Arava Anantha Rao

Before you scroll

security starts with you.
whoever you are.

You don't need to be hacked to be exposed. Most breaches begin with everyday habits — let me show you one.

🔒

⚠ WEAK

Now, let me guess…

Felt familiar? Then you're already vulnerable. And a UPI ID like 9999999999@upi — built on your phone number — means you're leaving your personal information everywhere, with every payment. Breaches rarely start with code. They start with habits.

The strongest firewall in any organisation is an aware human being — an awareness I've delivered to 20,000+ professionals, one conversation at a time.

🎮 Career Quest

every level, earned.

My journey — played like a game. XP gained, quests cleared, next boss level loading.

⭐ Player · A. Anantha Rao 🧭 Class · GRC Specialist ❤️ Streak · 3+ Yrs

Level 01 · Origin Story

Bachelor of Science

2018 — 2021

Maharaja's Autonomous College, Vizianagaram

CGPA 9.02

🏅 First Class with Distinction

Level 02 · Skill Tree Unlocked

Master of Computer Applications

2021 — 2023

Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam

CGPA 8.84

🏅 First Class with Distinction

Level 03 · Main Quest — Completed

Information Security Manager · GRC

Sep 2023 — Oct 2026

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hyderabad · Corporate Security

✓Owned the information security GRC program for a global business group — 75+ client accounts

✓Maintained the risk register — risk assessments, treatment plans & mitigation to closure

✓Translated client MSA obligations into Security Controls Identification (SCI)

✓Reviewed 500+ RFCs, change requests & POCs against ISO 27001 & NIST CSF

✓Monthly security scorecards & KPI/KRI decks for security committee meetings

✓Led audit readiness & SOC 2 evidence mapping — zero repeat findings

✓Access governance — compliance profiles, RBAC, least privilege, SoD

✓TPRM, vendor risk, RFP/RFI & GenAI risk assessments with Legal & Privacy

✓Incident analysis & RCA, firewall rule & VA exception reviews

✓Reassessed physical security across 6 Hyderabad campuses

✓Designed a cross-audit program, SOPs & baseline controls for HR, Admin & IT

✓Cut compliance reporting effort 30% with Copilot agents · L2 support & backup to team lead

🔒

Boss Level · Loading...

Chief Information Security Officer

The Goal

XP 38%

Grinding XP: leadership · strategy · certifications · scale. Every audit, every campaign, every risk call — one step closer.

🏆 Achievements Unlocked

🎖️Achievement Unlocked

Star Performer & Special Initiative

2024 & 2025 · back-to-back awards from the TCS CISO

🔍 View Certificates

⚡Achievement Unlocked

tcsAI ACCESS.AI SPARK

2026 · innovation at the TCS ACCESS.AI Hackathon

🔍 View Certificate

🛡️Achievement Unlocked

Zero Repeat Audit Findings

sustained across internal & external audit cycles for a 75+ account portfolio

🤖Achievement Unlocked

30% Less Manual Reporting

automated compliance reporting & leadership decks with Microsoft Copilot agents

Domains of practice

what i bring to the table

Nine domains of governance, risk & compliance I own end-to-end — straight from my day-to-day.

🏛️

DOMAIN 01

Governance & Compliance

ISO 27001:2022NIST CSFNIST RMFSOC 2CIS BenchmarksCISO / Leadership DecksSOP DesignSecurity Awareness

🎯

DOMAIN 02

Risk Management

Risk RegisterRisk AssessmentRisk TreatmentTPRMVendor RiskKRI & MetricsGenAI Risk

🔎

DOMAIN 03

Audit & Assurance

Audit ReadinessControl WalkthroughsEvidence ValidationGap AssessmentNC ClosureCross-Audit

⚖️

DOMAIN 04

Regulatory & Privacy

GDPRHIPAAPCI DSSDPDP ActData Protection

📋

DOMAIN 05

Client & Contractual Governance

MSA → SCISecurity ScorecardsRFC GovernanceRFP / RFICompliance Profiles

🔐

DOMAIN 06

ITGC & Access Management

Access ReviewsRBACLeast PrivilegeSegregation of Duties

🚨

DOMAIN 07

Security Operations

Incident MgmtRCAVA Exception ReviewsChange MgmtHardening (CIS)

🌐

DOMAIN 08

Information Security (Network, Cloud)

Network SecurityFirewall Rule ReviewsAzure SecurityAZ-500Shared ResponsibilityCloud Control Assessment

🏢

DOMAIN 09

Physical Security

Site Security Controls6-Campus ReassessmentPhysical Spot ChecksBuilding HOTO ReadinessAsset Security

Verified credentials

certified. proven.

Tap any credential to view the certificate.

2025

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor

TÜV SÜD

2026

ISO/IEC 27701:2025 Lead Auditor

Mastermind · Certificate of Competency

2025

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)

CompTIA

2025

Azure Security Engineer Associate

Microsoft · AZ-500

2026

Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional

Microsoft · Jul 2026

2024

Security, Compliance & Identity

Microsoft · SC-900

2024

Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft · AI-900

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Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft · AZ-900

2026

DPDP Act 2023 — Certified · 93%

Digital Personal Data Protection

security starts with you.
whoever you are.

are you secaware
as an individual?

every level, earned.

what i bring to the table

Governance & Compliance

Risk Management

Audit & Assurance

Regulatory & Privacy

Client & Contractual Governance

ITGC & Access Management

Security Operations

Information Security (Network, Cloud)

Physical Security

certified. proven.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor

ISO/IEC 27701:2025 Lead Auditor

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)

Azure Security Engineer Associate

Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional

Security, Compliance & Identity

Azure AI Fundamentals

Azure Fundamentals

DPDP Act 2023 — Certified · 93%

let's build something
secure together.

Are you SecAware?

security starts with you.whoever you are.

are you secawareas an individual?

every level, earned.

what i bring to the table

Governance & Compliance

Risk Management

Audit & Assurance

Regulatory & Privacy

Client & Contractual Governance

ITGC & Access Management

Security Operations

Information Security (Network, Cloud)

Physical Security

certified. proven.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor

ISO/IEC 27701:2025 Lead Auditor

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)

Azure Security Engineer Associate

Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional

Security, Compliance & Identity

Azure AI Fundamentals

Azure Fundamentals

DPDP Act 2023 — Certified · 93%

let's build somethingsecure together.

Are you SecAware?

security starts with you.
whoever you are.

are you secaware
as an individual?

let's build something
secure together.