Internet Storm Center

Job Description

NYC Office of Cyber Command is committed to protecting City systems that provide vital services to New Yorkers from cyber threats, and helping residents become safer in their digital lives. As the organization defending the largest municipality in the country, Cyber Command is charged with directing citywide incident response, setting citywide cybersecurity policies and standards and working with city agencies to strengthen their cyber defenses.

Job Description
Threat Analysts within Cyber Command play several vital roles within the Threat Management discipline, one of which involves ensuring continuous coverage within the 24/7 Security Operations Center. Consequently, Threat Analysts must possess the capability and readiness to work night and weekend shifts.

Responsibilities will include:
- Characterize and analyze network traffic to identify anomalous activity and potential threats to network resources;
- Coordinate with city-wide cyber defense teams to validate network, endpoint and identity alerts;
- Ensure that cybersecurity-enabled products or other compensating security control technologies reduce identified risk to an acceptable level;
- Document and escalate incidents (including event’s history, status, and potential impact for further action) that may cause ongoing and immediate impact to the environment;
- Perform cyber defense trend analysis and reporting;
- Perform event correlation using information gathered from a variety of sources within the enterprise to gain situational awareness and determine the effectiveness of an observed attack;
- Perform security reviews and identify security gaps in security architecture resulting in recommendations for inclusion in the risk mitigation strategy;
- Plan and recommend modifications or adjustments based on exercise results or system environment;
- Provide daily summary reports of network events and activity relevant to cyber defense practices;
- Receive and analyze network alerts from various sources within the enterprise and determine possible causes of such alerts;
- Provide timely detection, identification, and alerting of possible attacks/intrusions, anomalous activities, and misuse activities and distinguish these incidents and events from benign activities;
- Use cyber defense tools for continual monitoring and analysis of system activity to identify malicious activity;
- Analyze identified malicious activity to determine weaknesses exploited, exploitation methods and effects on system and information;
- Determine tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for intrusion sets;
- Examine network topologies to understand data flows through the network;
- Recommend computing environment vulnerability corrections;
- Conduct research, analysis, and correlation across a wide variety of all source data sets (indications and warnings);
- Work with stakeholders to resolve computer security incidents and vulnerability compliance;
- Provide advice and input for Disaster Recovery, Contingency, and Continuity of Operations Plans.


Minimum Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree, from an accredited college including or supplemented by twenty-four (24) semester credits in cyber security, network security, computer science, computer programming, computer engineering, information technology, information science, information systems management, network administration, or a pertinent scientific, technical or related area; or

2. A four-year high school diploma or its equivalent approved by a State’s department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and three years of satisfactory experience in any of the areas described in “1” above; or

3. Education and/or experience equivalent to “1” or “2”, above. College education may be substituted for up to two years of the required experience in “2” above on the basis that sixty (60) semester credits from an accredited college is equated to one year of experience. In addition, twenty-four (24) credits from an accredited college or graduate school in cyber security, network security, computer science, computer programming, computer engineering, information technology, information science, information systems management, network administration, or a pertinent scientific, technical or related area; or a certificate of at least 625 hours in computer programming from an accredited technical school (post high school), may be substituted for one year of experience.


Preferred Skills

The successful candidate should possess the following: - Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required - Understanding of Cybersecurity Fundamentals: This includes knowledge of common attack vectors, security principles, and networking protocols - Incident Handling Procedures: Ability to follow established incident handling procedures and workflows to effectively identify, analyze, and respond to security incidents - Strong foundation in IT knowledge - Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: The ability to think critically and solve problems when responding to security incidents and making decisions under pressure - Ability to accurately and completely source all data used in intelligence, assessment and/or planning products - Ability to apply cybersecurity and privacy principles to organizational requirements (relevant to confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication, non-repudiation) - Ability to apply techniques for detecting host and network-based intrusions using intrusion detection technologies - Technical Aptitude: Knowledge of operating systems (Windows, Linux, etc.), scripting languages (Python, PowerShell, etc.), and cloud platforms in the context of understanding and analyzing security events - Familiarity with security tools such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), IDS/IPS (Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System), antivirus software, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions is essential.
55a Program

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.
Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.
Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.