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Talia Atherton

Contractor

Cybersecurity Consultant (CONTRACTOR)

Brisbane · Brisbane, QLD · talia.atherton@data3.com.au

Microsoft Sentinel SOC Specialist & IRAP-aware Cybersecurity Consultant

DefenceEnergyGovernmentMining & Resources

About

Talia Atherton is an experienced Cybersecurity Consultant specialising in Microsoft Sentinel SOC builds, analytics rule development, and security operations tuning. With 15 years in the industry, she has delivered IRAP-aligned solutions for defence and resources sector clients. Talia operates as an independent contractor through her own Pty Ltd and is currently engaged long-term with Data#3.

Experience

  1. 2022-03 — Present
    Current
    Cybersecurity Consultant (CONTRACTOR)
    Data#3 (via Atherton Cyber Pty Ltd)

    Long-term contractor engaged to design, build and optimise Microsoft Sentinel SOC environments for government and critical infrastructure clients.

    • Led multiple Sentinel deployments aligned to IRAP and Essential Eight requirements
    • Developed and tuned over 150 analytics rules resulting in 40% reduction in false positives
    • Implemented automated response playbooks using Logic Apps and Azure Functions
  2. 2018-07 — 2022-02
    Senior Security Operations Engineer
    SecureNet MSP

    Delivered managed security services focusing on next-generation firewalls and SIEM platforms for mid-to-large enterprise clients.

    • Managed Palo Alto and Fortinet deployments for 20+ clients across mining and energy sectors
    • Designed and maintained 24x7 SOC monitoring infrastructure
    • Conducted regular IRAP gap assessments and remediation planning
  3. 2015-02 — 2018-06
    Cyber Security Analyst
    Department of Defence

    Worked within the Australian Defence cyber security team protecting classified networks and responding to advanced persistent threats.

    • Conducted incident response for multiple high-priority events
    • Developed threat hunting playbooks adopted across the organisation
    • Contributed to the implementation of defence-grade security monitoring platforms
  4. 2010-01 — 2015-01
    Cyber Risk Consultant
    PwC Australia

    Provided cybersecurity advisory services to large corporate and government clients with a focus on risk assessment and control implementation.

    • Conducted security architecture reviews for major mining clients
    • Delivered ISO 27001 and ISM compliance programs
    • Led penetration testing and vulnerability management initiatives

Projects

  1. Defence Sector SOC Optimisation
    2023-11 — 2024-06
    Australian Submarine Agency · Defence · as Incident Response & Tuning Consultant

    Tuned detection rules resulting in 38% reduction in analyst workload; developed 12 automated SOAR playbooks adopted as standard across the agency.

    Microsoft SentinelAzure ADMicrosoft Defender XDRKQLJupyter Notebooks
  2. Sentinel SOC Transformation
    2023-06 — 2024-02
    Fortescue Metals Group · Mining & Resources · as Lead Sentinel Architect

    Designed and deployed enterprise Sentinel SOC; reduced mean time to detect by 65% and false positive rate by 52% across 12,000 endpoints.

    Microsoft SentinelAzure MonitorKQLLogic AppsAzure ADPower BI
  3. IRAP-Aligned Sentinel Deployment
    2022-09 — 2023-05
    Department of Defence · Defence · as Security Consultant

    Successfully delivered protected Sentinel environment meeting IRAP and PSPF requirements; enabled unified visibility across 4 classified domains.

    Microsoft SentinelAzure LighthouseAzure PolicyDefender for CloudKusto
  4. Next-Gen SIEM Migration & Tuning
    2022-03 — 2022-08
    BHP Resources · Mining & Resources · as Analytics Rule Specialist

    Migrated legacy SIEM to Sentinel with zero operational downtime; created 85+ custom analytics rules that improved threat detection accuracy by 47%.

    Microsoft SentinelPalo Alto Cortex XSOARFortinet FortiSIEMAzure Data Explorer
  5. Multi-Tenant Sentinel Design
    2021-10 — 2022-02
    Rio Tinto · Mining & Resources · as Principal Security Consultant

    Architected multi-tenant Sentinel solution supporting 8 business units; achieved 99.7% uptime and streamlined compliance reporting for OT and IT environments.

    Microsoft SentinelAzure RBACFortinet FortiGatePalo Alto Prisma CloudLogic Apps
  6. Threat Analytics Rule Development Program
    2024-03 — —
    Queensland Government · Government · as Analytics & Detection Engineering Lead

    Developed and deployed a library of 120 production-grade detection rules; reduced average incident response time from 4.2 hours to 1.1 hours.

    KQLMicrosoft SentinelAzure DevOpsGitHub ActionsMicrosoft Threat Intelligence