Intelligence Analyst/Cryptocurrency Investigator with Security Clearance - Arlington, VA, United States - XLA

Description

As a Seizure Specialist, you will be hired by XLA to support one of our Federal Clients, The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Domestic Operations, Cyber Support Section (ODV)
The DEA established ODV to support combating drug trafficking and distribution in the cyber realm
ODV's mission is to provide assistance and support for cyber-related field investigations in six priority areas: Transactions; Exploitation; Seizure; Outreach; Policy, Legal & Liaison; and Research & Development
The ideal Seizure Specialist will bring knowledge and expertise in the areas of blockchain technology, crypto wallets, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), open-source intelligence (OSINT), dark web, digital forensics, software development, custody of evidence, and asset forfeiture
The Seizure Specialist will provide escalated on-site and remote seizure support for real-time activity to DEA investigators during planned enforcement operations
This includes the analysis of U.S
Government furnished data, which will remain the property of DEA, as well as approved external data sources
Services will span across both non-classified and classified tasks
Travel to other locations, potentially on short notice, is required with this position as well

Position Description/Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Provide high-level on-site seizure support for DEA investigators during planned seizures.
• Identify digital wallets holding assets, restoring digital wallets from seed words/phrases collected in investigations, and analyzing seized digital evidence.
• Provide subject matter expertise to remotely support real-time seizure activities (availability 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week) for DEA investigators during planned operations

The output of support will include analytical products and analysis data about digital asset investigations that involve blockchain technology.

• Research, design, develop, and test blockchain technologies, especially those technologies used to seize virtual assets.
• Sharing best practices of seizing virtual assets by giving presentations, leading workshops and/or speaking at events.
• Provide guidance and expertise in the development of policies and/or standard operating procedures for seizing and processing digital assets.
• Identify computer front-end collection systems including traffic collection, filtering, selection and internet routing protocols

Gather essential information on target(s) of interest and produce a weekly email to his/her DEA supervisor.

• Evaluate and make assessments of cyber investigations to determine how to proceed to provide the most optimal course of action

Communicate effectively with case agent(s) and/or ODV's Exploitation Team.

• Support ODV and the Field in the tracking of statistical information regarding overall virtual currency expenditure, distribution, case tracking, custody of evidence, and case results.
• Leverage suite of open-source targeting tools (e.g

IP targeting tools) to augment investigations.

• Managing the government-controlled wallets in accordance with DEA policy, sending seized currency to the USMS at the direction of the seizing agent, and assisting the agents with gaining control or custody of virtual currency associated with identified recovery seeds up to and including unclaimed virtual currency that resulted from a hard fork

These aspects of support need to be implemented in a way that mitigates the chance of any losses in a manner that is acceptable to the DEA.

• Input all researched and analyzed data into various professional products for statistical analysis, intelligence summaries, or PowerPoint presentations for DEA use.
• Ability to travel an average of 25% and, at times, on short notice in furtherance of search and seizure law enforcement operations.
• Other projects and duties as assigned by the Agency

Required Skills

• Demonstrated recent, relevant work experience in cyber investigations, dark web, blockchain technology, and cryptoanalysis
• Knowledge and expertise in the areas of blockchain technology, crypto wallets, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), open-source intelligence (OSINT), dark web, digital forensics, software development, custody of evidence, and asset forfeiture.
• Due to the rapidly changing landscape of illicit use of virtual currency, the candidate will have worked with law enforcement and successfully supported the seizure of virtual currency, preferably within the previous 12 months

The support provided during the recent seizure(s) must be essential to the seizure operation such that without the candidate's participation, the seizure would not have been successful [e.

g
hierarchical deterministic (HD) and custodial wallets containing digital assets]

• 10 + years of experience in working on complex criminal investigations with law enforcement agencies and a strong working knowledge of Fourth Amendment search and seizure limitations.
• 5 + years of experience with open-source (OSINT) methodologies to conduct blockchain analysis, trace the flow of funds, and the submission of comprehensive reports detailing the OSINT finding.
• 3 + years of experience and reoccurring exposure to Unix/Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, including in-house software development with a combination of blockchain technology, and hardware and software wallets.
• 3 + years of general knowledge of C+, Python, Go or a similar programming language and IT (Information Technology) network structure.
• 2 + years of experience with identifying and analyzing digital assets or digital asset transactions.
• 2 + years of collecting, viewing and identifying essential information on target(s) of interest from metadata (e.g

email, internet protocol, HTTP and social media).

• 2 + years of experience performing real-time data tracking and effective clustering of crypto wallet hosts for development.
• Knowledge of blockchain concepts such as consensus protocols, validation algorithms, digital signatures, large-scale distributed systems, and applied cryptography.
• In-depth understanding of blockchain architectures and a clear understanding of how various blockchain platforms differ.
• Familiarity with front-end collection systems including traffic collection, filtering, selection and internet routing protocols.
• Strong problem-solving skills, detailed oriented, possess excellent time management and communication skills with the ability to interact professionally with senior management.
• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment and able to travel, such as deployments on law enforcement operations.
• Ability to recognize technical information that may be used in leads to enable remote support (data includes users, passwords, email addresses, IP addresses, crypto artifacts behavior, mail servers, domain servers, and SMT header information).
• Ability to interface with field agents and ask questions regarding their investigation and collection/seizure of evidence and to determine project requirements based on investigative goals.
• Must communicate complex concepts or ideas in a confident and well-organized manner through verbal, written and/or visual means on a monthly basis

Education and Yrs of Experience Requirements
Must have a Bachelor's Degree and 17 yrs of professional work experience, OR, 15 years of professional work experience and a Master's degree
Clearance Requirements
The ability to obtain a US Government Security Clearance/Public Trust which means all candidates must be a US Citizen

Job Requirements:

• 17+ years of relevant professional work experience + a Bachelor's Degree
• Possess the ability to work with a high level of independence
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, the ability to handle multiple assignments at the same time, and excellent organizational skills
• Skilled in proactively identifying problems and making recommendations to management
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite

Physical Demands:
Position will require frequent sitting, standing, and/or mobility within a single floor office setting
Employee must be able to use hands to complete work at a workstation/computer, be able to reach, type and manipulate with hands, fingers, and arms; lift and/or move up to 20 pounds; talk, see and hear

Work Environment:
Telework will be authorized in accordance with agency policy
Work will also be performed onsite and/or remotely in a professional home or office environment with moderate stress and noise levels
Position requires employee to effectively use a computer, potentially for long periods of time, and to accommodate potentially frequent interruptions
Candidate should be both customer-focused and present a team approach to overall work
The contractor will be working in the Washington, D.C
metropolitan area
Travel to other domestic and foreign locations in performance of this contract may be required by DEA
On-site work will be performed at the DEA Headquarters office, located at 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202

Schedule:
XLA's corporate core business hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m

to 5:00 p.m

ET
Standard work hours may vary for this position based upon contract requirements
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): XLA is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals
As part of this commitment, XLA will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations in the hiring process
We encourage qualified individuals with disabilities to apply
If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process or to perform essential job functions, please contact our HR team by phone at or via email at
For persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or deaf-disabled, XLA will provide an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter where needed as a reasonable accommodation for the hiring processes


EEOC:
XLA is an equal opportunity employer
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