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ShabbirAli Khanushiya
ShabbirAli Khanushiya

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My DevSecOps Journey: Blending Security, Automation & Passion

Every career starts with a spark — and mine began in 2014, right after completing my Bachelor’s degree.

During my summer vacation, some of my friends joined a cybersecurity and ethical hacking internship at TechDefence, Ahmedabad. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to join them too.

Within a few days, everything changed.

Learning hacking techniques, understanding how systems break, exploring networks — it all felt exciting, powerful, and meaningful.
That moment I said to myself:

“Yeh toh mast hai! This is what I want to do.”

And that was the start of my long journey into cybersecurity… and eventually, DevSecOps.

🎓 The Academic Gap — And a Necessary Detour

Back in 2014, cybersecurity courses were rare. No universities around me offered proper programs.
So, following what most friends chose, I joined MCA (Master of Computer Applications).

But cybersecurity ka junoon kahin gaya nahi.
Even during MCA, I kept reading, practicing, and trying things.

🧭 The Lucideus Chapter — Real Exposure, Real Security

After completing my Master’s, I wanted to move deeper into practical cybersecurity, attack-defense techniques, and real-world security workflows.

Since I had already learned the basics during my TechDefence internship, joining Lucideus (now Safe Security) in New Delhi gave me the exposure I needed.

At Lucideus, I experienced:

  • Practical cybersecurity projects
  • Real-world case studies
  • Exposure to enterprise-level security
  • Hands-on attack-defense simulations
  • A fast-paced learning environment

This phase brought clarity about how cybersecurity works at scale and strengthened my foundation before stepping into more advanced areas.

🎖️ Building My Skills — CEH & Multiple Certifications

After gaining practical exposure, I wanted to strengthen my credentials and dive deeper into structured learning.
So, I joined IANT Ahmedabad and completed my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) training and certification.

During this time, I didn’t stop there — I worked to expand my skillset further and earned multiple certifications, including:

  • A+ (Hardware)
  • N+ (Networking)
  • Certified Ethical Hacker (EC-Council)
  • Ethical Hacker Expert (Star Certification)
  • Python Fundamentals (Star Certification)
  • Cyber Secure User (Star Certification)
  • And many more skill-based programs

These certifications helped me build a strong foundation in IT infrastructure, networking, security, automation, and programming.

👨‍🏫 Becoming a Cybersecurity Instructor

Soon after completing CEH and expanding my skills, I received an opportunity to join IANT Himmatnagar as a Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking Instructor.

I trained multiple students in:

  • Ethical Hacking
  • Cyber Security
  • Hardware
  • Network & Network Security
  • VAPT
  • Linux
  • Digital Forensics Basics
  • Windows Security
  • Secure User Practices

Teaching not only strengthened my fundamentals but also improved my communication, leadership, and problem-solving mindset.

I always shared one core thought:

“Hacking is not about breaking systems. It’s about understanding them deeply and securing them intelligently.”

This long instructor journey became a strong base for everything I would do later in DevOps and DevSecOps.

💼 Transition to Corporate — Enter DevOps (Webelight Solutions)
During the pandemic, education institutes faced challenges. I felt it was time to move into the corporate world and work on real infrastructure.

I joined Webelight Solutions Pvt. Ltd., where I was placed in the DevOps team — something new for me at that time.

But soon, I realized:

DevOps + Security = DevSecOps
Automation cannot survive without security, and security cannot scale without automation.

At Webelight, I learned and worked with:

  • Docker
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • GitLab
  • Cloud deployment
  • Monitoring tools
  • Alerting systems
  • Linux & Windows administration

This phase transformed me from a security engineer into a DevOps/DevSecOps professional.

⚙️ TechExtensor Pvt. Ltd. — Becoming a DevSecOps Engineer (2024–Present)

In 2024, I joined TechExtensor Pvt. Ltd. as a DevSecOps Engineer, where I finally found the perfect blend of everything I had learned so far.

Today, I handle:

🔐 Security Responsibilities

  • VAPT
  • Infrastructure & cloud security
  • SSL certificate management
  • Firewall rules & access policies
  • Patch management & vulnerability mitigation
  • Secure CI/CD integrations
  • Internal security audits & reports
  • Hardening of servers & services

⚙️ DevOps Responsibilities

  • Designing & maintaining GitLab CI pipelines
  • Managing Dockerized environments
  • Deployment automation & release management
  • Monitoring & alerting systems
  • Linux & Windows server administration
  • cloud operations (AWS, Azure, GCP, Linode etc)
  • Optimization & automation of workflows

👥 Team Leadership

  • Guiding DevOps engineers
  • Reviewing infrastructure changes
  • Ensuring stability, performance & security
  • Leading infrastructure improvement initiatives

This role perfectly aligns with my passion — automation + security + reliability.

🌍 Community Involvement

Beyond my job, I stay active in the tech community:

  • AWS User Group Ahmedabad
  • Cyber Crime CID Gujarat seminars
  • Open-source user groups & local meetups

These platforms help me share knowledge and continue learning.

💡 What DevSecOps Means to Me

Cybersecurity taught me how attackers think.
DevOps taught me how systems run and scale.
DevSecOps taught me how to secure at scale.

Security is not a feature — it’s a mindset.

Jab tak mindset secure nahi, system secure nahi.

🙌 From a Summer Curiosity to a Full-Fledged Career

From a random decision to join an internship…
To becoming an instructor…
To entering DevOps…
To becoming a DevSecOps Engineer and leading teams —

The journey has been amazing.

And the best part?
It’s still just the beginning.

✨ Thank you for reading my journey.
If you’re someone moving from Cybersecurity → DevOps → DevSecOps, I hope this inspires you.

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