Job Description

• Research and remain up to date with emerging threats and Threat Emulation methodologies.
• Map Cyber Key Terrain and generate priority target lists.
• Engage in project meetings to gain knowledge of changes to the infrastructure and information sources that will aid the Threat Emulation Team.
• Conduct research on commercial and open-source tools that may address capability gaps in detecting and/or blocking malicious activity.
• Be familiar with development of attack vectors, system and infrastructure reconnaissance, collection of open‐source intelligence, enumeration, and foot-printing of target networks and services.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of computer network and host data to determine threat patterns and unusual behaviors to identify potential TTPs employed by adversarial APTs and identify related APT activities and malware within operational networks and systems.
• Use TTPs to emulate real-world threats in order to train and measure the effectiveness of the people, processes, and technology used to defend environments.
• Engage with other Agency offices to gain access to various information sources in support of Threat Emulation activities.
• Review collected monitoring and defense information that will be used as inputs or indicators of abnormalities or malicious activity for threat simulation development.
• Generate threat intelligence indicators during emulation operations as part of research and apply and fine tune them across the enterprise network.
• Develop and write (Python, Rust, PowerShell or your language of choice) customized scripts, payloads, and system backdoor emulations to simulate attacker behavior within various stages of attack activity, detection evasions, lateral movements, or exfiltration attempts.
• Utilize the Cyber Threat Framework (ODNI) and production of Threat Emulation findings in said format.
• Provide reporting for and brief all threat emulation successes at the completion of each approved emulation operation, which includes delineating evidence discovered, report writing, and briefing leadership.
• Provide recommendations on enhancing Threat Emulation capabilities

Education and Background

Years of Experience

Required Skills

• Threat Emulation SMEs must have at least 7 years of experience in cyber offensive ops, red team work, and/or Penetration Testing.
• Active Top Secret Clearance and SCI Eligibility.
• Strong analytical and technical skills in computer network defense operations.
• Prior experience and ability with analyzing threat intelligence/information or providing cyber defense analytical capabilities to assist in proactive identification of threats, events, and incidents.
• Ability to develop rules, filters, views, signatures, countermeasures and operationally relevant applications and scripts to support efforts.
• Strong logical/critical thinking abilities, especially analyzing vulnerability information and current adversarial TTPs and IOCs.
• Strong proficiency Report writing - a technical writing sample and technical editing test will be required if the candidate has no prior published intelligence analysis reporting, excellent verbal and written communications skills and ability produce clear and thorough security incident reports and briefings.
• Excellent organizational and attention to detail in tracking activities as part of overall Security Operation workflows or projects.
• Experience with the identification and implementation of defensive countermeasures or mitigating controls for deployment and implementation in the enterprise network environment.
• Experience in mentoring and training analysts or Red Team members. 
• Knowledge of different operational threat environments (e.g., first generation [script kiddies], second generation [non-nation state sponsored], and third generation [nation state sponsored])
• Knowledge of general attack stages (e.g., foot-printing and scanning, enumeration, gaining access, escalation of privileges, maintaining access, network exploitation, covering tracks, etc.)
• Knowledge of incident categories, incident responses, and timelines for responses.

Preferred Skills

• One or more certifications for CND Analysts: GCIA, GCED, GCFE, GCTI, GNFA, GCIH, CND, ECSA, OSCP, OSEE, OSCE.
• One or more certifications for malware or forensic analysts: GCFA, GCFE, GREM, CHFI.
• Existing Subject Matter Expertise of Advanced Persistent Threat or Emerging Threats.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Cyber Security, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field of study is NOT required but preferred.
• Expertise on policies, industry trends, techniques related to penetration testing.
• Experience with one or more of the following topics or technologies Network Threat Hunting, Big Data Analytics (Splunk), Endpoint Threat Detection, SIEM,, workflow and ticketing, Intrusion Detection System.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (BASH, PowerShell, Python, etc.) or software development frameworks (.NET).

Working Conditions

• Happy - Be Infectious. Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.
• Helpful - Be Supportive. Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.
• Honest - Be Trustworthy.Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication and ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.
• Humble - Be Grounded.Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.
• Hungry - Be Eager.Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.
• Hustle - Be Driven.Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.