Freelance: Incident Response Analyst – Cyber Defence

Job Description
As an
Incident Response Analyst
, you will play a key role in detecting, investigating, and responding to security incidents, performing digital forensics, and conducting proactive threat-hunting activities.

Key Responsibilities
Incident Response & Forensics

• Drive the handling of security incidents, assigning response actions and tracking execution.
• For major incidents, coordinate ad-hoc response teams to contain, mitigate, and restore services.
• Perform digital forensic investigations (with a focus on Windows environments).
• Develop and maintain incident response playbooks and runbooks.

Threat Hunting & Intelligence

• Proactively hunt for compromises based on threat intelligence and attack indicators.
• Perform deep-dive investigations using CTI and frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• Collect, analyse, and operationalise cyber threat intelligence into actionable insights.

Security Monitoring & Analysis

• Work with SIEM solutions (Splunk, QRadar, ELK) and IDS/IPS platforms (Snort, Suricata, Zeek) to investigate alerts and anomalies.
• Conduct network and protocol analysis using tools like tcpdump, Wireshark, Argus, SiLK.
• Support continuous improvement of monitoring rules and detection capabilities.

Automation & Engineering

• Develop scripts and automation tools (Python, Perl, Ruby) to accelerate investigation workflows.
• Use Unix/Linux command-line utilities (sed, awk, grep) for log and data analysis.
• Contribute to strengthening security monitoring infrastructure and incident response tooling.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong knowledge of IT security technologies (secure networking, system security, perimeter defence, web infrastructure).
• Experience in incident management within a SOC, CSIRT, or cyber defence environment.
• Proficiency with logging, monitoring, intrusion detection, and SIEM platforms.
• Practical knowledge of IDS/IPS, NetFlow, and packet analysis tools.
• Hands-on experience in digital forensics, particularly on Windows systems.
• Scripting/programming experience (Python, Perl, Ruby).
• Familiarity with text manipulation and log analysis (sed, awk, grep).

Soft Skills

• Analytical mindset with strong attention to detail while keeping the bigger picture in view.
• Ability to work under pressure in emergency situations.
• Strong communicator and team player.
• Proactive, autonomous, and eager to share knowledge.
• High level of integrity and commitment to continuous improvement.