Nikhil Rapolu

Nikhil Rapolu

Penetration Tester & Product Security Expert

📍 Hyderabad, India

Cybersecurity professional with 4+ years of experience in application, cloud, and AI/LLM security. CEH-certified with a proven track record of uncovering 250+ vulnerabilities across 100+ security assessments. Specialized in OWASP frameworks, advanced penetration testing, and securing AI-powered products. Skilled at bridging offensive security insights with practical, scalable product defenses.

About Me

I am a Security Analyst with 4+ years of experience in application, cloud, and AI security, currently working as a Security Testing Analyst at Infosys Limited. I bring hands-on expertise in identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities across applications, systems, chatbots, and AI platforms including large language models (LLMs).

Over the course of my career, I have conducted 100+ security assessments and penetration tests on web applications, APIs, cloud platforms, and AI-powered solutions, uncovering 250+ vulnerabilities, including multiple critical and high-severity issues. My remediation-focused approach has consistently helped organizations strengthen their security posture.

My expertise spans the entire security testing lifecycle — from requirements analysis and test plan design to execution, reporting, and remediation guidance. Beyond penetration testing, my work in product security covers:

  • Threat modeling & design reviews for secure architecture before coding.
  • Secure SDLC practices, including code reviews, SAST, DAST, and dependency scanning.
  • Penetration testing & red teaming to uncover vulnerabilities in staging and production.
  • Cloud & infrastructure security – performing configuration checks, identifying cloud resources, and assessing adherence to security best practices.
  • AI/LLM security for modern AI-driven products.

I specialize in vulnerability management, secure coding practices, and cloud security, with a strong foundation in OWASP and NIST frameworks.

Technical Skills & Tools

Web & API Security

Burp Suite OWASP ZAP Postman Sublist3r

Network & Infrastructure

Nmap Netcat OpenSSL Network Discovery

Vulnerability Assessment

Metasploit OpenVAS Fortify Bandit

Cloud & AI Security

Prowler ScoutSuite PACU AI/LLM Testing

Programming & Automation

Python Bash Scripting Automation API Development

Security Frameworks

OWASP Top 10 SANS 25 NIST CIS Benchmarks STRIDE

Currently Focused On

Advancing expertise in cutting-edge security domains

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Application Security & DevSecOps

Improving secure coding practices, SAST/DAST pipelines, and CI/CD security automation to build security-first development workflows

Leveraging AI for Security Testing

Using AI/LLM models to enhance security testing, automate vulnerability discovery, and improve testing efficiency across security assessments

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Securing AI-Powered Platforms

Assessing the security of AI-driven platforms, including LLMs and AI-integrated enterprise applications, to prevent attacks such as prompt injection, data leakage, and model evasion

Portfolio

Technical expertise and security tools proficiency

Enterprise SaaS & Business Intelligence Applications Security Assessment

Web AppSec

Pentested 75+ enterprise BI applications handling critical and sensitive data. Assessed authentication, authorization, data validation, session management, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, uncovering SQL injection, privilege escalation, unauthorized access, sensitive data exposure, and DoS issues, and delivered actionable remediation recommendations.

SQL Injection Privilege Escalation IDOR Session Management OWASP Top 10

Multi-Cloud Infrastructure Assessment

Cloud Security

End-to-end security evaluation of hybrid AWS/Azure infrastructure using automated tools like Prowler and ScoutSuite. Assessed IAM configurations, network security, storage encryption, and compliance with CIS benchmarks. Provided detailed remediation roadmap for 50+ security findings.

AWS Security Azure Security IAM Assessment CIS Benchmarks Prowler

AI-Powered Chatbot Security Analysis

AI/LLM Security

Security testing of an enterprise AI chatbot system powered by large language models. Evaluated prompt injection vulnerabilities, content filtering bypasses, and data leakage risks. Developed specialized testing methodologies for LLM-specific attack vectors and model behavior analysis.

Prompt Injection Content Filtering LLM Security Data Leakage AI Governance

Enterprise Cloud Platform Threat Modeling

Threat Modeling

Performed architecture-level threat modeling for cloud-based platforms using the STRIDE framework. Identified potential attack vectors and provided targeted risk mitigation strategies, ensuring security considerations were addressed before development for multiple enterprise applications and AI platforms.

STRIDE Framework Cloud Architecture Attack Vectors Risk Mitigation Enterprise Platforms

API Security Testing – Business Platforms

API Security

Conducted comprehensive API security assessments for platform, wallet, and business application APIs (REST & GraphQL), uncovering authentication and authorization flaws, data exposure, and rate-limiting vulnerabilities. Provided actionable remediation recommendations and implemented automated testing workflows using Burp Suite and custom Python scripts.

REST API Testing GraphQL Security Authentication Flaws Authorization Bypass Rate Limiting Burp Suite Python Automation

Certifications

Professional security certifications and credentials

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CEH v12

Certified Ethical Hacker from EC-Council

Verify Certification
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Applied Cybersecurity

Applied Cybersecurity Essentials - Purdue University

Verify Certification

Achievements

Recognition for excellence and outstanding performance

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Infosys Platinum Club

Honored with Infosys' prestigious Platinum Club recognition, awarded to the top 1% of employees for consistently delivering excellence and driving high-impact outcomes.

2024

Top Performer of the Team

Achieved the highest performance rating in the team for two consecutive years, demonstrating exceptional technical expertise and consistent delivery of superior results.

2023-2024

Get In Touch

Ready to discuss your security needs or collaborate on projects

Location

Hyderabad, India