Senior Threat Response Analyst (L3)

Introduction

In this role, you'll work in one of our IBM Consulting Client Innovation Centers (Delivery Centers), where we deliver deep technical and industry expertise to a wide range of public and private sector clients around the world. Our delivery centers offer our clients locally based skills and technical expertise to drive innovation and adoption of new technology.

Your role and responsibilities

As a Senior Threat Response Analyst you will be responsible for conducting advanced incident investigations, responding to critical security threats, and driving containment and remediation efforts. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with multiple security technologies, including SIEM, IDS, APT, and WAF, forensic analysis, and is adept at handling sophisticated cyber threats such as botnets and advanced persistent threats (APTs).

• Provide incident investigation as per Security Incident Management Process / Guidelines.
• Drive containment strategy during incidents escalated by the triage team.
• Investigate and resolve advanced vector attacks such as botnets and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
• For critical incidents, be part of CSIRT activities and execute the incident handling process.
• Coordinate with IT, security operations, and other teams for remediation and trigger forensic processes as appropriate.
• Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for security incidents and update knowledge management.
• Work directly with data asset owners and business response plan owners during high-severity incidents.

• Engage with clients during debrief meetings to address questions, gather feedback, and align on security objectives.
• Provide tuning recommendations for IDS, proxy policies, and in-line malware tools based on threat feeds, trust and reputation data, incidents, or vulnerabilities and exploits of downstream systems.
• Provide tuning recommendations to administrators based on findings from investigations or threat information reviews.
• Prepare and deliver comprehensive weekly and monthly Threat Incident debrief reports for clients, including insights on security trends, incidents, system performance, and recommendations.

• More than five years of experience in SOC, Incident Response, or Threat Hunting roles.
• Hands-on experience with SIEM platforms such as IBM QRadar, Splunk, ArcSight, Microsoft Sentinel, or LogRhythm.
• Strong knowledge of network security, log analysis, malware analysis, and forensic investigation techniques.

• Knowledge of Digital Forensics, including disk imaging, memory forensics, log analysis, and evidence handling best practices.
• Familiarity with cyber threat intelligence frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK, NIST, and CIS.
• Expertise in network and endpoint security monitoring tools (IDS, firewalls, EDR, proxy, email security solutions).
• Proficiency in log analysis, regular expressions (regex), and scripting languages like Python or PowerShell.
• Ability to create custom threat detection rules, SIEM dashboards, and correlation policies.
• Knowledge of packet capture and traffic analysis tools (Wireshark, Zeek, TCPDump).
• Familiarity with incident response methodologies and forensic investigation procedures.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with keen attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to interact effectively with stakeholders at all levels.
• Capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

• GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)
• GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA) or GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE) (Preferred for Digital Forensics)
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• Certified SOC Analyst (CSA)
• Security+ / CISSP / CISM
• SIEM-Specific Certifications (IBM QRadar, Splunk, etc.)