Cyber Security Lead | Defensive Security Specialist | Blue Team Ops | Enhancing Security Maturity through Governance & Technology

George
Giorgakis.

Cybersecurity professional with over 7 years of hands-on experience across multiple domains of Cyber Security, currently serving as a Cyber Security Lead. Previously led the Deployment & Infrastructure Security Team, developing deep expertise in both offensive (Red Team) and defensive (Blue Team) operations — spanning Vulnerability Assessment, Penetration Testing, Threat Detection, and Security Hardening. Skilled in ISO 27001, NIST, CIS Benchmarks compliance, aligning cybersecurity with business objectives to achieve resilience. MSc Information Technology · University of Sunderland.

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7+ Years in Cyber
9 Roles Held
15+ Certifications
PCI L1 Compliance Lead
George Giorgakis
Open to advisory
01

Experience

Cyber Security Lead
finera. · Limassol, Cyprus · On-site
Jul 2025 – Present

Leading security strategy and infrastructure at a PCI DSS Level 1 payment orchestration platform. Driving compliance across PCI DSS v4.x, managing AWS cloud security, Cloudflare WAF hardening, EDR deployment, and SIEM operations via Google SecOps/Chronicle.

PCI DSS v4 AWS Security Cloudflare Check Point Google SecOps Current Role
Cyber Security Analyst
CYNET - CSIRT · Cyprus · Hybrid
Feb 2025 – Jul 2025 · 6 mos

Cyber Security Analyst at the Academic Computer Incident Response Team. Responsible for incident handling, threat intelligence sharing, and supporting EU-funded cybersecurity projects including NG-SOC and Cyberunity.

Incident Response Threat Intelligence CSIRT EU Projects
Cyber Security Consultant
Deloitte · Nicosia, Cyprus · Hybrid
Oct 2024 – Jan 2025 · 4 mos

IT audits, ISO 27001 assessments, and DORA compliance advisory for financial sector clients.

IT Audit ISO 27001 DORA
Team Leader, Software Deployment & Infra. Security
Confidential · Hybrid
Aug 2022 – Jun 2024 · 1 yr 11 mos

Led a team responsible for software deployment and infrastructure security. Also held Red Team Specialist role within the same organisation (May–Aug 2022).

Team Leadership Network Security Red Team Infra. Security
Cyber Security Incident Responder
Office of the Commissioner of Communications · Contract
Jun 2021 – May 2022 · 1 yr

Incident handling and response, penetration testing for government communications regulatory body.

Incident Response Penetration Testing Government
Cyber Security Engineer
Odyssey CS · Nicosia District, Cyprus
Oct 2018 – Jun 2021 · 2 yrs 9 mos

Security engineering at a Check Point reseller — pre-sales, implementation, PoCs, and customer support escalation. Built deep expertise in Check Point stack.

Check Point Security Engineering Pre-Sales
Biomedical Field Service Engineer
Elincou Diagnostics Ltd
Feb 2013 – Sep 2018 · 5 yrs 8 mos

Field service and technical support for biomedical diagnostic equipment before transitioning into cybersecurity.

Field Engineering Technical Support
02

Certifications

☁️
AWS Cloud Practitioner Essential
Amazon Web Services
✓ Issued Feb 2026
🔒
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 – Information Security Management System
rigcert.education
✓ Active
🎯
MITRE ATT&CK – Cyber Ranges
CYBER RANGES
✓ Issued Oct 2022
🔴
Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA R80)
Check Point Software Technologies
Credly Verified
🔴
Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE R80)
Check Point Software Technologies
Credly Verified
☁️
Technical Specialist – CloudGuard Pre-Sales
Check Point Software Technologies
✓ Issued Mar 2021
⚔️
Cyber Park Warrior – Mission Clinical IOT Escape Room
Check Point Software Technologies
✓ Issued Jan 2021
🪟
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
Microsoft
✓ Issued Sep 2020
🪟
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Microsoft
Credly Verified
🔌
API Penetration Testing (12 hours)
APIsec University
✓ Issued Mar 2023
🔌
APISEC|CON FEB 2026 – Certificate of Attendance
APIsec University
✓ Issued Feb 2026
🎯
Foundations of Breach & Attack Simulation
AttackIQ
✓ Issued Jan 2021
🎯
Foundations of Operationalizing MITRE ATT&CK
AttackIQ
✓ Issued Jan 2021
🌐
Cisco Certified Specialist – Email Content Security
Cisco
Credly Verified
🌐
Introduction to Cybersecurity
Cisco Networking Academy
✓ Issued May 2020
03

Skills

Security Operations
Red Team Blue Team Incident Response Threat Intelligence Penetration Testing Vulnerability Assessment MITRE ATT&CK SIEM
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS Security Microsoft Azure Google Workspace Network Security EDR FIM PKI / TLS Endpoint Security Mobile Device Management Nginx Linux Windows Server Cisco Technologies
Vendor Stack
Check Point NGFW Check Point Harmony Check Point SASE CloudGuard Cloudflare WAF Cloudflare DDoS Cloudflare Rate Limiting Splunk SIEM ClearSkies SIEM Google SecOps / Chronicle McAfee Email Gateway Cisco Email Gateway Barracuda Check Point Email Security pfSense Ubiquiti TP-Link Cisco Meraki Nessus Kandji MDM
Compliance & Governance
PCI DSS v4 ISO 27001 ISO 27000 ISO 27001 Lead Auditor NIST CSF DORA CIS Benchmarks IT Audit Risk Assessment IT Security Policies & Procedures Information Security Policy Hardening
Tools & Platforms
Jira Confluence AWS KMS AWS Config CloudTrail VPC Flow Logs API Security BAS
Leadership & Soft Skills
Team Leadership Documentation-First Stakeholder Mgmt Security Awareness Problem Solving Mentoring
04

Education

MSc Information Technology Application Development
University of Sunderland, UK
2010 – 2011
Grade: Merit
CISCO CCNA – Networking
University of Nicosia
2009
BA Applied Science – Multimedia
University of Nicosia
2005 – 2009
BA Applied Multimedia
05

Projects & Volunteering

EU Funded
NG-SOC
CYNET - CSIRT · May 2025 – Present

Next Generation Security Operations Centres — an EU project funded by the Digital Europe Programme. Contributing to the design and implementation of next-gen SOC capabilities across Cyprus.

▸ Active
Conference · Speaker/Attendee
GÉANT Security Days 2025
CYNET - CSIRT Representative · Prague, CZ · Apr 8–10 2025

Represented Cyprus CYNET-CSIRT at GÉANT Security Days 2025 in Prague — a premier European cybersecurity event for the NREN community. Sessions focused on security information sharing, collaborative incident response, and trust-building across national research and education networks.

#SecurityDays #GÉANT #NRENCommunity #CynetCSIRT
▸ Apr 2025 · Prague, Czech Republic
EU Funded
Cyberunity
CYNET - CSIRT · Mar 2025 – Present

Community for Integrating and Opening Cyber Range Infrastructures that Build an Interoperable and Federated Cyber Range Ecosystem.

▸ Active
Volunteering
Cybersecurity in Schools
Lecturer · Mar 2025 – Present

Voluntary cybersecurity awareness training delivered to elementary school students across Cyprus. Teaching foundational digital safety — safe browsing, responsible digital behaviour, and online threat awareness — to the next generation.

▸ FEATURED POST · 695 IMPRESSIONS

"Ακόμη μία υπέροχη στάση στο ταξίδι της κυβερνοασφάλειας! Στη Δ' τάξη του Δημοτικού Σχολείου Πέρα Χωρίου Νήσου — μιλήσαμε για ασφαλή σερφάρισμα και υπεύθυνη ψηφιακή συμπεριφορά."

#CyberSecurity #SecurityAwareness #StaySafeOnline #CYNET-CSIRT
▸ 1 yr 3 mos · Education
06

Recommendation

"I am pleased to endorse George for his outstanding leadership and exceptional team management skills. Working under his guidance has been a remarkable experience. George possesses an unparalleled ability to inspire and motivate the team, driving us to achieve our goals with a clear vision and unwavering support."

KN
Kyriakos Naziris
Senior Infrastructure & Security Engineer · June 2024

"George is a highly dedicated and knowledgeable cybersecurity professional. His deep understanding of security architecture, compliance frameworks, and threat mitigation strategies makes him an invaluable asset to any team. His ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable business strategies is truly impressive."

NS
Nikos Georgopoulos
Greece's Digital Risk & Cyber Insurance Architect

"George brings a rare combination of hands-on technical skill and strategic thinking to everything he does. Whether leading incident response, architecting security controls, or driving compliance programmes, he operates with precision and calm under pressure. A genuine force-multiplier for any security team."

CP
Colleague — Peer Review
Cybersecurity Professional · Cyprus
07

Languages

🇬🇧 English
🇬🇷 Greek
08

Contact

Let's build something secure.

Open to advisory, consulting, and collaboration opportunities in cybersecurity, cloud security architecture, and compliance programmes.

linkedin.com/in/georgegiorgakis
🏅
Credly Badge Portfolio
github.com/geomix7
Email