Senior Threat Researcher - Behavioural protection

About Us

Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions that defeat cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation. Sophos sells through reseller partners and managed service providers (MSPs) worldwide. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

Role Summary

Malware Researcher? Red/Blue/Purple team member? We have a fantastic opportunity here at Sophos Labs for a Threat Researcher role to join our global team of Behavioural Protection engineers, to hunt, to research, and to add real-time protection for suspicious activity across our customer environments. Our team of skilled security experts combine their passion to detect & disrupt cyber-attacks with their capability to develop protection rules that can cut through the noise in modern computing environments to tease out attacker’s nefarious activities. You are intrinsically motivated to understand the core logic behind malware and hacking attacks, to find & predict new ways attackers will modify their techniques and take great satisfaction in developing robust protection logic that is immune to evasive actions. You will be responsible for writing behavioural protection rules that are able to block malicious activities across all types of TTP (even if a Mitre Technique doesn’t exist yet). This is the foundation of Sophos next-gen approach. Above all - you enjoy thinking creatively; combining your deep technical knowledge, your tenacity for innovation, and your can-do attitude to solve complex and challenging problems on daily basis.

What You Will Do

• Conduct in-depth behavioural analysis of Windows threats
• Develop Behavioural rules for various threat behaviours including hands-on keyboard attack, malware payloads, initial attack vectors and Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
• Produce quality threat analysis reports for both internal and external audience
• Collaborate with other cross-functional teams to improve behavioural protection capability based on the threat analysis
• Guide and train junior team members in assisting malware analysis, peer code review
• Assist in the development of tools wherever necessary to improve day-to-day task 

What You Will Bring

• Strong knowledge of Windows Internals including Memory management, Processes, Threads.
• Proficiency in both static and dynamic analysis of threats, using tools such as IDAPro, WinDbg
• Demonstrated programming experience. Preferred: Python, Lua.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to demonstrate complex technical problem to peer researchers as well as to product engineering team
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to think strategically and creatively
• Bachelor’s degree in computer software (Computer Security preferable) or equivalent experience

In Canada, the base salary for this role ranges from $107,000 to $179,000. In addition to base salary, we offer additional compensation including bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits package. A candidate’s specific pay within this range will depend on a variety of factors, including job-related skills, training, location, experience, relevant education, certifications, and other business and organizational needs. 

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Ready to Join Us?

At Sophos, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives to fuel innovation. Research shows that candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don't check every box in a job description. We challenge that notion. Your unique experiences and skills might be exactly what we need to enhance our team. Don't let a checklist hold you back – we encourage you to apply.

What's Great About Sophos?

· Sophos operates a remote-first working model, making remote work the primary option for most employees. However, some roles may necessitate a hybrid approach. Please refer to the location details in our job postings for further information.

· Our people – we innovate and create, all of which are accompanied by a great sense of fun and team spirit

· Employee-led diversity and inclusion networks that build community and provide education and advocacy

· Annual charity and fundraising initiatives and volunteer days for employees to support local communities

· Global employee sustainability initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint

· Global fitness and trivia competitions to keep our bodies and minds sharp

· Global wellbeing days for employees to relax and recharge 

· Monthly wellbeing webinars and training to support employee health and wellbeing

Our Commitment To You

We’re proud of the diverse and inclusive environment we have at Sophos, and we’re committed to ensuring equality of opportunity. We believe that diversity, combined with excellence, builds a better Sophos, so we encourage applicants who can contribute to the diversity of our team. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law regardless of gender, sex, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, color, age, military veteran status, disability, pregnancy, maternity or sexual orientation. We want to give you every opportunity to show us your best self, so if there are any adjustments we could make to the recruitment and selection process to support you, please let us know. 

Data Protection

If you choose to explore an opportunity, and subsequently share your CV or other personal details with Sophos, these details will be held by Sophos for 12 months in accordance with our Privacy Policy and used by our recruitment team to contact you regarding this or other relevant opportunities at Sophos. If you would like Sophos to delete or update your details at any time, please follow the steps set out in the Privacy Policy describing your individual rights. If you have any questions about Sophos’ data protection practices, please contact [email protected].