Tasha Sumo

Senior Data Analyst ➡️ Cybersecurity. Atmospheric Sciences background. ISC2 CC certified. Documenting the pivot @ DataSec Chronicles. New blog posts Mon & Fri📊🌐

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

👋🏽 Hi, I'm Tasha.

As an atmospheric scientist, I spent years reading storm data for anomalies. Now I hunt them in network traffic.

Same instinct, different domain. 📊

By day, I'm a Senior Data Analyst living in SQL, Python, and dashboards. I founded DataSec Chronicles to document my pivot into cybersecurity — the real learning journey. The wins, technical hurdles, and study strategies, from earning my ISC2 CC ✅ to working toward SC-900 and Security+.

DataSec Chronicles is the story. DataSec Labs is where I put it into practice — interactive challenges and hands-on projects you can actually try.

I've been online since dial-up screamed at you before letting you in and Y2K was going to end the world. 😂 The interwebs raised me; now I'm learning to defend them.

Whether you're a data nerd, a cyber practitioner, a fellow career-changer, or just someone who appreciates good data hygiene and a warm cup of chai, welcome to my corner of the interwebs.

What to expect:

🔍 Data & cyber insights — complex concepts made simple
📚 The pivot journey — study tips, resource reviews, and what I'm learning
🌱 Community — a space to learn out loud and grow together

Drop a comment introducing yourself, what you're working on, or what brought you into tech 👇🏽

💜 https://t.co/jlp1YMuFrC

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@Polymarket This story 👀

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

📖 The Security Dictionary: PLAYBOOK

Monday we talked about SOAR — how security teams connect tools, automate repetitive tasks, and coordinate responses.

But how do analysts know what steps to follow when investigating a security alert?

That's where playbooks come in.

→ Plain English: A playbook is a documented set of steps that guides security analysts through investigating and responding to specific security situations.

→ Think of it like: A response checklist. Instead of figuring out what to do from scratch every time, analysts have a structured process to follow while still using their judgment.

→ Example: An analyst receives an alert about suspicious login activity. A playbook might guide them to review authentication logs, check the source IP, look for related activity, document findings, and escalate if necessary.

→ Why I'm learning it: Coming from data analytics, I'm familiar with documented procedures and repeatable workflows. I'm learning how those same principles apply in a SOC, where consistency, communication, and timely decisions matter.

And here's the connection to SOAR: Playbooks define the steps, while SOAR platforms can automate parts of those workflows.

The more I learn about security operations, the more I see how important having a process is, not just knowing which tools to use. 💜

#Cybersecurity #TheSecurityDictionary #LearnWithMe

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@notthatbadguy Aww, you shouldn't 😊

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

1987 was a pretty good year. 😉💜

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

I'm at 1,969 followers, and my follower count is creeping toward the year I was born. 😂

Now I kind of want to catch that exact number for a screenshot. 😅

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@0xGodsthrone Thank you!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

I'm at 1,969 followers, and my follower count is creeping toward the year I was born. 😂

Now I kind of want to catch that exact number for a screenshot. 😅

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

Follow the build: https://t.co/4cbQLgxunQ

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

Day 2 of my SOC Home Lab!

Built a Python parser and extracted 2,843 Windows Security events from a public attack-simulation dataset.

Found 7 failed logons across 7 accounts in 12 milliseconds.

So far: no source IP in those events, no lockouts observed, and some successful logons preceded the failures.

Day 3: Moving to TimescaleDB to correlate events and investigate what happened.

Suspicious patterns are clues, not conclusions.

Full write-up Friday! 💜

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@DerekNyeX Connected!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@DerekNyeX Hello

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@GauravAtavale Hi! Let's connect!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@CyberGuyVick Congrats 🎉🎉

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@datawithsarah1 Thank you 😊

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@mscode07 Don't leave!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@vltg__ Nice to meet you too!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

Was I going to see #AvengersDoomsday? Absolutely. 😂

Now the tickets are officially SECURED!!! 🎟️💜

December can't come fast enough!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@Mannu0100l Hello!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@EchoToolsPro I can definitely see that. I think the challenge will be making sure automated triage actually reduces the workload without introducing new problems. That was one of the points from today's webinar that stuck with me. Automation still needs oversight and validation.

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

Just attended the SANS webinar, “The SOC Analyst in the Age of AI,” with John Hubbard.

This was one of those sessions where I kept connecting what I was hearing to my own experience as a Senior Data Analyst.

A few takeaways that really stuck with me. 🧵💜

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@EchoToolsPro Very true! That's where I imagine prioritization and knowing what deserves a deeper investigation become especially important. It's one thing to recognize patterns, but another to sort through the noise when there are so many alerts competing for attention.

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@builtwithrubel Nice! Congrats!

[Tasha Sumo @DataSecChron]

@EchoToolsPro Exactly! That's something I'm keeping in mind as I transition. I know the pace and priorities will be different, but I think the more familiar I become with security events and what to look for, the more efficiently I'll be able to investigate.