WHAT DOES AN INFORMATION ASSURANCE SPECIALIST DO?
Published: Sep 3, 2025 - The Information Assurance Specialist monitors intrusion detection systems, evaluates firewall change requests, and conducts vulnerability assessments to ensure the protection and integrity of networks and systems. This role implements countermeasures, performs audits, and develops security policies in alignment with organizational and regulatory standards. The specialist also investigates security incidents, prepares detailed reports, and safeguards infrastructure from unauthorized access or data breaches.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Information Assurance Specialist
1. Information Assurance Specialist Duties
- Vulnerability Analysis: Perform network vulnerability analysis and reporting.
- Security Monitoring: Perform network security monitoring and analysis.
- Threat Detection: Identify suspicious and malicious activities, identify and track malicious code (i.e., worms, viruses, Trojan horses), and enter and track events and incidents in the STO database.
- Incident Escalation: Support incident escalation, assess probable impact and damage, and identify damage control.
- Recovery Procedures: Assist in developing a course of action and recovery procedures.
- Policy Knowledge: Apply knowledge of current Information Assurance (IA) policy, roles of major organizations and how they interrelate and interact, and shortcomings in national IA structures.
- Solution Review: Review and recommend IA solutions to customer problems based on an understanding of how products and services interrelate and support the IA mission.
- Problem Resolution: Analyze and recommend resolution of IA problems based on knowledge of major IA products and services, an understanding of their limitations, and a working knowledge of the disciplines of IA.
- Standards Compliance: Adhere to IA and security standards for classified and unclassified networks and systems.
- Violation Response: Identify, report, and resolve information system security violations and conduct an inventory of secure communications equipment, computer hardware, and software.
- Security Coordination: Work with the Government Security Officer and local communications squadron to establish and satisfy IA and security requirements.
- Requirements Application: Apply IA requirements to classified and unclassified networks and systems.
- Security Architecture: Apply security to dedicated special-purpose systems requiring specialized security features and procedures, and perform analysis, design, and development of security features for system architectures.
- Technical Support: Analyze the government site's general IA-related technical problems and provide basic engineering and technical support to solve problems.
2. Information Assurance Specialist Details
- Risk Analysis: Perform vulnerability and risk analysis of classified and unclassified computer systems and applications, recommending and implementing approved solutions and performing self-inspection tasks.
- RMF Documentation: Design and maintain Risk Management Framework documentation in accordance with the Government Security Officer’s instructions to achieve Authority To Operate for STO systems.
- System Auditing: Audit systems and perform continuous monitoring tasks for authorized systems in accordance with approved RMF documentation.
- COMSEC Maintenance: Assist with the maintenance of the organization’s COMSEC account in accordance with Government instructions and requirements.
- Account Inspection: Assist with COMSEC account self-inspections and inventories.
- CCB Support: Support the Government’s Configuration Control Board.
- Security Coordination: Work with appropriate Government and contractor security officials.
- Security Boundary: Maintain the information technology Security-in-Depth boundary including physical access controls, personnel clearances, and passwords.
- System Operation: Oversee the configuration and operation of Information Systems, optimize system operation and resource utilization.
- Capacity Planning: Perform system capacity planning and analysis while maintaining the security posture of the Special Access network systems.
- IT Evaluation: Perform IT risk evaluations and audits on Special Access network systems.
- Standards Management: Manage the development, implementation, and enforcement of information security standards and procedures.
- System Functionality: Ensure that all information systems are functioning correctly regarding the secure policy.
3. Information Assurance Specialist Responsibilities
- Cybersecurity Support: Support Cybersecurity (CS) for the Launch and Test Range System (LTRS) across the enterprise.
- A&A Activities: Perform DoD Assessment and Authorization (A&A) activities in accordance with the RMF process.
- Documentation Review: Develop, modify, and review A&A documentation.
- CS Architecture: Analyze the CS architecture of IT systems for compliance with DoD policies.
- Security Test Plans: Develop and execute security test plans, and use security tools such as ACAS, SCAP, and execution of STIGs.
- CS Risk Assessment: Assess the CS risk of IT systems, documenting them in formal risk assessments and supporting artifacts associated with the A&A process.
- Written Reports: Organize, develop, and present briefings, written summaries, and written reports incorporating narrative, tabular and/or graphic elements.
- Information Protection: Responsible for the protection and defense of information and information systems by ensuring its availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation, IAW established IA SOPs.
- Security Software: Implements and documents security software, including antivirus, forensic, performance, network monitoring, intrusion detection/prevention, and administrative aspects of all portions of the certification and accreditation processes under the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
- IA SOPs: Ensures organizational policies are addressed and removable media is handled and documented per the established IA SOPs.
- Infrastructure Security: Provide necessary C5ISR Center business network infrastructure security and management support to protect information and information systems from unauthorized access and to protect the data within systems.
- RMF Support: Support the Risk Management Framework (RMF) and Automated Information System Accreditation support.
- Policy Guidance: Provide guidance, interpret policy, and support C5ISR Center information system owners (ISO) and ISO staff responsible.
- Training Support: Provide Cybersecurity training support and certification programs for network managers, systems administrators, and other IT professionals.
- Tool Management: Manage and utilize tools, such as Host-Based System Security (HBSS), Assured Compliance Assessment Solution (ACAS), and System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to provide infrastructure protection on C5ISR Center systems.
4. Information Assurance Specialist Job Summary
- Intrusion Monitoring: Monitor and analyze Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to identify security issues for remediation.
- Intrusion Recognition: Recognizes potential, successful, and unsuccessful intrusion attempts and compromises through reviews and analyses of event details and summaries.
- Firewall Evaluation: Evaluate firewall change requests and assess organizational risk.
- Alert Communication: Communicates alerts to agencies regarding intrusions and compromises to their network infrastructure, applications, and operating systems.
- Control Implementation: Assists with the implementation of counter-measures or mitigating controls.
- Security Auditing: Conducts regular audits to ensure that systems are operated securely and policies are properly implemented.
- Firewall Operation: Develops, tests, and operates firewalls, intrusion detection systems, enterprise anti-virus systems, and software deployment tools.
- Network Safeguarding: Safeguards the network against unauthorized infiltration, modification, destruction, or disclosure.
- Software Evaluation: Researches, evaluates, tests, communicates, and implements new security software or devices.
- Incident Investigation: Conducts investigations of information systems security violations and incidents, reporting to management.
- Policy Enforcement: Implements, enforces, communicates, and develops security policies or plans for systems and security programs.
- System Integrity: Ensures the integrity and protection of networks, systems, and applications by enforcing security policies.
- System Auditing: Performs periodic and on-demand system audits and vulnerability assessments to determine compliance.
- Incident Reporting: Prepares incident reports of analysis methodology and results.
- Regulation Compliance: Ensure compliance with regulations and privacy laws.
5. Information Assurance Specialist Accountabilities
- Traffic Analysis: Analyze network traffic to identify exploit or intrusion-related attempts.
- Detection Recommendation: Recommend detection mechanisms for exploit and intrusion-related attempts.
- Attack Expertise: Provide subject matter expertise on network-based attacks, network traffic analysis, and intrusion methodologies.
- Malware Analysis: Analyze attachments and URLs for malicious code.
- Forensic Analysis: Conduct a forensic analysis on systems that may have been compromised.
- Evidence Collection: Work with law enforcement for the collection of forensic evidence.
- Incident Response: Execute operational processes in support of response efforts to identified security incidents.
- Security Planning: Responsible for the planning of information security and coordination of privacy policies, compliance artifacts, and standards supporting the DoD RMF framework.
- RMF Execution: Assist with the interpretation, implementation, enforcement, and execution of NISPOM and RMF requirements.
- System Assessment: Conduct formal assessment and authorization documentation and testing in accordance with DoD security requirements.