Senior Security Researcher

Overview

Security represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions.

The Microsoft Security organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.

Are you passionate about reverse engineering malware? Do you enjoy partnering, collaborating, and driving work with different security & engineering teams to keep the company safe? The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has a unique opportunity for you! The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) is growing fast and looking for a seasoned malware reverse engineer with experience supporting threat intelligence analysis and security services and products. MSTIC is responsible for delivering timely threat intelligence across our products & services teams, assisting with our engineering response to security issues/incidents.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Qualifications

Required qualifications: 

• 2+ years of experience in reverse engineering malware that are associated with APT or financially motivated groups
• Strong and in-depth knowledge of Windows OS internals and Windows API Demonstrated experience analyzing malicious desktop, mobile and web applications developed in common programming languages such as x86/x86-64 Assembly, ARM, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, PowerShell, Ruby, Python, ActionScript, ASP, Java, JavaScript, HTML, etc.
• Demonstrated experience using commercial and open-source malware analysis tools and platforms such as debuggers, disassemblers, decompilers, sandboxes and virtualization solutions.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing packed and obfuscated programs, scripts, and shellcode.
• Demonstrated experience identifying and subverting anti-disassembly, anti-decompilation, anti-debugging and anti-virtualization/emulation and anti-forensic techniques and methodologies.
• Tactical software development experience in support of automation, triage and analysis of datasets, information and artifacts associated with APT related malware and campaign activity.
• Familiarity with legacy and modern software and system protection mythologies and technologies
• Demonstrated experience working with SQL-based databases and Big Data solutions.
• Experience working closely with threat intelligence analysts to understand their workflow and analytic problems and turning those into large-scale analytics.
• Demonstrated capability to coherently present potentially sensitive threat intelligence to a wide variety of audiences in public and private settings. Demonstrated interpersonal skills (adaptability, inclusiveness, optimism, curiosity, empathy, courage, respect) which support the development of high functioning teams.

Preferred skills and experience:

• Computer, network, and software vulnerability research, analysis, and mitigation experience
• Kernel and driver development experience
• Analysis of crash and memory dumps
• Deep packet analysis of network data and development of custom decoders
• Development of malware configuration extractors and string decoders
• Supporting incident response and familiarity with common incident response procedures, processes, and tools
• Experience leading analysis of network data across the various protocol layers and an applied understanding of a range of application/transport/network protocols.
• Experience conducting forensic analysis of networks and systems impacted by small and large APT related intrusions.
• Knowledge across all critical elements and common data types used in threat intelligence analysis, including malware used in targeted adversary campaigns; and host and log forensics including methods of data collection and analytic techniques; and network forensics including common protocols and how those are used in adversary operations.

#MSFTSecurity #MSTIC #MSecR

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check:
- This position will be required to pass the Microsoft background and Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Responsibilities

• Conducting triage and compressive analysis of known and suspected malicious applications, documents, network traffic and artifacts in support of MSTIC’s threat actor pursuit mission, services, and products.
• Reverse engineering & binary analysis to include dynamic and static malware analysis.
• Tactical software development to support triage and analysis of datasets and information associated with APT activity and behavior as well as APT artifact analysis.
• Contributing host- and network-based detection signatures/scripts to a variety of Microsoft products and services.
• Maintaining up to date and in-depth technical understanding and knowledge of the latest offensive and defensive Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs).
• Maintaining up to date and in-depth technical knowledge of adversary capabilities, infrastructure, and techniques that can be applied to define, develop, and implement techniques to discover and track the adversaries of today and identify the attacks of tomorrow.
• Maintaining up to date and in-depth knowledge across all critical elements and common data types used in threat intelligence analysis, including malware used in targeted adversary campaigns; host and log forensics including methods of data collection and analytic techniques; and network forensics including common protocols and how those are used in adversary operations.