Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Infiltration Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

As an Infiltration Analyst, you will be the ethical adversary our organization needs to stay ahead of emerging threats. You will live and breathe the attacker mindset, employing advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to challenge our security controls, applications, and infrastructure from the inside out. Your primary mission is to uncover weaknesses before malicious actors do, providing actionable intelligence that drives our defensive strategy and enhances our overall security resilience. You'll operate at the forefront of our security program, conducting in-depth penetration tests and objective-based red team engagements to ensure our digital and physical assets remain secure.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Security Analyst (SOC, Vulnerability Management)
Network or Systems Engineer
Software Developer with a security focus

Advancement To:

Senior Infiltration Analyst / Red Team Lead
Offensive Security Manager
Principal Security Architect

Lateral Moves:

Threat Hunter
Security Researcher
Senior Incident Responder

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Plan and execute comprehensive, multi-phased penetration testing engagements across a diverse technology stack, including enterprise networks, cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP), complex web applications, and mobile platforms.
Simulate realistic, full-spectrum adversary attack campaigns by emulating the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of known threat actors, leveraging frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to test our detection and response capabilities.
Conduct in-depth vulnerability assessments and security configuration reviews of systems, network devices, and applications to identify weaknesses stemming from misconfigurations, outdated software, or architectural flaws.
Perform advanced Active Directory security assessments, targeting common and novel misconfigurations to demonstrate paths to domain compromise and lateral movement.
Develop and deploy custom tooling, scripts, and proof-of-concept exploits to bypass security controls, achieve objectives, and demonstrate the impact of identified vulnerabilities.
Meticulously document all findings, attack paths, and exploitation techniques in detailed technical reports that provide clear, concise, and actionable remediation guidance for stakeholders.
Communicate complex security vulnerabilities and their potential business impact to both technical and non-technical audiences, including developers, system administrators, and executive leadership.
Conduct targeted social engineering campaigns, including phishing and vishing, to assess the effectiveness of security awareness training and identify procedural weaknesses.
Perform rigorous security source code reviews to identify vulnerabilities like injection flaws, insecure cryptographic storage, and authentication bypasses early in the development lifecycle.
Execute wireless network security assessments, attempting to crack encryption, exploit rogue access points, and gain unauthorized access to internal networks.
Research and stay current with the latest offensive security methodologies, emerging attack vectors, zero-day vulnerabilities, and new security tools to continuously enhance our testing capabilities.
Collaborate closely with the Blue Team (Defensive Security) in purple team exercises to test, validate, and improve detection logic and incident response playbooks.
Evaluate and test the effectiveness of our security controls and technologies, including EDR, WAF, SIEM, and firewalls, by attempting to evade and disable them.
Conduct physical security assessments to identify and exploit weaknesses in physical access controls, camera surveillance, and employee adherence to security policies.
Develop comprehensive threat models for new and existing systems and applications to proactively identify potential security risks before they are introduced.
Safely manage and maintain the offensive security infrastructure, including command-and-control (C2) servers, testing tools, and virtualized lab environments.
Provide expert security guidance and consultation to development and infrastructure teams, championing a "security-by-design" mindset throughout the organization.
Analyze and reverse engineer malware or suspicious binaries to understand their functionality, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and command and control mechanisms.
Contribute to the continuous improvement of the offensive security program by refining testing methodologies, developing new procedures, and enhancing reporting frameworks.
Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior analysts, fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development within the security team.
Participate in post-incident analysis and forensics to help understand the attacker's path and identify control failures that can be addressed in future tests.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis related to security incidents and vulnerability trends.
Contribute to the organization's overall data and security strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate security needs and risk observations into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the broader cybersecurity team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep proficiency with industry-standard penetration testing toolkits such as Metasploit Framework, Cobalt Strike, and Burp Suite Professional.
Advanced scripting and development capabilities using languages like Python, PowerShell, Go, or Bash to automate tasks and create custom offensive tools.
Extensive knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/S, DNS), network architecture, and common network security vulnerabilities.
Proven experience in exploiting web application vulnerabilities as defined by the OWASP Top 10, including SQLi, XSS, and SSRF.
Expertise in Active Directory exploitation techniques and tools (e.g., BloodHound, Mimikatz, Kerberoasting).
Hands-on experience performing penetration tests in major cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and understanding cloud-specific attack vectors.
Strong understanding of operating system internals for Windows and Linux, including privilege escalation and persistence techniques.
Familiarity with reverse engineering tools (e.g., Ghidra, IDA Pro) and debugging applications to identify security flaws.
Experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and their associated security challenges.
In-depth knowledge of cryptographic principles and the ability to identify and exploit weaknesses in their implementation.
Ability to manually identify and exploit vulnerabilities without complete reliance on automated scanning tools.

Soft Skills

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex vulnerabilities and their business impact to diverse audiences.
A highly creative, persistent, and analytical mindset, capable of thinking like an attacker to devise novel intrusion paths and bypass controls.
Meticulous attention to detail, especially in documenting findings and providing clear, reproducible steps for remediation.
Strong ethical compass and professionalism, with an unwavering commitment to conducting authorized, responsible security testing.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while also collaborating effectively within a team environment.
Excellent time management and organizational skills to manage multiple testing engagements simultaneously and meet deadlines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent practical experience demonstrated through professional certifications and a significant portfolio of work/research.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Security, or a closely related technical discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Information Technology
Cybersecurity
Software Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3-7 years of direct, hands-on experience in offensive security roles such as penetration testing, red teaming, or vulnerability research.

Preferred:

Possession of industry-recognized offensive security certifications such as OSCP, OSEP, OSWE, GPEN, GWAPT, or GXPN.
A public portfolio of work, such as a blog, conference presentations (e.g., DEF CON, Black Hat), published research, or contributions to open-source security tools.