The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is recruiting a security analyst to its facility in Cape Town, Western Cape. The successful candidate will be responsible for protecting IT/OT infrastructure (including networks, hardware and software, engineering & industrial control systems, building management systems) from various cyber threats. In addition, the incumbent will monitor networks and systems, detect security threats (‘events’), analyse and assess alarms, and report on threats, intrusion attempts and false alarms and malware, either resolving them or escalating them, depending on the severity.
Key Responsibilities
- Participate in Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) to identify, contain, eradicate, and resolve security issues;
- Monitor for attacks, intrusions and unusual, unauthorised or illegal activity using OSINT, SIEM, Fail2Ban, Packet Analyzer, Firewalls, log aggregators and End-Point Protection tools;
- Analysing security incidents & breaches to identify the root cause;
- Investigate security alerts from security log aggregators and provide an incident response;
- Analysing & responding to help desk security incidents;
- Monitor identity and access management, including monitoring for abuse of permissions by authorised system users;
- Conducting triage on security assessments & vulnerability testing reports and analysing the risk severity;
- Assisting with analysis of third-party vendors’ security and collaborating with them to meet security requirements;
- Research and evaluate emerging cyber security threats and suggest ways to manage them;
- Assist with continuously updating the SARAO’s incident response, disaster recovery plans & risk register;
- Help to create, maintain and deliver cyber security awareness training for colleagues;
- Assist Senior Security Administrator with R&D of new solutions and their deployment;
- Provide feedback to the Senior Security Administrator for continuous improvement; and
- Give advice and guidance to staff on issues such as spam and unwanted or malicious emails.
Key Requirements
Qualification
- Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Information Technology/Systems or Computer Science/Systems, and
- IT Security Certification (CompTIA Security+ or equivalent).
Experience
- Three years in the field of Information Technology with Security Monitoring, Threat Management and Incident Response and experience with security operations
Knowledge
- Understanding of some of these protocols: UDP, SNMP, SMTP, PGP, SFTP, SSH, IPSec, VPN, LDAP, HTTP, SSL/TLS, PKI and DNS;
- Knowledge of LAN, WAN, VLANs, VM, IP Tables and End-Point security;
- In-depth knowledge of operating systems such as Windows, macOS and Linux;
- Troubleshooting techniques, helpdesk and end-user support; and
- Understanding of DevOps & DevSecOps practices, logs monitoring & security events analysis.
Additional Notes
- Presentation and communication skills;
- Self-driven and able to self-manage;
- Ability to learn new technologies, solutions & keen interest in acquiring new skills;
- Ability to constructively interact with various stakeholders, including Management, other Employees/Teams, Service Providers and Vendors;
- Analytic and Report writing; and
- Team player – willingness to help colleagues and provide organisational support, and to fit in with organisational culture and methodologies.
How to Apply
Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by logging in here before 5 April 2022. Furthermore, applicants should include a letter of motivation indicating their suitability for the position in their applications. In addition, the applicants must provide the names and contact details of at least three referees.
South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a challenging career and competitive remuneration package commensurate with qualifications and experience. Also, the NRF is committed to employment equity and redress, and appointments to the position will be made in line with the NRF Employment Equity Plan. In addition, the NRF reserves the right not to make an appointment and will send correspondence to short-listed candidates only.
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