Data validation and quality assurance in cybersecurity reporting at EC-Council Global Services

This technical report details an analytical study conducted within the Cyber Defense Department and Security Operations Center (SOC) at EC-Council Global Services (ECGS). The study focuses on data validation, quality assurance, and the preparation of monthly Incident Analysis (IAM) reports to support real-time threat monitoring and decision-making. Raw security logs and incident records were extracted and cleaned using Microsoft Excel's Power Query, employing functions such as ISBLANK and IFERROR to address missing fields, duplicate entries, and timestamp anomalies. Cleaned datasets were then transformed using PivotTables to visualize login activities, access trends, and security anomalies over specific time intervals. The results demonstrated that rigorous data cleaning significantly corrected misleading incident counts and clarified trend analysis, preventing the misinterpretation of system maintenance as security failures. Ultimately, the integration of structured data management techniques ensures the reliability of cybersecurity reporting and enhances organizational situational awareness.