-
Prior Experience Leading Cybersecurity Audit Teams in the Crypto Exchange/Crypto Product Space is Essential.
-
Strong Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: Capacity to analyze complex, often novel, technical and control environments unique to crypto, identify intricate root causes of issues, and propose effective, context-specific solutions.
-
Fundamental Understanding of Blockchain Technology: Basic knowledge of distributed ledger technologies, consensus mechanisms (e.g., PoW, PoS), cryptography (hashing, public-key), and the lifecycle of a cryptocurrency transaction.
-
Data Analytics/SQL for Deep Security Analysis: Proficiency in querying and analyzing large volumes of security logs, blockchain transaction data, wallet addresses, vulnerability scan outputs, penetration test results, and threat intelligence feeds to identify sophisticated attack patterns, anomalies, and potential illicit activities unique to crypto.
-
Security Auditing and Compliance: Deep understanding of common cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, ISO 27001) applied within the unique risk context of a crypto exchange. Ability to assess compliance with emerging crypto-specific security standards and regulatory guidance.
-
Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) Interpretation & Oversight for Crypto Assets: Ability to plan, scope, interpret, and assess the remediation effectiveness of VAPTs specifically targeting blockchain infrastructure, smart contracts, exchange platforms, and wallet security.
-
Incident Response & Forensics for Crypto Incidents: Expertise in incident response lifecycles and forensic investigation techniques specifically tailored for crypto incidents (e.g., fund misappropriation, smart contract exploits, private key compromises, denial-of-service on nodes).
-
Network Security for High-Value Crypto Infrastructure: Advanced expertise in evaluating highly resilient and secure network architectures for crypto exchanges, including multi-layer defenses, DDoS mitigation for high-volume transactions, and secure connectivity to blockchain nodes and custodians.
-
Cloud Security for Distributed Crypto Systems: In-depth understanding of cloud security principles and ability to audit complex cloud deployments hosting distributed ledger nodes, hot/cold wallet infrastructure, and high-performance trading engines across multiple cloud providers.
-
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) for Blockchain and Crypto Systems: Ability to assess the configuration, correlation rules, and alerting mechanisms of SIEM solutions specifically integrated with blockchain nodes, off-chain transaction systems, and crypto-specific logs to detect sophisticated threats.
-
Understanding of Cyber Threat Landscape & Attack Vectors: In-depth knowledge of unique attack vectors targeting crypto exchanges (e.g., flash loan attacks, reentrancy attacks, oracle manipulation, phishing for private keys, supply chain attacks on blockchain software) and the specific techniques used by threat actors in this space.
-
Risk Management Principles for Cybersecurity: Advanced grasp of cybersecurity risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring methodologies specifically tailored to the high-stakes, real-time, and often irreversible nature of crypto transactions.
-
Knowledge of Specific Regulatory Requirements: Understanding of specific regulatory requirements impacting crypto exchanges globally (e.g., anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) as per FATF, sanctions compliance, specific licensing requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and how these translate to technical controls.
