
Aug 2023 – Jun 2024
  • Represented Cisco on campus, promoting networking and cybersecurity initiatives across student communities for 11 months
NetworkingCybersecurity Advocacy
University Teaching Assistant (DBMS)
VIT Chennai
Chennai, India  ·  On-site
Feb 2024 – May 2024
  • Assisted in teaching Database Management Systems, supporting students through coursework and lab sessions
DBMSSQLTeaching
Software Engineer & IoT Developer Intern
Tunga Aerospace Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Chennai, India  ·  On-site
Oct 2023 – Nov 2023
  • Developed software and IoT solutions, working with JavaScript and Python across embedded and web-facing systems
JavaScriptPythonIoT
SOC Analyst Intern
AGS Health
Chennai, India  ·  On-site
Aug 2023 – Sep 2023
  • Led phishing investigations, alert triage, and incident response; executed automated firewall rule checks and participated in BCP tabletop exercises, reducing manual analyst workload by 33%
  • Identified 2 medium-risk vulnerabilities in an internal mobile app using SAST techniques and provided remediation recommendations
  • Conducted HIPAA compliance audits and endpoint analyses, enforcing access controls across systems
Phishing AnalysisSASTHIPAAVulnerability AssessmentAlert Triage

Projects

🔍
Windows Search Indexer Forensic Analysis
Feb 2026 – Present
Comparative forensic investigation of Windows 10 vs 11 Search Indexer behaviors. Recovered deleted artifacts via Physical String Extraction, Temporal Metadata Carving, and WAL/USN Journal analysis.
Digital ForensicsSQLitePowerShellFILETIME
🤖
LLM-Assisted Network Security System
Feb 2026 – Present
LLM-based triage framework ingesting Suricata/Zeek telemetry. Correlates network data with social media-based C2 channels and generates prioritized verdicts with visual dashboards to reduce analyst alert fatigue.
LLMSuricataZeekSOC Automation
🍯
Auto-Reactive Deception Honeynet
Sep 2025 – Dec 2025
Multi-tier honeynet with a Python-based Deception Engine using Ansible to auto-respond to honeytoken triggers. Centralized TTP logging pipeline mapped to MITRE ATT&CK and D3FEND frameworks.
HoneypotAnsibleiptablesMITRE ATT&CKrsyslog
🚂
Multi-Agent System for Railway Track Inspection
Jan 2025 – Apr 2025
Led a team of 3 to engineer a multi-agent rover system for autonomous railway inspection. Built a real-time YOLO-based computer vision pipeline for crack detection with MQTT protocols for inter-rover communication.
Multi-AgentYOLOMQTTComputer VisionVIT
🌊
Marine IoT Platform for Climate & Weather Analytics
CMU 14-767 · 2025–2026
Designed a low-power ocean buoy network (50 nodes, 25 km²) for real-time marine weather data collection. Used LoRaWAN with aggressive energy management — solar charging, hardware-level power gating, and 2-hour duty cycling — to achieve a 2+ year target lifespan, feeding data into storm prediction models via a satellite backhaul.
LoRaWANIoTCoAP/UDPArduinoPower ManagementCMU
🦾
HI-RORA: Human Imitation Remote Operated Robotic Arm
VIT Chennai · Research
Designed and built a teleoperated robotic arm with integrated haptic feedback for high-risk environments (nuclear, surgical, space). The system emulates human hand movements using flex sensors and servo motors, giving operators real-time tactile sensation for precision control.
RoboticsHaptic FeedbackTeleoperationServo MotorsEmbedded Systems
🚁
Aerial Wi-Fi Recon: Drone-Based Network Mapping
VIT Chennai · Research
Built a drone-mounted Raspberry Pi system for aerial wardriving and Wi-Fi security assessment. Used signal strength-based path planning for 3D trilateration of access points, with automated host discovery and banner grabbing to identify network services and vulnerabilities at altitude.
Drone SecurityRaspberry PiWardrivingNetwork ReconBanner GrabbingGPS

Patents 5 published

App. No. 202541075300  ·  Indian Patent Office  ·  Filed Aug 7, 2025
● Published
System and Method for Mitigating Cyber Attack
Invented an automated cyber attack mitigation framework leveraging Double Deep Q-Networks (DDQN) to automate responses in high-interaction honeypot and production environments, keeping attackers engaged to collect TTPs and bolster defenses.
DDQN Reinforcement Learning Honeypot TTP Collection
App. No. 202541045119  ·  Indian Patent Office  ·  Filed May 9, 2025
● Published
System and Method for Navigation Assistance
Developed a navigation assistance system aimed at visually impaired individuals, providing contextual route guidance and environmental awareness to improve safe and independent navigation.
Assistive Technology Navigation Accessibility
App. No. 202541037741  ·  Indian Patent Office  ·  Filed Apr 18, 2025
● Published
System for Portable Water Containers for Hydration Management
Introduces a smart hydration management system using sensor-enabled containers to monitor and optimize water consumption.
IoT Sensors Health Tech
App. No. 202541003201  ·  Indian Patent Office  ·  Filed Jan 14, 2025
● Published
Device to Convert Wireless Communication Signals into Electrical Energy and Method Thereof
Presents a device for harvesting ambient wireless signals and converting them into usable electrical energy for low-power systems.
Energy Harvesting RF Systems Low-Power
App. No. 202441044502  ·  Indian Patent Office  ·  Filed Jun 8, 2024
● Published
A Smart Travel Assistance System Enabling Users for Cashless Commute, and Method Thereof
Proposes a system enabling seamless cashless commuting using digital authentication and automated travel assistance features.
Fintech Digital Auth Smart Transit

Skills & Certifications

Languages
Python (Advanced) C SQL C++ Java Bash
Security Operations
Vulnerability Management Nessus Phishing Analysis HIPAA Compliance Alert Triage Tabletop Exercises
Digital Forensics
Sleuth Kit (TSK) Autopsy Volatility DB Browser SQLite Timeline Analysis Artifact Recovery
Tools & Platforms
Wireshark Nmap Splunk (SIEM) Snort Sguil/Squert Network Miner Linux/Unix
Automation
Ansible Python Scripting Bash Scripting rsyslog systemd
🛡️
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA
⚔️
CEH v12
EC-Council
🔐
Google Cybersecurity
Google

Get in Touch