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Murendeni Thovhakale

Securing Systems
That Strengthen
Governance & Risk

Senior Cyber Security Specialist — Cybersecurity, GRC, and cloud platform engineering across financial and mission-critical environments.

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Murendeni Thovhakale · Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Companies I have worked with

ISS Africa logo
Digiata logo
ABSA logo
AnywhereNow logo
SARB logo
ISS Africa logo
Digiata logo
ABSA logo
AnywhereNow logo
SARB logo

Career Highlights

Impact you can measure.

  • 01

    8,000+

    Windows Servers migrated to Azure Arc

  • 02

    69% → 95%

    Enterprise patch compliance improvement

  • 03

    ISO 27001

    Implemented and audit-ready ISMS experience

  • 04

    2,000+

    Stakeholders engaged, up to CIO level

  • 05

    ZAR 1.2M

    Annual savings from cloud migration

  • 06

    2022

    ABSA Grand-Prize Kudos Award winner

Profile

Security that enables the business.

Information security, governance, risk, and compliance professional with 10+ years of experience across financial services, SaaS/cloud operations, and mission-critical environments. Hands-on experience implementing ISO 27001, supporting SOC 2 compliance, driving audit readiness, and building security automation. I combine GRC judgement with cloud, infrastructure, and scripting expertise to translate requirements into practical controls and measurable improvements.

My Story

The path wasn't always clear, but it was mine to shape.

  1. 1992–2009

    Roots in Limpopo

    Born on 4 July 1992 at Tshilidzini Hospital in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, I grew up as the second-last born among seven siblings. My early years were shaped by curiosity, resilience, and a strong sense of community. My schooling took me from Tshedza Comprehensive School through Lukunde and Tshiluvhi Primary Schools to Thohoyandou Technical High School, where I matriculated in 2009.

  2. 2010–2011

    First steps into technology

    After improving my physical science marks at Tshwane South College, I began studying Computer Systems Engineering at the Vaal University of Technology. When I noticed poor Wi-Fi at my student accommodation, I offered to help fix it — an initiative that turned into my first IT internship in 2011 and connectivity for more than 500 students.

  3. 2012–2019

    Learning the craft

    I built my foundations at Afrihost in client services, moved into field engineering at Baseline IT, and then joined ISS Africa as IT Officer — leading a migration to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 that saved ZAR 1.2 million annually and shaped my thinking on resilience, governance, and security.

  4. 2019–2025

    Engineering at enterprise scale

    At Digiata I implemented ISO 27001 and led migrations to Microsoft 365 and Entra ID. At ABSA I led the migration of more than 8,000 Windows Servers to Azure Arc, served on the Patching Council, lifted patch compliance from 69% to 95%, and presented quarterly to more than 2,000 stakeholders — from engineers to C-level executives.

  5. 2026–

    Securing critical systems

    I opened 2026 as a Cloud Operations Engineer at AnywhereNow, supporting ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance and building a cloud-native CMDB on Azure. Since March I've worked as a Cyber Security Specialist at the South African Reserve Bank, protecting critical banking infrastructure through security engineering, vulnerability management, identity security, and governance. From early tech experiments in student housing to national-scale security, the journey reflects a commitment to learning, growth, and impactful solutions.

Career Journey

15 years across enterprise IT and security.

Mar 2026 – Present

  • Provide security engineering and governance input for enterprise initiatives across critical banking systems.
  • Develop an enterprise Power BI CSO visibility dashboard consolidating data from Active Directory, Tenable, Silverfort, and BeyondTrust Password Safe.
  • Perform risk-based vulnerability management with Tenable, prioritising identity and domain controller exposures.
  • Engineer PowerShell and REST API data pipelines for security reporting and continuous control monitoring.
  • Automate certificate lifecycle management within enterprise PKI environments.
  • Provide technical input for audit findings, penetration tests, TIBER assessments, and risk remediation.

Jan 2026 – Feb 2026

  • Supported ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance activities with evidence coordination and audit readiness in Vanta.
  • Reviewed customer security requirements and supported responses to security questionnaires.
  • Built and deployed a cloud-native CMDB on Microsoft Azure for infrastructure visibility.
  • Operated Azure production and AKS environments with Terraform infrastructure-as-code.

May 2021 – Dec 2025

  • Led the migration of 8,000+ Windows Servers to Azure Arc for centralised, cloud-scale management.
  • Responded to internal and external audits on security findings aligned with ISO 27001.
  • Member of the Patching Council; improved patch compliance from 69% to 95%.
  • Delivered quarterly patch governance sessions for 2,000+ stakeholders including CIOs.
  • Integrated Broadcom UIM with ServiceNow to improve incident detection and response.
  • Guided disaster recovery simulations and mentored junior engineers.

Nov 2019 – Apr 2021

  • Implemented ISO 27001, translating requirements into operational and technical controls.
  • Performed annual ISO security compliance reviews and supported audit readiness.
  • Migrated on-premises Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID and G Suite to Microsoft 365.
  • Participated in business continuity planning, disaster recovery testing, and technical audits.

May 2015 – Oct 2019

  • Led migration to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, saving ZAR 1.2 million annually.
  • Created organisation-wide DR/BCP strategies and enforced backup policies.
  • Managed endpoint security, patch compliance, and internal IT governance.
  • Deployed VPNs, firewalls, and multi-site network infrastructure for a distributed workforce.

Jul 2014 – Apr 2015

  • Installed and secured Windows networks for SME clients and removed malware and ransomware threats.
  • Improved service levels through proactive onsite maintenance and client education.

Dec 2012 – Jun 2014

  • Supported broadband, hosting, and VoIP clients across multiple digital channels.
  • Handled 50+ daily tickets while maintaining high customer satisfaction scores.

Jan 2011 – Nov 2012

  • Installed Wi-Fi infrastructure serving 500+ students at Buhle student accommodation.
  • Launched company websites and maintained Linux servers, backups, and security routines.

Projects

Selected work with measurable impact.

South African Reserve Bank

CSO Visibility Dashboard

Enterprise Power BI dashboard consolidating security and identity data from Active Directory, Tenable Security Center, Silverfort, and BeyondTrust Password Safe. PowerShell and REST API pipelines with pagination, normalisation, and logging deliver centralised insight into vulnerabilities, service-account risk, and privileged-account governance.

  • Power BI
  • PowerShell
  • REST APIs
  • Tenable
  • BeyondTrust
  • Silverfort

ABSA

Azure Arc Enterprise Migration

Led the migration of more than 8,000 Windows Servers to Azure Arc, enabling centralised governance, policy visibility, and cloud-scale hybrid management across a major financial institution.

  • Azure Arc
  • Hybrid Cloud
  • Governance
  • Windows Server

ABSA

Patch Governance Programme

Improved enterprise patch compliance from 69% to 95% through automation and process refinement. Designed quarterly patching refresher sessions for 2,000+ stakeholders and served on the Patching Council for risk-based patch approval.

  • Patch Management
  • Automation
  • Risk Governance
  • Stakeholder Engagement

AnywhereNow

Cloud-Native CMDB Platform

Built and deployed a cloud-native configuration management database on Microsoft Azure, providing centralised infrastructure visibility and reliable operational evidence for compliance workflows.

  • Azure
  • CMDB
  • Terraform
  • SRE

Digiata

ISO 27001 Implementation

Implemented ISO 27001 by translating requirements into operational and technical controls, coordinating evidence, supporting audit readiness, and running annual security compliance reviews.

  • ISO 27001
  • ISMS
  • GRC
  • Audit Readiness

South African Reserve Bank

PKI Certificate Automation

PowerShell automation for certificate issuance and renewal within enterprise PKI environments, improving the consistency and efficiency of cryptographic services supporting critical platforms.

  • PKI
  • PowerShell
  • Cryptography
  • Automation

Skills

Four disciplines, one engineer.

01

Governance, Risk & Compliance

  • ISO 27001
  • SOC 2
  • ISMS implementation
  • Risk assessment & remediation
  • Audit readiness
  • Policy development
  • Vanta
  • ServiceNow GRC/IRM

02

Cybersecurity & Identity

  • Vulnerability management (Tenable)
  • Active Directory security
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • PKI & certificate lifecycle
  • Incident response
  • Microsoft 365 Security
  • Silverfort
  • BeyondTrust Password Safe

03

Cloud & Infrastructure

  • Microsoft Azure
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure Arc
  • AKS
  • Windows Server
  • Linux
  • VMware

04

Automation & Reporting

  • PowerShell
  • Terraform
  • Power BI
  • Power Automate
  • Git
  • REST API integration
  • Grafana
  • ServiceNow

Education

Always learning, always building.

  1. 01

    Apr 2015

    National Diploma, Computer Systems Engineering

    Vaal University of Technology

  2. 02

    Apr 2023

    BTech, Computer Systems Engineering

    Tshwane University of Technology

  3. 03

    Oct 2025

    Postgraduate Diploma, Computer Systems Engineering

    Tshwane University of Technology

  4. 04

    Jan 2026

    Certificate, Digital Transformation and Innovation

    Gordon Institute of Business Science

  5. 05

    In progress · 2026 – Dec 2027

    Master of Computing, Computer Systems Engineering

    Tshwane University of Technology

Certifications

Credentials that back the craft.

  • Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)

    ISC2 · 2024

  • ITIL v3 Foundation

    Axelos · 2018

  • Azure AI Fundamentals

    Microsoft · 2023

  • Azure Fundamentals

    Microsoft · 2021

“From early tech experiments in student housing to enabling large-scale IT transformations — a journey of learning, growth, and impactful solutions in enterprise environments.”
Murendeni Thovhakale

Contact

Let's talk tech.

Email

hello@murendeni.com

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/murendeni

GitHub

github.com/murendie