Cybersecurity Incident Response Specialist

Business Operational Concepts (BOC) is currently seeking a seeking a Senior Cybersecurity Incident Response Specialist to work with our federal client. The ideal candidate will serve as an incident responder on the federal agency clients in-house Security Operations Center (SOC) team within the clients Cybersecurity Division Cyber Integration Center. A highly motivated individual with strong technical, communication, and analytical skills will succeed on this program., * Member of the SOC team which provides 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year monitoring and incident response services for the organizations Network, Systems, Applications, and Web services.

• Provide senior level cybersecurity incident response expertise in support of the clients Incident Response processes and procedures.

• Develop operational baselines such data flows and application interactions to enhance SOCs ability to respond to incidents.

• Prepare and manage playbooks and relevant scenarios in addition to narratives and visual diagrams and review continuously, in compliance with NIST SP 800-61 and Government guidance.

• Follow current guidance from NIST 800-61, Federal Incident Notification Guidelines, CISAs Incident Response and Vulnerability Playbook, and client guidance.

• Monitor system status and sensor data from deployed sensors and triage for validity from Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) System, email, texts, phone calls and all enterprise managed dashboards.

• Analyze all sources including network traffic, identity, fault, performance, and bandwidth information, alerts and data to augment detection of network anomalies and unauthorized activity.

• Meet regularly with client stakeholders to develop content, analytic rules, alerts, dashboards, automation and identify ways to improve availability and efficiency of clients incident response program.

• Categorize, Prioritize, and Report on cybersecurity events in accordance with (IAW) SOPs and other relevant policies documents.

• Implement cybersecurity mitigations leveraging client tools and systems.

• Create and escalate cybersecurity-related investigations to both internal and external entities such as DHS or other Government Agencies with client and Federal defined timelines.

• Manage, coordinate, and respond to FOIA, audits, data calls, e-discovery and information requests.

• Schedule and execute incident response tabletop exercises with each client FISMA system on an annual basis.

• Review and handle phishing messages reported by client staff.

Required (Minimum) Qualifications Education, Certification, Experience, and Skills

• High School or GED-General Educational Development-GED Diploma

• Bachelors degree in computer science or equivalent is preferred

• Minimum of five years hands-on experience

• Proven experience detecting, triaging, and responding to cyber incidents across enterprise networks and cloud environments.

• Proficiency with SIEM, EDR/XDR platforms, and forensic tools.

• Strong understanding of threat actor TTPs, MITRE ATT&CK framework, and incident containment strategies.

• Ability to analyze network traffic, logs, and endpoint telemetry to identify malicious activity.

• Familiarity with malware analysis, reverse engineering basics, and memory analysis concepts

• Experience developing and tuning detection rules, playbooks, and automated response workflows.

• Working knowledge of incident response frameworks (e.g., NIST SP 800-61, SANS).

• Understanding of vulnerability management, threat intelligence integration, and SOC metrics/reporting.

• Understanding of basic computer and networking technologies.

• Windows and Linux/Unix operating systems

• Networking technologies (routing, switching, VLANs, subnets, firewalls)

• Common networking protocols SSH, SMB, SMTP, FTP/SFTP, HTTP/HTTPS, DNS, etc.

• Common enterprise technologies Active Directory, Group Policy, and the Microsoft Azure suite of cloud services.

• Understanding of current system logging technology and retrieving information from a plethora of technology platforms.

• Ability to work well in a team environment.

• Self-starter with ability to work with little supervision.

• Willingness to take on and adapt to new, open-ended tasks for which there is no current standard operating procedure.

• Ability to research independently and self-teach.

• Strong analytical and decision-making skills under pressure.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including incident documentation and executive briefings.

• Ability to lead investigations, mentor junior analysts, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

• Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Accordingly, U.S. Citizenship is required.

Preferred Qualifications Education, Certification, Experience, Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Interest in security/hacking culture. Ability to think like an attacker

• General cybersecurity certifications (one or more of the following preferred):

• CompTIA Security+

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+)

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)

• Any cloud security certification, especially:

• CompTIA Cloud+

• Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

• Cloud Security Alliance Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK)

• Any Microsoft 365/Azure cybersecurity certification, especially:

• Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)

• Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900)

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), * Familiarity with the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure suite of products, including Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft 365 Defender.

• Knowledge of common enterprise technologies, policies, and concepts such as:

• Microsoft Sentinel SIEM

• Kusto Query Language (KQL)

• Mobile device technologies (iOS, Android)

• Scripting experience (PowerShell, Python, etc.)

• Microsoft Power BI

• Azure DevOps

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) expertise

• In-depth knowledge of AI and ML concepts.

• How to practically apply AI/ML technologies to enhance cyber threat hunting and incident response capabilities.

• Experience with specific AI services offered within Microsoft Azure.

We offer an excellent compensation package which includes a generous salary, insurance (medical, dental, etc.), paid leave, 401k plan and more. We are committed to the diversity we bring to the marketplace and believe customer satisfaction comes first.

Business Operational Concepts (BOC) is a recognized leader in providing Technical and Program Management Services, Information Technology, and Support. BOC has enabled their Government and Commercial clients to achieve their organizational initiatives through the application of high quality, innovative, and cost-effective professional services and solutions. We provide a positive working environment, with opportunities for advancement in our growing Federal sector workforce.