IT Security Analyst

Airswift has been tasked by one of our major clients in the Oil & Gas industry to look for a Senior IT Security Analyst to work on a 9/40 schedule in Houston, TX, with availability for occasional international travels.

Overview:
The role involves monitoring client intrusion detection devices, log management devices, and various automated feeds into the Security Operations Center (SOC). The analyst assesses and correlates output using automated systems, conducting triage, event correlation, classification, and analysis of events. They provide guidance on response action plans based on incident type and severity and work with higher-level analysts for proper analysis and quick turnaround on detected events.

Business Contacts:

• Vendors: Product information and technical support.
• Senior Analysts: Direction and guidance.
• Customers: Review and evaluation of application requirements.
• Other SOCs and security organizations: Collaboration within the enterprise.

Principal Duties:

• Use security assessment and administration tools (e.g., Nessus, Nmap, Putty, Wireshark).
• Understand networking concepts and infrastructure (TCP/IP, VPNs, Proxies).
• Analyze logs and data to identify breaches or security incidents.
• Research, evaluate, and deploy new technologies within budget constraints.
• Integrate security into project and development life cycles.
• Deliver presentations to end users, peers, and management.
• Use key security monitoring tools (firewalls, IPS, SIEM, Email Filtering).
• Respond to changing priorities and manage multiple projects.
• Research and address emerging cybersecurity threats.
• Conduct risk assessments on systems.
• Develop business proposals for new technologies to enhance security.
• Balance security controls with employee productivity.
• Maintain and support existing applications and systems.
• Troubleshoot system problems and implement resolutions.
• Develop documentation per established standards.
• Adhere to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) when supporting customers.
• Train and mentor new analysts and customers on systems and products.
• Evaluate off-the-shelf products for corporate business requirements.
• Review user requests and recommend solutions.
• Manage data center infrastructure and support upgrade projects.
• Analyze and approve changes to computing infrastructure.
• Adhere to security and safety regulations.
• Monitor IT systems and respond to problems.
• Conduct assessments and classify events of interest.
• Perform vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, compliance monitoring, and intrusion detection.
• Investigate suspected attacks and breaches, recommending remedial actions.
• Investigate attack activities and abnormal behaviors (scans, DoS, Trojans, viruses).
• Perform Tier 1 triage, routing, and tracking of security-related issues.
• Review security events and determine remediation actions and escalation paths.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or Mathematics preferred. Technical school training or military training with seven years’ experience or HS/GED with ten years’ experience may be considered.
• Experience: Five years in computing environment or Data Networking. Experience with CIRT, CERT, CSIRC, SOC, Anti-Virus, IDS, Firewalls, Active Directory, Vulnerability Assessment tools, SIEM solutions. Digital Media Analysis and computer forensics experience preferred.
• Skills:
  • Knowledge of general security methodologies, concepts, and terminologies.
  • Basic routing principles and networking fundamentals.
  • Familiarity with well-known protocols and services (FTP, HTTP, SSH, SMB, LDAP).
  • Proficiency with packet analysis tools (TCPDUMP, Wireshark, Ngrep).
  • Experience with SIEM (preferably ArcSight, Crowdstrike EDR), Juniper/Palo Alto/Fortigate Firewalls, FTK Enterprise.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to convey technical details clearly.
  • Familiarity with TCP/IP services or networks.
  • Strong analytical, consensus-building, and collaboration skills.

Work Environment & Physical Activity:

• Operates standard office equipment (computers, calculators, telephones, fax machines, copy machines).
• Reads and comprehends various materials.
• Proficient with word processing, spreadsheet, and database functions in Windows.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and in group settings.
• Occasional travel for meetings, seminars, and vendor visits, including potential international travel.
• Typical physical demands of an office environment; may work in a 24x7x365 operations center.